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NPL Site Narrative for Air Force Plant #4 (General Dynamics)
AIR FORCE PLANT #4/GENERAL DYNAMICS
Fort Worth, Texas
Federal Register Notice: August 30, 1990
Conditions at proposal (October 15, 1984): Air Force Plant #4 occupies approximately 650 acres in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. General Dynamics operates the plant, which manufactures aircraft for the Air Force. In November 1982, the Air Force and General Dynamics notified EPA that hazardous substances were found in a storm water outfall that drains into a creek on the west side of the plant. Under Air Force supervision, General Dynamics constructed a french drain and a collection basin at the outfall. Since that time, leachate from the drain and outfall has been collected, stored, and disposed of in an EPA-regulated disposal facility. In 1983, the Air Force removed 21,300 cubic yards of contaminated soil from closed waste pits and disposed of the soil at a regulated disposal facility.
The Air Force has drilled numerous test holes and 97 monitoring wells in and around 20 areas, which cover a total of about 8 acres. Many of the areas have contained hazardous substances. Analyses of the wells indicate that ground water in the upper zone under the site is contaminated with organic chemicals and heavy metals. Several deeper wells were drilled at the site into the Paluxy Aquifer, the source of drinking water for nearby residents, including White Settlement (population 13,420). Two wells have been found to be contaminated by trans-1,2-dichloroethylene and trichloroethylene.
The plant is participating in the Installation Restoration Program, established in 1978. Under this program, the Department of Defense seeks to identify, investigate, and clean up contamination from hazardous materials.
At the request of the Air Force, EPA has further investigated off-site areas, including several White Settlement wells, sediment in the creek and Lake Worth, and selected residential wells near the site. EPA drilled four monitoring wells near the plant area. The White Settlement municipal wells and the four EPA wells are monitored on a quarterly basis by EPA.
In November 1980, the facility received Interim Status under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) when General Dynamics and the Air Force filed Part A of a permit application to treat and dispose of hazardous wastes.
Status (August 30, 1990): This site was reproposed on July 22, 1987 to be consistent with EPA's proposed policy for placing on the NPL sites located on Federally owned or operated facilities that are subject to the corrective action authorities of RCRA Subtitle C. EPA solicited comments on the Hazard Ranking System score for the sites, which includes areas subject to RCRA Subtitle C corrective action authorities. EPA has finalized the NPL/RCRA policy for Federal facility sites and is placing this site on the NPL under the policy.
The Air Force is conducting a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the entire base and identify alternatives for remedial action. EPA, the Texas Water Commission, and the Air Force are negotiating an Interagency Agreement under CERCLA Section 120 to cover activities at approximately 21 areas on the base.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at (
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