BGI maintains engineered disposal site evapotranspirative (ET) covers at the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL) on Kirkland Airforce Base (KAFB). The site is operated under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act permits issued by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).
The MWL is a fenced, 2.6-acre solid waste management unit (SWMU) located in the central portion of KAFB. The MWL was a disposal area for low-level radioactive and minor amounts of mixed waste generated by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) research facilities from March 1959 through December 1988. Waste disposed of in the landfill included organic compounds, oils, depleted uranium, lead shielding, activation products, beryllium, sodium, lithium, neutron generator tubes, liquid scintillation vials, contaminated equipment, decontamination materials, construction debris, contaminated soils, and solid wastes. The landfill is separated from groundwater by 500 feet of dry clays, sands, and gravels. NMED approved a final remedy for this MWL by installing a 3-foot-thick ET solid cover with a bio-intrusion barrier.
BGI maintains the integrity of the cover by removing weeds, placing new weed barrier as needed, installing gravel, and monitoring the site. BGI performs erosion control and repair in accordance with the storm water pollution prevention plan and conducts supplemental watering for the cover at the recommendation of SNL’s biologist. BGI also manages ET covers on KAFB at the chemical waste landfill and the corrective action management unit’s disposal site.
