Lead in Soil at Oakland Army Base

[kellere@oakland-smtp.army.mil]

 Aimee,

 Please post the following response to Mr. Smith's message titled
 "CERCLA Exemptions".
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 Subject: Lead in soil at Oakland Army Base

 Please allow me to provide some additional information regarding the
 issues raised by Mr. Smith.

 One issue is the level of lead in soils, from automobile emissions,
 near the approach to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. The area
 in question is approximately 12 acres. During our preliminary
 assessment/site inspection (PA/SI) five locations in that area were
 sampled for metals. Five surface samples collected from the 0" to 6"
 depth contained an average lead concentration of 85 ppm with a range
 from 45 ppm to 129 ppm. Five shallow samples collected from the 12"
 to 18" depth contained an average lead concentration of 35 ppm with a
 range from 8 ppm to 64 ppm. Four additional samples were collected
 from depths greater than two feet. The average lead concentration for
 all fourteen samples collected was 81 ppm with a range from 8 ppm to
 231 ppm.

 The US EPA Region IX Preliminary Remediation Goal (PRG) for lead in
 residential soil is 400 ppm. The California modified PRG for lead in
 residential soil is 130 ppm. Only one out of the fourteen samples
 collected (231 ppm) was above the 130 ppm California modified PRG.
 All of this information and much more is detailed in the draft PA/SI
 report. This report was distributed to the public and to the RAB
 technical review subcommittee last November, and is available at our
 information repositories.

 Hopefully this information gives you a good perspective of the local
 issues at Oakland Army Base. You may draw your own conclusions as to
 whether or not we have "significant amounts of lead in soils" or
 whether this poses a "long term environmental problem".

 Also, please keep in mind that this issue is not unique to Oakland
 Army Base. This issue is found in many communities across the
 country, especially those located adjacent to major roadways.

 The other issue raised is that of the presence of lead based paint in
 soils. This issue has been recognized and is currently a topic of
 discussion at the headquarters US EPA and Department of Defense level.

 If you would like any further information about our particular
 situation at Oakland Army Base, please don't hesitate to contact me.

 Respectfully,
 Edward Keller P.E.
 BRAC Environmental Coordinator
 Oakland Army Base, California
 (510)466-3226 Fax (510)466-2066
 E-Mail kellere@oakland-smtp.army.mil