Arctic Surplus

Overview

Arctic Surplus is a 24.5-acre former salvage yard located about 6 miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska. The U.S. Department of Defense ran a landfill on the property from 1944 to 1956, then sold it in 1959. It later became a salvage yard for battery cracking, transformer draining, and explosive scrap collection. State testing in 1988 found high metal concentrations and large amounts of asbestos on site. Because nearby residents rely on an aquifer directly beneath the site for drinking water, EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in August 1990.

EPA identified 13 contaminants of concern, all found in soil. They include pesticides such as alpha-chlordane, gamma-chlordane, and DDT compounds, PCBs in three forms (aroclor 1248, 1254, and 1260), heavy metals including antimony and lead, dioxins and dibenzofurans, and the compound indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene. Groundwater beneath the site was also a concern given its use as a local drinking water source.

Cleanup actions from 1989 to 1995 removed 22,200 pounds of asbestos, disposed of 1,700 drums of liquid waste, and removed PCB-contaminated transformers and dioxin-containing incinerator ash. The long-term remedy, selected in a 1995 Record of Decision and later modified in 2003, focused on excavating contaminated soil, treating it on site through solidification and stabilization, consolidating treated material into a containment area over the old military landfill, and capping it with asphalt. Highly contaminated materials were disposed of off site. Remedial construction ran from December 2003 through October 2005.

EPA deleted the site from the National Priorities List in September 2006 after confirming cleanup goals had been met. Human exposure is currently under control across the entire site, with no unacceptable exposure pathways. Contaminated groundwater is stabilized within the original area of contamination and is not discharging to surface water at unacceptable levels. Land-use restrictions and ongoing monitoring remain in place. The most recent Five-Year Review, completed in December 2023, confirmed that conditions remain safe and past cleanup measures continue to be effective. The site is currently used for equipment and materials storage, and a motorcycle club uses the capped area for training.

Community members with questions about the site can contact the EPA team directly.