Maxey Flats Nuclear Disposal

Overview

Maxey Flats Nuclear Disposal is a former low-level radioactive waste disposal site in Fleming County, Kentucky. It accepted radioactive waste from 1963 to 1977. EPA added it to the National Priorities List in June 1986 after finding contamination in soil, surface water, and groundwater. The site remains on that list today.

Thirty-one contaminants have been identified across the site. Chemical contaminants include benzene, toluene, trichloroethene, chloroform, vinyl chloride, arsenic, lead, nickel, and others found in groundwater, leachate, solid waste, and structures. Radioactive contaminants include tritium, strontium-90, cesium-137, plutonium-238, plutonium-239, iodine-129, and others. All of these have been found across the site's single operable unit, OU1.

Cleanup has moved through several phases. Early removal actions ran from 1988 through 1992. The main remedial action, which included pumping radioactive leachate into concrete bunkers and installing a protective cap, ran from 1996 to 2003. A second phase of construction ran from October 2014 through April 2018. The final landfill cap is now complete. Human exposure is currently under control. Residents use the public water system or deep wells rather than contaminated surface water. Groundwater migration has been stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. A 100-year institutional control period is underway, with zoning restrictions preventing residential development and other incompatible land uses. Kentucky handles ongoing operation and maintenance. Groundwater and surface water monitoring continue.

EPA completed a five-year review in August 2022, and the next is estimated between August and October 2027. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List. Physical construction of cleanup work is complete across the entire site.

Community members can stay involved through public notices, meetings, and interviews that EPA uses to share updates on cleanup progress. Site records are available at the Fleming County Public Library in Flemingsburg. Community questions can go to the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.