Weldon Spring Ordnance Works
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Weldon Spring Ordnance Works (WSOW) was a
U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...
-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility in St. Charles County,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, 55 km west of
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
. The site was originally operated by the Atlas Powder Company during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
from 1941 to 1945 to produce
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...
s. The Atomic Energy Commission acquired part of the property in 1955, and Mallinckrodt, Inc. processed
uranium ore Uranium ore deposits are economically recoverable concentrations of uranium within Earth's crust. Uranium is one of the most common Chemical element, elements in Earth's crust, being 40 times more common than silver and 500 times more common than ...
from 1957 to 1966 under contract. The site has been divided into several parcels, and ownership has transferred over the years. Two portions of the original WSOW property are now
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
sites that require substantial cleanup efforts. The
environmental remediation Environmental remediation is the cleanup of hazardous substances dealing with the removal, treatment and containment of pollution or contaminants from Natural environment, environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment. Remediation may be ...
of the WSOW site is currently designated as a major project of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
. Part of the original property is still used by the Army Reserve as the Weldon Spring Training Area.


Weldon Spring Ordinance Works

The site was purchased in 1940, totaling of largely rural land. The towns of
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Howell, and Toonerville and around 700 citizens of the area were displaced beginning in 1940 and ending the following year. From 1941 to 1945, the Atlas Powder Company manufactured
trinitrotoluene Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and help ...
(TNT) and
dinitrotoluene Dinitrotoluenes could refer to one of the following compounds: * 2,3-Dinitrotoluene * 2,4-Dinitrotoluene 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (DNT) or dinitro is an organic compound with the formula C7H6N2O4. This pale yellow crystalline solid is well known as a ...
(DNT) at the site. Four TNT and two DNT production lines were situated on what was to be the Chemical Plant. These operations resulted in nitroaromatic contamination of soil, sediments, and some off-site springs. After World War II, over were transferred to the State of Missouri, including the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. Additional land was transferred to the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
, St. Charles County, and the Francis Howell School District. Much of the land that was transferred to the University of Missouri has become the Weldon Spring Conservation Area.


Weldon Spring Chemical Plant

Following a considerable amount of environmental remediation of the facility by the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and the Atlas Powder Company, of the former ordnance works were transferred to the
United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by the U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry ...
(AEC) in 1955 for construction of the Weldon Spring Uranium Feed Materials Plant, now referred to as the Weldon Spring Chemical Plant. Mallinckrodt, Inc. operated the plant from 1957 to 1966 under a contract with the AEC. An additional were transferred to the AEC in 1964. The plant converted processed uranium ore concentrates to
uranium tetrafluoride Uranium tetrafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula UF4. It is a green solid with an insignificant vapor pressure and low solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent ( uranous) state is important in various technological process ...
,
uranium trioxide Uranium trioxide (UO3), also called uranyl oxide, uranium(VI) oxide, and uranic oxide, is the hexavalent oxide of uranium. The solid may be obtained by heating uranyl nitrate to 400 °C. Its most commonly encountered polymorph is amorphous ...
, intermediate compounds, and uranium metal. A small amount of
thorium Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...
was also processed. Wastes generated during these operations were stored in four
raffinate In chemical separation terminology, the raffinate (from French ''raffiner'', to refine) is a product which has had a component or components removed. The product having the removed materials is referred to as the extract. For example, in solvent e ...
pits located on the plant property. Uranium processing operations resulted in radiological contamination of the area.
Uranium processing Uranium is a chemical element; it has symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium radioactive ...
operations ceased in 1966, and on December 31, 1967, the AEC returned the facility to the Army for use as a
defoliant A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the d ...
production plant. The defoliant project was canceled before any process equipment was installed, and the Army transferred of land encompassing the raffinate pits back to the AEC while retaining the Chemical Plant. The AEC, and subsequently the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
(DOE), managed the site, including the Army-owned Chemical Plant, under caretaker status from 1968 through 1985. In 1984, the Army repaired several of the buildings at the Chemical Plant, decontaminated some of the floors, walls, and ceilings, and isolated some equipment. In 1985, the Army transferred full custody of the Chemical Plant to the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
(DOE), at which time the DOE designated control and decontamination of the Chemical Plant, raffinate pits, and Quarry as a major project. The DOE legacy management web site has additional documentation on the status of the site.


Weldon Spring Quarry

The Weldon Spring Quarry was mined for
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
aggregate used in construction of the ordnance works. The Army also used the quarry for burning wastes from explosives manufacturing and disposal of TNT-contaminated rubble during operation of the ordnance works. These activities resulted in contamination of the soil and groundwater at the quarry. In 1958, the Army transferred the Weldon Spring Quarry to the Atomic Energy Commission, who used it from 1959 to 1966 as a disposal area for uranium, thorium, and radium residues from the Chemical Plant (both drummed and uncontained) and for disposal of contaminated building rubble, process equipment, and soils from demolition of a uranium processing facility in St. Louis. Radiological contamination occurred in the same locations as the nitroaromatic contamination.


Weldon Spring Training Area

By 1959, with the majority of the site already transferred out of government hands, was redeveloped as for the U.S. Army Reserve as the Weldon Spring Training Area.


Superfund sites


Weldon Spring Quarry/Plant/Pits (USDOE/Army) site

On October 15, 1984, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
proposed listing the portions of the Weldon Spring area contaminated with radioactive waste on the
National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...
. The site was finally listed on July 22, 1987. The Weldon Spring Quarry/Plant/Pits (USDOE/Army) site covers and is located between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The site includes the disposal area, the abandoned Uranium Feed Materials Plant, various smaller properties, and the former limestone quarry located 4 miles from the plant. Primary contaminants of concern at the Chemical Plant and surrounding soil include uranium, thorium, radium, and their radioactive decay products. The quarry contains materials contaminated with TNT and DNT residues, as well as uranium, thorium, and radium residues and contaminated materials and equipment. The quarry is located from the St. Charles County well field, which is used as a drinking water source for approximately 70,000 people.


Weldon Spring Former Army Ordnance Works site

On July 14, 1989, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
proposed adding the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works to the
National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...
. The site was officially listed on February 21, 1990. Contaminated areas are spread throughout the site, with the greatest concentration in the Training Area. Areas of concern include seven unlined lagoons where TNT wastewater was stored, TNT production lines, two DNT production lines, drainage ditches below TNT production lines, and eight areas where explosive wastes were burned. The primary contaminants of concern at the site are TNT, DNT, and
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
. These contaminants have been identified in soil at several areas on the site, and TNT was detected in 1987 in surface water downstream of the lagoons. Portions of the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area are within the Weldon Spring Former Army Ordnance Works site.


See also

* List of Superfund sites in Missouri


References

{{coord, 38, 41, 45, N, 90, 44, 48, W, display=title United States Army arsenals Manufacturing plants in the United States Buildings and structures in St. Charles County, Missouri Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States Military Superfund sites Military installations in Missouri United States Army arsenals during World War II Superfund sites in Missouri