The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported to the Wood County Commissioners that as of last month, 5,000 trucks have left the Luckey Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) Site. The trucks have been loaded with material contaminated with beryllium, radium-226, thorium-230, uranium-234, uranium-238, and lead, which marks the substantial completion of Phase 1 of the cleanup project.
The contractor began shipping FUSRAP-related material from the Luckey site in June 2018. Over 725,000 truck miles were travelled; safely transporting 83,839 tons of contaminated material off-site for disposal in Belleville, Michigan.
Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of material and typically 70 truckloads leave the site each week. Since the cleanup contract was awarded in 2015, the Corps of Engineers’ contractor has worked over 370,000 hours without a lost time accident.
Cleanup began in the Phase 1 excavation area on April 16, 2018, and currently verification samples are being collected to confirm the area is complete. Overall, the entire cleanup is 37% complete.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team’s safe execution of the FUSRAP mission at this major milestone in the Luckey project,” said Lt. Col. Eli S. Adams, USACE Buffalo District Commander. “Our top priority during the cleanup continues to be the safety and protection of human health for both our community and the workforce as well as securing the health of the environment. I have family who live and work just a short distance away from this site so it is especially rewarding work for me personally. We are also actively monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation and are in regular communication with our personnel and contractors to emphasize the importance of taking appropriate actions — such as social distancing, wearing appropriate protective equipment, temperature screening of individuals before entry into the site, and personal hygiene measures — to safeguard employee health and welfare while working during the pandemic.”
The Army Corps of Engineers will continue to provide updates to the county commissioner and also in the form of an infographic that tracks progress, which is posted weekly on the website at https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Luckey-Site/. Anyone interested in receiving updates regarding the Luckey Site, may contact the corps at fusrap@usace.army.mil.
