Installation Restoration Program inspects, cleans Vance Published Dec. 7, 2006 By Bob Farrell Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- In a continuing effort to locate and clean up any contamination sites at Vance Air Force Base, a remedial action project for the Industrial Zone will begin Feb 23. The project is expected to last two months and will involve three separate actions. First, an extraction system to pump out gasoline that is floating on the groundwater table will be installed adjacent to the fuel tanks next to the industrial gate. The fuel will be collected in a tank and shipped out for proper disposition, Marilyn Wells, Installation Restoration Program manager, said. Another project will concern the excavation of contaminated soil on the Baker Tract (across Fox Drive from the industrial gate). The soil will be sampled and any found to contain contaminates will be removed from the site and disposed of within proper guidelines. Finally, 165 hybrid Poplar trees will be planted to support a process called phytoremediation. The tree roots will absorb contaminants over a period of several years through a natural process. Poplar trees grow rapidly and, at maturity (normally 5 years), can remove 600 to 1,000 gallons of contaminated water each year once they are established. Additional investigations of potentially contaminated sites will also begin in late February. Three sites at Vance, to include: an area next to the Vance Clinic; an area on the airfield between the center and outside runways; and, an old incinerator northwest of the entomology shop will be examined. A contractor using a drilling rig that pushes a soil sampling device into the ground will take soil core samples to determine if there has been any contamination in these areas. In addition to these sites at Vance, two sites at Kegelman Auxillary Airfield will be tested as well. For more information, call Ms. Wells at 6303.