Site Number: G05OH0018.
Located 4.7 miles south of Sandusky, Ohio and 59 miles west of Cleveland. It lies in the townships of Huron, Perkins, and Oxford, in Erie County. The site originally consisted of 9010 acres of land.
The Plumbrook Ordnance Works was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1940. Trojan Powder Company was contracted to maintain and run the facility. During this time the mission of the site was to manufacture more than one billion pounds of ordnance. This facility was operational through 1945, at which time portions of the depot were used for ammunitions storage for Erie Ordnance Depot. Before operations ceased in 1945, a complicated land disposal process began. In 1943, the entire facility, with the exception of 53 acres previously quitclaimed to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, was declared excess. However, in March 1946, the Army reclaimed the magazine area from excess. In September of 1946, the War Assets Administration (WAA) took custody of the remaining accessed land. In 1947, the magazine area was renamed the retained area and was used for powder storage. In June 1954, the Army reacquired most of the original Plumbrook Ordnance Works property from the General Services Administration (GSA)/WAA. The remainder of the previously accessed land was disposed of to NASA and other third party grantees. In March 1963, NASA assumed accountability for and custody of the entire property. Since this time, NASA has declared various parcels of land excess and has sold the property to various owners. The present use of the remaining land is research on components for nuclear propulsion systems, high energy chemical propulsion systems, and nuclear rocket systems.
The known and suspected contamination on site from current and past activities include various chemicals such as nitroaromatic chemicals, acetone, barium, manganese, lead, chromium, sulfates, and nitrate in the soils and surface water surrounding the Plumbrook site. Currently the groundwater is being re-analyzed for the presence of TNT because of a disagreement in previous laboratory results. Because there are no potable wells within the aquifer, this is judged to be of a minimal risk. Based on previous site inspections and sampling, however, it is recommended that a remedial investigation/feasibility study be conducted at this site.
For environmental queries relating to this site, contact:
Ron Nabors
OEPA/NWDO/DERR
347 N. Dunbridge Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
(419) 373-3147
Formerly Used
Defense Sites District Pages
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