From 1941 to 1945, National Fireworks manufactured various munitions for the U.S. Departments of the Army and Navy. The munitions included flares, grenades, smoke pots, 20-mm and 40-mm rounds, and incendiary bombs. Possible compounds that were mixed and used in the ordnance production at the Site were trinitrotoluene (TNT); hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5 triazine (RDX); tetryl; ammonium nitrate, fulminated mercury; and white phosphorus. Also, located on the property are areas formerly used for testing flares, a former burn pit used for building materials, and areas formerly used for disposal.
The National Fireworks Site is currently called the Cordova Industrial Park (CIP). The industrial park has subdivided industrial lots with numerous property owners. The site encompasses an area of about 260 acres of subdivided land. Land use at the site consists of distributors, office space, sales, storage, repair and production facilities. Suburban residential developments are present within 0.25 miles of the Site.
Over the past 15 years, there have been several environmental investigations conducted at the National Fireworks Site. Most recently a Site Inspection (SI) was conducted in 2001 and an Expanded Site Inspection (ESI) in 2004. Results of those investigations indicated the following: metals, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and explosives were detected in surface and subsurface soil; metals, dichloroethene (DCE), trichloroethene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), and perchlorate were detected in groundwater; and metals and TCE were detected in surface water and sediment.
The Site is undergoing a RI and being managed by the PRP. Phase II of the RI included excavating anomalies identified previously during the geophysical survey of Screening Area A. Three of the anomalies proved benign and un-remarkable. One trench located an area of shop waste with strong organic chemical odors, heavily stained soil and metal fragments. The other trench uncovered an ordnance disposal area. The ordnance consists of small, two-inch long, live magnesium flares manufactured for the US Navy in 1987.
