GI STL - Q3'26 Quarterly Technical Meetup

Geo-Institute St. Louis Chapter is excited to host our quarterly technical meetup at Schlafly Bottleworks!

Join us for an in-depth technical session featuring Greg Hempen as he presents "Completing the Removal of North St. Louis County Radioactive MED Wastes". The St. Louis area has a history of nuclear explores the complexities of landslide remediation and the engineering precision required for stabilization using drilled shaft designs.

Abstract

The War Department in the 1940s, and later a succession of federal agencies, was responsible for the creation of atomic/nuclear weapons and their wastes. A St. Louis chemical plant, one of the many facilities across the US, processed ores in a first stage of concentrating uranium for these weapons until 1957. Original, misunderstood, and/or easier practices caused contamination of that chemical plant, adjacent properties, soils, haul routes, and temporary storage sites, which allowed eolian deposition and downstream fluvial transport of radiological and hazardous wastes. Many issues contributed to delays in properly removing all waste that posed health risks at impacted properties.

These sites, named the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), were transferred from the Department of Energy to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for management in 1998. USACE districts were assigned to remediate various FUSRAP sites under EPA’s approval by following the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) policies for health risk and remediation protocols. The St. Louis District (SLD), USACE, was given responsibility for the FUSRAP sites in the St. Louis metro area. The Record of Decision for the North St. Louis County Sites resolved the short list of contaminants of concern and concluded that after remediation the lifetime exposure risk to an individual is generally less than 1 in 10,000. The dates for remediation of all the Saint Louis area sites are now scheduled.

The rigorous CERCLA/NEPA and EPA's approval processes can be so complex that even experienced environmental remediation firms may not fully comprehend all the regulatory requirements and remedial goals. The Jana Elementary School, located within the Coldwater Creek watershed, drew repeated parental concerns and news attention, and typifies this difficulty of understanding the FUSRAP actions.

The history of casual disposal of radioactive materials, subsequent contaminant transport, extensive site investigations, multiple-expertise involvement, and long-term health risks are discussed. 

Meet the Speaker

Greg Hempen, P.E., R.G., Ph.D.

Consulting Geophysicist

Greg is a Geophysicist / Geo-Engineer, consulting for a variety of offices directly or through his own small business, EcoBlast, LC.  He specializes in all types of vibration mitigation from blasting and pile driving, and recommends appropriate geophysical and geological studies for complex sites. His 50+year career includes a long tenure at, and retirement from, the SLD, USACE. His duties for SLD included being the first, lead Geologist for St. Louis FUSRAP from 1998 to 2006.

Greg has conducted business for all levels of government, federal, state, and local.  He had worked closely with consulting firms managing studies on federal and private projects. He has authored a variety of publications, which share the understanding of procedures instead of keeping proprietary control of methodologies.

Greg’s primary professional interests are: assisting students and young professionals in their early career development; extending (or defending) state geologic licensure, as well as protecting state engineering licensure; and, being a Program Evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. Greg has been a long-term member of several professional societies.

Education:

Ph.D. in Geological Engineering - Missouri S&T (1993)

M.S. in Geo-Engineering – University of Minnesota (1983)

B.S. in Geophysical Engineering – Saint Louis University (1971)