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Lake Ontario Ordnance Works
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About the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW) Site
In 1941 the Department of Defense (DOD) purchased 7,500 acres of land in Niagara County, on which was built the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW), for the purpose of manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT) during World War II. The TNT production, production support, and storage areas were constructed on approximately 2,500 acres. The remaining 5,000 acres, located to the west of the production area, were left undeveloped. During World War II, the Army manufactured TNT for about 9 months at a facility on the site, which included a power plant, hospital, fire department, water supply system, and waste treatment system. The TNT plant was decommissioned in 1943.
In 1945, 5,000 acres outside the production areas were declared excess and transferred to General Service Administration for disposal to private landowners.
The remaining acres were used by various government agencies.
As Department of Defense operations decreased, additional property was sold.
Current owners of the site include the Lewiston-Porter Schools, local and federal governments, general residential areas, and private corporations.
Project Status The USACE Buffalo District is conducting an environmental investigation at the former LOOW under the authority of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program Formerly Used Defense Sites (DERP-FUDS) program. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the nature and extent of contamination due to past defense activities and to assess the risks to human health and the environment. The scope of this investigation includes chemical contamination of soil, debris, surface water, groundwater, underground tanks, pipelines, ordnance and explosives. A similar investigation to determine the nature and extent of radiological contamination is being conducted on portions of the former LOOW under the FUSRAP programs Niagara Falls Storage Site project. The DERP-FUDS project at the LOOW is presently in the Remedial Investigation (RI) phase. In 2006, USACE Buffalo District is continuing efforts to locate and characterize underground utility pipelines from former defense plants on the site, to develop its project website, to update and modernize its Administrative Record File, and to develop its ongoing community relations and community outreach activities. To learn more about what the USACE has already accomplished during its environmental investigation at the LOOW you may research our Administrative Record File. The USACE publishes its technical products, decision documents, and other supporting documents for the public in the Administrative Record File. The Administrative Record File for the LOOW site is available at the Lewiston Public Library and the Youngstown Public Library. An inventory of documents included in the ARF is provided in the Documents Section below. We are working to expand this website to include educational materials on the federal environmental cleanup process, fact sheets, technical reports, and other materials to help website visitors understand our remedial strategy and progress at the former LOOW.
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News Releases
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Photos No photos available at this time. | |||||||||||||||
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Documents Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on LOOW and NFSS (Jul 2008) Fact Sheets: LOOW Military Munitions Archive Search Report (Dec 2008) LOOW Phase IV Remedial Investigation (Jul 2008) LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Project (Jul 2008) LOOW Site Fact Sheet (Sep 2003) LOOW Aerial Photography Fact Sheet (Oct 2002) LOOW Waste Water Treatment Plant Fact Sheet (Sep 2002) LOOW Background Sampling Fact Sheet (Aug 2001) LOOW Ground Scar Sampling Fact Sheet (Jun 2001) Investigation Reports: History of the Northeast Chemical Warfare Depot (Jan 2008) Community Involvement: DOD Restoration Advisory Board Rule Handbook (Mar 2007) Scopes of Work / Work Plans LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Work Plans (Sep 2008) LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Scope of Work (Jun 2008) LOOW Phase IV Remedial Investigation Scope of Work (Jun 2008) (All document files are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Personal information is redacted from online electronic versions of documents.) | |||||||||||||||
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Links DERP-FUDS Information: Project Partners: | |||||||||||||||
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