Environmental Report the Use of Explosives by the Us Antarctic

ORNLA'M-13031 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT THE USE OF EXPLOSIVES BY THE U.S. ANTARCTIC PROGRAM J. T. Ensminger T. J. BIasing P 1 This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Techni- cal Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; prices available from (615) 576-8401, FTS 626-8401. Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, com- pleteness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process dis- closed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily consti- tute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. ORNLITM- 1303 1 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT THE USE OF EXPLOSIVES BY THE U.S. ANTARCTIC PROGRAM J. T. Ensminger T. J. Blasing Energy Division Environmental Analysis and Assessment Section June 1995 Prepared for the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Washington, D .C . by the OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 managed by LOCKHEED MARTIN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC. for the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY under Contract No. DE-AC05-MOR21400 TABLE OF CONTENTS ... LIST OF FIGURES ................................................. 111 ... LISTOFTABLES .................................................. 111 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................... 1 2 . PAST AND CURRENT USES OF EXPLOSIVES ........................... 2 2.1 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ....................................... 4 2.1.1 Seismic Research ........................................ 6 2.1.2 Creating Holes in Sea Ice ................................... 7 2.1.3 Geologic Research ....................................... 8 2.2 CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE ............................ 9 2.2.1 Fill Material Production ................................... 10 2.2.2 Ice Cornice Removal ..................................... 10 2.2.3 Rock Removal for Construction .............................. 11 2.3 EXPLOSIVES MANAGEMENT AND SAFETY ....................... 11 2.3.1 Explosives Storage ...................................... 12 2.3.2 Explosives Transport .................................... 14 3 . ANTARCTICENVIRONMENT ..................................... 14 3.1 GEOLOGY AND SOILS ....................................... 14 3.2 INLAND WATER RESOURCES ................................. 17 3.3 BIOTA .................................................. 17 3.3.1 Terrestrial Biota ....................................... 17 3.3.2 Aquatic Biota ......................................... 18 3.3.3 Marine Biota .......................................... 18 3.4 CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY ................................. 19 4 . ENVIRONMENTALCONSEQUENCES ................................ 20 4.1 GEOLOGY. SOILS AND ICE ................................... 20 4.2 INLAND WATER RESOURCES ................................. 22 4.3 BIOTA .................................................. 22 4.3.1 Terrestrial Biota ....................................... 22 4.3.2 Aquatic Biota ......................................... 23 4.3.3 Marine Biota .......................................... 23 4.4 AIRQUALITY ............................................. 28 4.5 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ..................................... 31 5 . ALTERNATIVES TO THE USE OF EXPLOSIVES ......................... 32 5.1 CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE ............................... 32 5.2 RESEARCH ................................................ 33 6 . CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 34 7 . LITERATURECITED ........................................... 36 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Pag;e 1 Major features and location of USAP stations on the Antarctic continent ............ 3 2 Direction of ice movement on the Antarctic continent ....................... 15 LIST OF TABLES 1 Approximate explosives use for three working seasons in kg/lb ................. 4 2 Estimated seismic research explosive usage for 1993-94 ...................... 7 3 Explosives inventory for 1993-94 ................................... 13 4 Underwater-blast criteria for mammals diving beneath the water surface ........... 25 5 Underwater-blast criteria for birds diving beneath the water surface ............. 25 6 Estimated annual air pollutant emissions at McMurdo Station .................. 29 iii 17te Use of fidosives by the U.S. Antarctic Program 1. INTRODUCTION This environmental report on the use of explosives in Antarctica has been prepared by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist principal investigators and others in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Protocol). Implementing regulations for NEPA are found at 40 CFR 1500-1508. Environmental protection under the Antarctic Treaty is addressed in the Protocol, which was adopted by 26 countries in 1991. In the United States, responsibility for compliance with these requirements rests with the NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP), which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). NEPA and its implementing regulations require that federal agencies consider the effects of major actions on the human environment before deciding to act. The vehicle for this consideration is an environmental analysis, either an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS), depending on the expected significance of the effects. A programmatic EIS on the impacts of the USAP was published in 1980. A supplemental EIS addressing the safety, environment and health initiative undertaken by USAP was published in 1991. A new draft programmatic EIS is under preparation and will be published in mid-1995. The Protocol designates Antarctica as “a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science” (Article 2), and identifies principles for protection of the antarctic environment (Article 3). In considering protection of the antarctic environment, the Protocol recognizes its wilderness and aesthetic values as well as its value as an area for the conduct of scientific research. Under Article 3 of the Protocol, environmental protection requires that activities in the Antarctic Treaty area be planned and conducted so as to limit adverse impacts on the antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems. Environmental analysis is required, with an initial environmental evaluation (IEE) and comprehensive environmental evaluation (CEE) being essentially equivalent to the EA and EIS, respectively. Annex Il of the Protocol prohibits taking’ of or harmful interference*with ‘‘Take” or “taking” means to kill, injure, capture, handle, or molest a native mammal or bird or to remove or damage such quantities of native plants that their local distribution or abundance would be significantly affected. ’HarmfUl interference is a prohibition not contained in the Antarctic Conservation Act, and includes activities that disturb concentrations of birds and seals, such as flying or landing helicopters, and operating vehicles in close proximity. Harmful interference also generally includes “any activity that results in the significant adverse modification of habitats of any species or population of native mammal, bud, plant, or invertebrate.” Page 1 The Use of Explosives by the US. Antarctic Program antarctic fauna and flora except in accordance with a permit. Because most of Antarctica is essentially pristine, application of these principles means that disturbance which might be considered negligible elsewhere could be significant in Antarctica. The continent of Antarctica (Fig. 1) includes an area of about 14.3 million km’ (5.5 million miles’) and is completely surrounded by the southern oceans. About 98% of the land area is covered by ice and snow. Glacial ice of the continent forms ice shelves hundreds of meters thick in place, extending over the ocean. The USAP maintains three year-round stations on the continent to support scientific research: McMurdo Station on Ross Island, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station near the geographic south pole on the polar plateau, and Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula (Fig. 1). Byrd Station in West Antarctica is also occupied intermittently during the austral summer. McMurdo Station is the major logistic support base for the South Pole Station and numerous scientific field camps on the continent during each austral summer. The United States has maintained a presence and performed research in Antarctica since 1957. The operations, which were originally overseen by the U.S. Navy, are now managed by NSF. Support is provided to the USAP by the Naval Support Force Antarctica (NSFA) and a civilian contractor, Antarctic Support Associates

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