Title  : Damage to McMurdo ice pier
Type   : Antarctic EAM
NSF Org: OD / OPP
Date   : July 14, 1993
File   : opp93105


                            NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
                               OFFICE OF POLAR PROGRAMS
                                    ENVIRONMENT SECTION
                                           202/357-7766

MEMORANDUM

   Date:  July 14, 1993

   From:  Acting Environmental Officer

Subject:  Damage to McMurdo Ice Pier

     To:  File S.7 (Environment)
          Office Director, Polar Programs
          Health and Safety Officer
          Manager, Polar Operations
          Field Projects Manager
          Head, Safety, Environment and Health
          Implementation Team
          Facilities Engineering Projects Manager
          Associate Section Manager-USN/DOD

    Refs: Initial Environmental Evaluation for the
          Proposed Replacement, Operation, and
          Decommissioning of Ice Wharves at McMurdo
          Station, Antarctica

          Ice Wharf Sampling and Analysis Plan,
          January 8, 1993 (revised February 11, 1993)

The ice wharf in McMurdo is used primarily for docking
a tanker that unloads fuel in late January and a cargo
ship that unloads supplies and loads materials for
retrograde to the United States or New Zealand.  The
ice breaker that arrives in early January and research
vessels that may visit McMurdo also use the ice wharf.
Before the wharf is used, a 15 to 20 cm layer of 2 cm
in diameter or smaller gravel (friable pumice), removed
from a borrow area, is applied to cover the ice wharf's
surface.  At the end of the austral summer, the earth-
fill material is supposed to be removed and stored for
reuse the following season. Use of the wharf may result
in spills of fuel, antifreeze, oil, or hydraulic fluids
which are absorbed by the earth-fill material.  Any
noticeable spills are cleaned up and placed in drums
for retrograde.

In January, 1993, an ice wharf sampling and analysis
for the sampling of earth-fill materials was provided
by NSF to Naval Support Force Antarctica (NSFA). Before
removal of the earth-fill material and after ship
offload is completed,  NSFA is required to collect
twenty 10.0-gram samples of the surface materials from
random locations on the wharf.  The samples were
analyzed to determine whether the earth-fill material
was contaminated with hydrocarbons.  Analyses of earth-
fill samples were completed on February 25, 1993 in the
Crary Science and Engineering Center by Antarctic
Support Associates' (ASA) Analytical Technician. One
sample of earth-fill contained an excess (a
concentration of 70 mg/kg which is significantly higher
than the reporting limit of 10 mg/kg) of hydrocarbons.
On February 18, 1993, OPP's Environmental Officer
directed NSFA to collect contaminated removable earth-
fill cover in appropriate containers for holding and
ultimate retrograde from Antarctica during the
1993-1994 season.  He also asked that "in future ice
wharf operations, all fuel drums be underlain with
secondary containment to facilitate capture of spills
and that the remainder of the uncontaminated, removable
earth-fill material on the wharf be removed for staging
and reuse during the 1993-1994 season."  The
contaminated earth-fill was removed and placed in 55-
gallon drums, but the un-contaminated, removable earth
fill material was not removed because of turbulent
conditions described below.  On February 15, 1993, a
series of storms struck McMurdo. The ice pier cracked
laterally near the midpoint from heavy ocean swells
which precluded vehicles from travelling onto the
wharf.  A number restraining of cables were placed on
the surface to minimize the relative motion of the
pieces.

On February 21, the pier cracked laterally near the
Bailey bridge access point in heavy swells and high
winds.  The ice pier was criss-crossed with numerous
restraining cables; the individual pieces were moving
several feet with respect to each other, making heavy
equipment access unsafe and impossible.  In the
following week, a number of storms pushed ice, slush
and seawater onto the pier, inundating approximately
one-half of the pier surface.  On the seaward edge of
the pier, the ice and slush pile was three to six feet
high, and froze almost immediately. A storm in early
March blew more seawater over the front of and onto the
pier.  Movement on the pier from continued winds,
currents and swells required removal of the Bailey
bridge before it was damaged. The seawater on the pier
froze the earth-fill in place.  In addition, it was not
possible to remove two of the nine bollards and the
three power poles composed of untreated wood because
the trenchers were inoperable.  No access to the was
pier possible until adequate sea ice formed to allow
construction of the snow bridge.

A D-8 bulldozer with a ripper could be used to remove
the earth-material from the ice, but this would produce
additional damage to the surface of the pier and add
significantly to the construction maintenance schedule.
Flooding operations are scheduled to begin to allow the
wharf to attain the necessary thickness for receiving
ships by next January. Failure to bring the pier to the
normally prescribed thickness could severely constrain
logistical capabilities in the 1993-1994 season.

Finding

The Acting Environmental Officer, after reviewing the
information presented above, believes that it was not
possible to remove the earth-fill, bollards, and
untreated wooden utility poles from the ice wharf in
February, 1993.  The severe storm conditions in McMurdo
in February and March and cracked wharf precluded NSFA
from carrying out its routine assignments. Cables will
be placed through the poles and attached with steel
weights so that if the pier is decommissioned, the
weighted poles will sink and the poles will not be a
hazard to navigation.  The existence of the earth-fill,
bollards, and poles in the wharf will be reported to
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when
application for the Ocean Dumping Permit is resumed.

                                   Jane Dionne