New Haven Depot (New Haven, Indiana)

USA / Indiana / New Haven / New Haven, Indiana
 abandoned / shut down, closed / former military
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Previously known as the Casad Depot, this is a 268-acre federally-owned complex. Entrance to the depot was controlled by security guards and an 8-foot high fence topped with three-stranded barbed wire. As of 2011, DLA listed the facility as an unstaffed facility belonging to DLA Strategic Materials (DLA's Defense National Stockpile Center became DLA Strategic Materials in 2010). This means that only security staff would be on site.

By the end of the 1990s, there were 29 different types of materials stored at the New Haven Depot, as part of the DLA's Defense National Stockpile Center. These included chrome ore, lead, tin, copper, zinc, nickel, graphite, rubber, and mercury. By 2003, this had been reduced to 27 different types of materials. Mercury remained among the materials stored at the site. There were approximately 557 metric tons (614 tons) of mercury stored in 16,151 steel flasks. These flasks were about the size of a 3-liter soda bottle and held 76 pounds of mercury.

By April 2003, the flasks stored at the New Haven Depot had been over-packed. The mercury over-packing process consisted of visual inspection, vacuuming, and wiping the exteriors of flasks not previously placed in plastic bags. The flasks were placed in 30-gallon drums constructed of 16-gauge carbon steel, lined with an epoxy-phenolic coating. A 6-mil plastic liner was inserted into each drum and an absorbent mat was placed in the bottom of the liner. This also served as cushioning. Six flasks were placed in each drum, with the flasks separated by a cardboard divider for additional cushioning. The flasks and dividers were sealed in plastic, and then each drum was bolted shut. A rubber gasket ensured that the bolted drums were both airtight and liquid-tight.

An Environmental Impact Statement was subsequently completed for the continued storage of the mercury. In 2006, following the completion of the EIS, DLA Strategic Materials selected Hawthorne Army Depot in Hawthorne, Nevada for consolidated mercury storage. Hawthorne Army Depot, located in Mineral County, was a government-owned, contractor-operated facility, then controlled by the US Army Joint Munitions Command.

In July 2010, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection approved the transfer of the elemental mercury to the Hawthorne Army Depot. The shipments began in August 2010 and were completed in March 2011. The US Government expected at that time that it would sell and vacate the facility by October 2011, and that it would then conduct a survey of the site's environmental status. During the period from March to October 2011, DLA would investigate and remediate any issues resulting from the site's operation.
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Coordinates:   41°4'32"N   84°56'28"W

Comments

  • An isolated section of the trackage and grounds are used by the Fort Wayne Historical Railroad Society. Steam engine 765 resides here between runs
This article was last modified 10 years ago