Marine Corps Air-station El Toro

Underground Storage Tanks

Location: Irvine, CA
Application: AERLITE-iX cellular concrete

Background Information

Marine Corps air stations house a plethora of underground storage tanks (UST) that contain massive quantities of jet propulsion fuel. When those tanks are emptied and decommissioned, they must be completely filled with an inert material, according to stringent health and environmental standards. In early 2016, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, headquartered in Irvine, California, had five empty USTs that needed to be decommissioned in a short period of time.

Project Details

Cell-Crete Corporation was subcontracted to complete the decommissioning of the USTs, each of which had contained 567,000 gallons of fuel and were 88 feet in diameter and 13 feet in height. The material used to fill the USTs had to be high in compressive strength and enviornmentally friendly, and Cell-Crete chose to use Aerix Industries Aerlite-iX non-pervious cellular concrete. The installation team pumped 15,000 cubic yards of Aerlite-iX into the USTs by placing the cellular concrete in 30” lifts concurrently in all five tanks, drastically decreasing the project’s installation timeline. Rapid installation was essential to this project, as the work had to be completed at a short period of time to ensure that contruction did not interfere with the California Gnat Catcher breeding season.

Aerix Added Value

Because Aerix’s Aerlite-iX is easy to install and highly flowable and pumpable, it provided the ideal solution for this time-sensitive project. In addition to flexibility, Aerlite-iX also provided superior performance without compromising the structure of the USTs. “Aerlite-iX at 27 pcf had an very impressive compressive strength even at seven days,” said Diego Villegas, at Cell-Crete. The use of Aerlite-iX enabled the project to be completed within six days while following the sensitive environmental requirements of the area and enabling the Marine Corps to remain in compliance with the Orange County Health Care Agency.