DOE NEWS
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
SCOTT MALLETTE (DOE) 516/344-5345
PETER GENZER (BNL) 516/344-3174
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 1999
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its Brookhaven National
Laboratory today began operating the first of several groundwater
treatment systems proposed to treat chemical contamination located
beyond the Laboratory's boundaries.
Located in an industrial park just south of the site and the Long
Island Expressway, the system addresses the off-site portions
of a groundwater "plume," or area of chemical contamination.
The Laboratory now has five treatment systems (four on-site) working
24 hours a day to clean area groundwater. This newest system,
a $3-million construction project, was partially funded with a
$1.5-million grant from DOE's Office of Science and Technology
in the Office of Environmental Management. The grant was established
to promote the use of new and innovative technologies in site
cleanups across the United States. The remaining $1.5 million
was funded by DOE's environmental restoration program.
The cleanup system employs a technology known as "in-well
air stripping," which works by mixing air with contaminated
groundwater. This closed-loop system essentially prevents air
emissions, and the contaminated water is treated below ground
without ever reaching the surface. The mixing process "strips,"
or removes, volatile organic compounds (for example, solvents
like carbon tetrachloride) from the water. The clean water exits
the well and recirculates, and the air carries the volatile organic
compounds, now in gaseous form, upward within the well to the
surface. The air is piped out of the well and sent through a carbon
filter to remove the contaminants. The clean air is then returned
to the well and the cycle repeats.
In-well air stripping has proven successful at several sites across
the country, including the Savannah River Site in South Carolina,
Edwards Air Force Base in California, and the Massachusetts Military
Reservation.
This off-site system, located in an industrial park, consists
of seven in-well air stripping wells, each treating approximately
60 gallons per minute. The system is designed to operate for eight
to 10 years.
This cleanup action encompasses a portion of a groundwater plume
that extends from the central, developed section of the Brookhaven
site into an industrial park just south of the Laboratory's southern
boundary. The off-site portion of this plume is comprised primarily
of carbon tetrachloride, a solvent once widely used at the Lab
and in industry for degreasing equipment. This groundwater treatment
system, like those operating on the Brookhaven site, is intended
to clean up contaminants and minimize further migration of contaminants.
Carbon tetrachloride, which was commonly used as a dry-cleaning
chemical, has been detected in on- and off-site monitoring wells
at depths of 180-300 feet below land surface. Concentrations as
high as 5,100 parts per billion (ppb) have been detected. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York State
drinking water standard for carbon tetrachloride is 5 ppb. A separate
cleanup system, constructed in 1997, is currently addressing the
portion of the plume within the Brookhaven Lab property.
Although a 1995-96 residential well sampling program in this area
showed no contamination from Brookhaven above drinking water standards,
DOE has connected more than 1,500 area homes and businesses to
the public water supply as a precautionary measure.
The seven treatment wells, air stripping systems and associated
performance monitoring wells were installed by Delta Well and
Pump of Bohemia, NY. The treatment building and associated equipment
were constructed and installed by Larsen and Son Construction
of Smithtown, NY.
Environmental remediation at BNL is being conducted under the
requirements of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, commonly known as the
Superfund law. BNL is on EPA's Superfund list primarily due to
past operations that have resulted in soil and groundwater contamination.
Remediation work is conducted under the framework of an interagency
agreement among the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, EPA and DOE. DOE has jurisdiction over BNL and pays
for all cleanup costs.