99-78
September 2, 1999

Brookhaven Lab Releases 1998 Environmental Report

UPTON, NY - The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has published its Site Environmental Report for the year 1998. The document can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.esh.bnl.gov/esd/1998ser.htm.

The Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize Brookhaven's environmental data, describe environmental management performance and highlight major environmental programs and efforts. The reports help identify long-term trends associated with Laboratory activities, trends that have indicated a steady reduction of Brookhaven releases to the environment. This effort to reduce releases is a major commitment of the Laboratory.

Brookhaven maintains a comprehensive environmental monitoring program to ensure protection of human health and the environment. This program monitors potential pathways of exposure, measures potential environmental impacts from Laboratory operations, and provides data to evaluate compliance with applicable regulatory and permit limits. Environmental program highlights from 1998 include the following:

• In 1998, the maximum credible radiation dose to the public due to Laboratory air emissions was 0.2 millirem (mrem), or less than 0.1 percent of the average natural background level of radiation. This dose is calculated for a hypothetical individual residing at the Laboratory boundary 24 hours a day for the entire year, and is 1/50th of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) standard of 10 mrem for the air pathway. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose limit for the public from all man-made exposure pathways is 100 mrem per year.

• Brookhaven strengthened its already-aggressive pollution prevention program, a key element of Laboratory programs aimed at environmental protection. Potential sources of pollution to air, water and land are extensively evaluated and reduced or eliminated so they do not cause environmental problems. Brookhaven has continued to see significant reductions in waste generated by routine operations. From 1993-1998, hazardous waste generation declined by 72 percent, mixed waste by 79 percent and radioactive waste by 51 percent. By 1998, three of the Lab's four boilers had been converted to use natural gas instead of oil. As a result, emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and total suspended particulates declined by 88 percent (66.2 tons), 10 percent (8.5 tons) and 80 percent (11 tons), respectively, from totals recorded in 1997. Other projects initiated in 1998 included the installation of ozone water treatment systems to replace chemical processes, the replacement of mercury-filled instrumentation and the installation of a new evaporation system for non-hazardous industrial wastewater. Installation of new air-cooling systems reduced Brookhaven's water usage by 200 million gallons in 1998.

• Brookhaven's wildlife management program, designed to protect and monitor flora, fauna and their habitats, was improved in 1998. Monitoring showed that farm-grown vegetation remains unaffected by Laboratory activities. Deer and fish on and near the site continue to show slightly elevated levels of Brookhaven-related radionuclides. Calculated maximum credible doses due to fish and deer consumption were 0.26 mrem and 7 mrem, respectively. The dose due to deer consumption is based on a generous consumption estimate of 63 pounds per person.

• The Laboratory developed and began implementing an enhanced environmental management system to ensure that it operates in an environmentally responsible manner that protects the ecosystem and human health. Compliance, pollution prevention, waste minimization and conservation of resources are being integrated into the planning, decision-making, and implementation phases of all site activities.

• Areas of the Brookhaven site where past activities have caused groundwater, soil and sediment contamination continued to undergo monitoring and cleanup in 1998 under the environmental restoration program. Environmental restoration at Brookhaven is conducted in cooperation with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the EPA and DOE. In 1998, the Laboratory's four groundwater remediation systems extracted chemical contamination from more than 700 million gallons of water.

• In 1998, Brookhaven's sewage treatment plant (a discharge point regulated by NYSDEC) complied with state regulations for liquid discharges in greater than 99 percent of samples taken. Compliance exceptions occurred for iron (four times), biological oxygen demand removal (once) and pH levels (once). While iron discharges exceeded the permitted level, the concentrations were comparable with typical levels of iron seen in the Peconic River upstream of the discharge point. Tritium concentrations in the sewage treatment plant discharge were at their lowest levels since routine monitoring began in 1966, averaging less than three percent of the New York State and EPA drinking water standard.

Brookhaven has published site environmental reports each year from 1962-1966 and 1971-1998. A summary report for 1967-1970 is also available. Data summarized in the 1998 report were obtained through testing performed by Brookhaven or independent laboratories, the SCDHS, the New York State Department of Health and NYSDEC. Paper copies of the report will be available by October 1. To obtain copies of the report or a summary booklet, call 516-344-2345 or visit a library near Brookhaven. The summary booklet will also available on the Brookhaven web site at http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/ser98summary.pdf.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory creates and operates major facilities available to university, industrial and government personnel for basic and applied research in the physical, biomedical and environmental sciences, and in selected energy technologies. The Laboratory is operated by Brookhaven Science Associates, a not-for-profit research management company, under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.