Timeline of Brookhaven's Environmental History
Select a decade top see articles.
- 1960s
First "Site Environmental Report" Released
May 1963
High Flux Beam Reactor Began Operation
October 1965
BNL Upgrades Sewage Treatment Plant
1967
Low-Mass Criticality Facility Decommissioned
1967
Use of Reclamation Facility Concrete Decontamination Pad Halted
1969
National Environmental Policy Act
1969
BGRR Deactivated
September 1969
- 1970s
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970
1970
Environmental Protection Agency Established
April 1970
BNL Lands Transferred to New York State
November 1971
Clean Water Act Amendments
1972
Endangered Species Act
1973
Safe Drinking Water Act
1974
Energy Reorganization Act
January 1974
BNL Complies with NPDES
January 1974
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
1976
Toxic Substances Control Act
1976
1977 Oil / Solvent Spills
November 1977
Sole Source Aquifer Designation Granted
June 1978
- 1980s
Congress Passes Superfund Act
1980
BNL Placed On Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site List
1980
Aerial Radioactive Surveys Performed
1980
Long Island Landfill Law Enacted
1983
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Amended
1984
Suffolk County Task Force Formed
1985
Spray Aeration System to Treat HWMF Groundwater
1985
Contamination Found at Old Firehouse
1985
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Amended
1986
Nuclear Waste Management Facilty Pipe Leaks
1986
Potential Dump Site Inventory
June 1986
Environmental Survey Conducted
April 1987
Environmental Program Audit
August 1987
BNL to Comply With SC Sanitary Codes
September 1987
Environmental Management Plan Submitted to DOE
1988
Three-Year Underground Storage Tank Upgrade Program
1988
Suffolk County Inspects Facilities
January 1988
Bubble Chamber Spill Area
July 1989
Former Leaching Pit Cleanup
November 1989
BNL Placed On Superfund List
November 1989
- 1990s
Interagency Agreement Negotiated
1990
Environmental Restoration Group Created
1990
Tiger Team Assessment
March 1990
550-gallon Gasoline Tank Discovered
May 1990
Federal Facility Compliance Act Adopted
October 1990
Pollution Prevention Act Leads to P2 Program
November 1990
Trichloroethylene Spill Discovered
1992
Ethylene Dibromide Found in Groundwater
1992
Contaminated Soil Found
January 1992
Superfund Interagency Agreement Signed
February 1992
Sewage Treatment Plant Multi-phased Project Begins
January 1993
Mercury Discovered in Storm Drain
May 1993
BNL Historical Site Review Is Completed
July 1993
Underground Storage Tank Removed
October 1993
Central Steam Facility Soil Excavated
1994
Reclamation Facility Underground Storage Tanks Removed
1994
Low Mass Criticality Facility Dismantled
1994
Area Adjacent to Building 526
1994
Sitewide Biological Inventory Conducted
December 1994
AGS Storage Yards
1995
Nuclear Waste Management Facility Tanks Pumped Out
1995
Remedial Investigations Begin at Sewage Treatment Plant
1995
"D" Tanks Removal Completed
1995
Sludge Removed From Imhoff Tanks
1995
Cesspool Closure Program Begins
July 1995
Current Landfill Capped
November 1995
Central Steam Facility Soils Removed
1996
Former Landfill Capped
1996
Groundwater Contamination Found In Process Wells
1996
First Edition of BNL Newsletter Published
1996
Safe Drinking Water Act Amended
1996
Community Forms Work Group
January 1996
Public Water Hookups Offered
January 1996
Operable Unit IV Record of Decision
March 1996
BNL Creates Environmental Protection Office
May 1996
In-situ Vitrification Tested at Chemical Pits
June 1996
Public Water Hookups Extended to Manorville
September 1996
OU I South Boundary GW Treatment System Begins Operation
December 1996
BNL Finds Tritium in Groundwater South of HFBR
January 1997
Trichloroethane Found in Sanitary Lines
April 1997
Site-wide Facilities Review Begins
April 1997
Integrated Safety Management Evaluation Completed
April 1997
Ad Hoc Committee Report Released
April 1997
EPA Compliance Audit Begins
May 1997
HFBR Pump-and-Treat System Begins Operating
May 1997
DOE Terminates Contract With AUI
May 1997
Removal of HFBR Spent Fuel Elements
May 1997
Excavation of Chemical Pits Begins
June 1997
OU III South Boundary GW Treatment System Begins Operating
June 1997
DOE's Brookhaven Executive Roundtable Meets
August 1997
Interim Report for Facilities Review Findings Released
September 1997
ATSDR Public Health Consultation on BNL Released
October 1997
Capping of Interim Landfill Completed
October 1997
Nuclear Waste Management Facility Canal Drained
October 1997
OU IV Air Sparging/Soil Vapor Treatment System Constructed
November 1997
BNL Considers Forming Site-Specific Advisory Board
November 1997
Environmental Impact Statement To Be Prepared for HFBR
November 1997
HFBR Spent Fuel Pool Pumped Out
December 1997
New Waste Management Facility Opens
December 1997
Removal of Contaminated Water in BGRR Ducts
December 1997
BSA Assumes Full Responsibility for BNL
March 1998
Agreement Sets Stage for Environmental Management Reforms
March 1998
First Off-site Groundwater Cleanup System Announced
March 1998
Soil Contamination Found At Paint Shop
September 1998
BNL's Community Advisory Council Formed
September 1998
Tritium Detected Downgradient of BLIP
December 1998
BNL Adopts New Environmental Management System
December 1998
Upgrades Made to HFBR Systems
1999
Sludge Removed From WCF Underground Storage Tanks
1999
LINAC Beam Dump
1999
Operable Unit II/VII
February 1999
Community Oversight Committee Formed By Suffolk County
March 1999
EPA Awards Technical Assistance Grant
May 1999
Industrial Park GW Treatment System Begins Operating
September 1999
Operable Unit I Record of Decision
September 1999
Information Sessions Held on Peconic River Contamination
October 1999
Carbon Tet GW Treatment System Begins Operating
October 1999
DOE Permanently Closes Reactor
November 1999
Tritium Discovered in GW Downgradient of g-2 Experiment
November 1999
BGRR Cooling Fans Removed
November 1999
- 2000s
Actions Undertaken to Prepare HFBR for Decommissioning
2000
Potable/Supply Wells
2000
Community Advisory Council Asks For Accelerated Cleanup
January 2000
PCB-Contaminated Soil Removed From Bldg. 96
February 2000
Plan for STP and Peconic River Cleanup Released
February 2000
BGRR Pile Fan Sump Removed
March 2000
Debris Pile Fire
March 2000
DOE Hands Over HFBR to Office of Environmental Management
April 2000
Contaminated Landscaping Soils Addressed
May 2000
BGRR Working Group Formed
June 2000
Operable Unit III Record of Decision
June 2000
CAC Sponsors Low-Level Radiation Debate
June 2000
BGRR Above-ground Concrete Air Duct Removal
July 2000
Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor is Shutdown
August 2000
HFBR Cooling Towers Removed
October 2000
HFBR Spent Fuel Pool Liner Installation Completed
October 2000
Upton Ecological and Research Reserve Created
November 2000
Peconic River Cleanup Alternatives Workshop Held
December 2000
BGRR Lower Canal and Water Treatment House Removal
2001
Bldg. 96 Source Control GW Treatment System Begins Operating
February 2001
Operable Unit VI Record of Decision
March 2001
Roundtables Held on Decision Process for Peconic River Cleanup
October 2001
Middle Road Pump-and-Treat System Begins Operation
October 2001
Peconic River Working Group Formed
December 2001
Operable Unit V, STP, Record of Decision
January 2002
Peconic River Sediment Trap Constructed
March 2002
Reclamation Facility Sump and Outfall Excavated
March 2002
Western South Boundary GW Treatment System Begins Operating
September 2002
Contaminated Sludge Removed From Manholes
October 2002
HFBR Experimental Equipment Removed
2003
Chemical/Animal Holes GW Treatment System Begins Operating
February 2003
Environmental and Waste Management Divisions Merge
March 2003
Ash Pits Capped
June 2003
FHWMF Above-grade Structures Removed
June 2003
Construction Begins On Five Off-site GW Treatment Systems
June 2003
Meadow Marsh Cleanup Begins
August 2003
Operable Unit IV Five-Year Review Released
September 2003
Contaminated Equipment Removed
September 2003
New Peconic River Cleanup Plan Released for Comment
September 2003
BGRR Coolers and Filters Removal
October 2003
Ecological Research Foundation Created
November 2003
BNL Adopts ESS&H Policy
2004
BGRR Below-Ground Primary Liner Cleanup
February 2004
Upton Ecological and Research Reserve Receives EPA Award
April 2004
Fleet Maintenance Workshop Held
April 2004
Peconic River Cleanup Begins
April 2004
Long-Term Response Action Group To Monitor Cleanup
May 2004
BNL Accepted Into EPA Performance Track Program
August 2004
World War I Incinerator Demolished
September 2004
Waste Concentration Facility USTs Removed
September 2004
Operable Unit V, Peconic River, Record of Decision
January 2005
BGRR/WCF GW Treatment System Begins Operating
January 2005
BGRR Fuel Canal and Deep Soils Removal
February 2005
BGRR Record of Decision
March 2005
Demolition of the BGRR Instrument House
May 2005
OU III Explanation of Significant Differences
May 2005
Public Health Assessment Released by ATSDR
September 2005
Banded Sunfish Returned to Peconic River
September 2005
High-Priority Superfund Projects Completed
October 2005
Cold Neutron Facility Decontaminated
2006
First Site-Wide Five Year Review Is Completed
July 2006
Lead-Contaminated Soil Removed at Central Steam Facility
September 2006
Soil Beneath Water Tower Removed
September 2006
g-2, BLIP, and USTs Record of Decision
May 2007
Waste Loading Area To Be Cleaned Up
October 2007
Last Single-Walled UST Removed
April 2008
BNL Buildings Achieve LEED Certification
September 2008
HFBR Control Rod Blades Removed
February 2009
Cleanup to be Accelerated by Recovery Act Funding
March 2009
High Flux Beam Reactor Record of Decision
April 2009
Waste Concentration Facility Transfer Lines Removed
July 2009
OU III ESD for Building 96
July 2009
- 2010s
BGRR Graphite Removal Began
February 2010
Major Milestone in BGRR Cleanup Reached
June 2010
Second Site-wide Five-Year Review Underway
July 2010
HFBR Goes Into 65-Year Storage
August 2010
Lab to Host 200-Acre Solar Farm
September 2010
Fanhouse Demolition Completed
September 2010
BGRR Decommissioning Continues
October 2010
Peconic River Restoration and Sediment Trap Removal Completed
January 2011
New Wells Added to BGRR/WCF Treatment System
April 2011
Reactor Stack Expected to Remain in Place
June 2011
ATSDR Final Public Health Assessment Released
August 2011
BGRR Bioshield Removal Completed
May 2012
BGRR ESD
July 2012
New OU III South Boundary Well
July 2012
OU III Freon-11 ESD
August 2012
- 2070s