Controlled Demolition Underway at Former Hazardous Waste Management Facility

Cleanup is underway this summer (2003) at the former hazardous waste management facility through a controlled demolition of several building structures. Located in the eastern portion of Brookhaven National Laboratory, workers are taking down buildings piece by piece to preclude dust production or other unnecessary exposure.  The demolition marks a new phase of the cleanup project that began with a 1996 remedial investigation that identified the area as having unacceptable levels of Cesium-137 and Strontium-90, particularly in the soils. Isolated areas also contain elevated levels of mercury.

The first building to be taken apart was Building 483, a lean-to structure that once served as a storage location at the facility. This building was able to be re-used at the Collider Accelerator division. The debris from the demolition of the remaining buildings is being trucked to the rail spur adjacent to East Princeton Avenue by the old Landfill area where it will be placed in rail cars for offsite disposal at a licensed facility.

fhwmf1.jpg (26531 bytes) Workers take apart Building 483 of the former hazardous waste management facility. Building 483 once served as the Laboratory’s storage facility of drummed waste to be shipped offsite.

After the buildings and foundations (as required) are removed, approximately 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be excavated from an area of about 13 acres. In the fall, a new rail spur will be constructed at the former hazardous waste management facility to support transport of the soils. Excavation of the soils is scheduled for the spring of 2004.  

The former Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) was used from the 1940s to 1997 for processing, treating, and storing Brookhaven's radioactive and hazardous wastes before transport and off-site disposal. As a result of releases during operations at the facility, soil and building foundations in this area became contaminated and must now be cleaned up. 

HWMF Wetland 

Cleanup at the former hazardous waste management facility includes a shallow, seasonally-ponded wetland, approximately three-quarters of an acre in size, located at the western end of the HWMF. As a result of runoff from the facility, the wetland has been contaminated by releases occurring within the HWMF. Soil in this area contains elevated levels of cesium-137.
fhwmf2.jpg (53517 bytes) Cleanup of the ponded area is scheduled for the summer of 2004

This wetland is a breeding ground of a state-endangered species, the tiger salamander. The Laboratory will conduct excavation and restoration activities in this area very carefully in order to minimize the impact to the tiger salamander. Soil excavation will take place in the dry season, after all adult and sub-adult tiger salamanders have left the wetland area.

The work being conducted at the former hazardous waste management facility is consistent with the Record of Decision agreed to by the Department of Energy, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  All work in this area is expected be completed by the middle of 2005.