Cleanup at BNL: Equal parts expertise and patience key to restoration

Brookhaven National Laboratory is on the federal roster of sites considered to be priority for cleanup under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly referred to as the Superfund law.

The Laboratory's Environmental Restoration Division is responsible for the short-term cleanup actions to remove known sources of contamination, as well as for long-term investigation and cleanup of "areas of concern" - that is, areas where the nature, magnitude and extent of contamination are unknown.

The Laboratory has 28 areas of concern and each are being addressed by the Environmental Restoration Division. So far, several of the most critical areas have been cleaned-up, others are in the remediation study phase, and still others are in the investigation phase.

Cleanups Completed:

• To eliminate potential contamination threats to groundwater, six underground and three aboveground storage tanks have been removed and disposed of off-site. Twenty-one cesspools and one septic tank have been removed; disposal options are being investigated. Of those cesspools, six have been back-filled and 15 are nearly ready for backfilling.
• About 1,400 tons of soil contaminated by a 1977 oil/solvent spill were excavated and properly disposed of off-site.
• The eight-acre "current" landfill has been capped. This prevents moisture from reaching the fill, becoming contaminated, and then leaching into groundwater.
• The Building 208 (machine shop) equipment degreaser pit was dismantled, cleaned and removed. Groundwater monitoring is on-going.

   

Cleanups In Progress:

• Central steam facility area: This project is known as Operable Unit IV. The field investigation and evaluation are complete; the proposed remedial action has been provided to the public for review and comment. Cleanup design takes place this year with cleanup expected to begin in 1997.
• Groundwater cleanup in the Laboratory's south-central area: Known as Removal Action V, this project's study period is complete and the cleanup design is being formulated. A public meeting to discuss the study and the cleanup design was conducted on January 16. Cleanup is scheduled to begin in fall 1996.
• At the Sewage Treatment Plant, the World War II-era "Imhoff" settling tanks have had sludge removed. The sludge is being treated and prepared for proper disposal off-site.
• The 13-acre "former" landfill is scheduled for capping this year. Currently, the cap design phase is 30 percent complete and construction is scheduled for summer 1996.

   

Early Investigations Before Cleanup:

• Scientists and engineers continue to build a "profile" of groundwater characteristics both on-site and off-site. This information helps guide the investigations and characterization plans for all cleanup projects at BNL.
• OU II (radiological soils) and OU III (groundwater): The field investigations for these projects are scheduled for completion in fiscal year 1996. Work has started and is on schedule. Also, more than 20,000 gallons of contaminated water associated with these investigations have been treated.
• The OU V (Sewage Treatment Plant/Peconic River) field investigation is complete. On- and off-site soil and groundwater sampling and monitoring has been completed. A comprehensive report will be submitted to the regulatory agencies in summer 1996.
• The remedial investigation for characterization of contaminated soil in OU I is complete and under review by regulatory oversight agencies.
• OU VI's "focused" feasibility study will deal with ethylene dibromide in groundwater near the Lab's southeast boundary. It will determine the extent of groundwater contamination caused by fumigants used in the 1970s and has been submitted to regulators for review and comment. Once comments are received, the report will be finalized and made available to the public for review and comment.

   

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