During 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy is expected to propose a preferred remedy for radiologically contaminated soils, beginning the final step in the remediation process.
Scheduled for a summer release, the "Proposed Plan" will summarize a preferred remedial option and other alternatives considered in the "Feasibilty Study" for addressing radiological soil contamination in the southeastern portion of the Lab (Operable Unit I) and other site locations. It follows a "Remedial Investigation," completed in June 1996, and begins the decision-making portion of the Superfund process. When the plan is completed, a public meeting and comment period will be scheduled to inform and solicit input from the general public, and also to address any concerns it might have.
Choosing the Remedy
After all comments are considered, a final remedy for the area will be chosen and recorded in a document called the "Record of Decision." Following that step, actual remediation of the area will begin.
Most of the radiologically contaminated soil on-site is at the Hazardous Waste Management Facility. This facility has been the central receiving, storage and processing area for the Lab's hazardous and radioactive waste since 1947. It is expected to be the principal focus of soil remediation activities. The area is controlled, fenced and monitored.
The existing Hazardous Waste Management Facility will be replaced this spring by a new, state-of-the-art waste handling facility now in the final stage of construction in the northeast part of the Lab's central portion.
Other low-level contaminated soils have been found near the center of the site, a developed area consisting of buildings, roads and parking lots. Lab activities in the area are not thought to be the source of this contamin-ation. These soils were probably contaminated in the late 1950s by accidental spills at the Hazardous Waste Management Facility, then moved to the Former Landfill. Later, the soils were taken from the landfill and used as landscaping fill in several locations.
Groundwater Not Threatened
The landscaping soils contain relatively low levels of cesium-137. These soils do not present a hazard to the health of Lab employees or the public. Because cesium-137 binds to soil particles, it does not present a threat to groundwater.
Low levels of contamination have also been found near the center of the site at the Waste Concentration Facility, where several liquid radioactive waste storage tanks were removed in August 1994, and in a sump outside a building where radioactive clothing and equipment were decontaminated.
The Proposed Plan also addresses several areas where removal and remediation actions are already completed or under way. These include the "Current" and "Former" landfills (see story, page 4), groundwater contamination in North Shirley (see stories, pages 10 & 11) and Manorville, and the Glass/Chemical Holes area.
The "Operable Unit I/VI Remedial Investigation/Risk Assessment Report", documents the type and quantity of contamination found and assesses risk to the public health and environment. This report is available at the Lab's four information repositories (for locations, see page 8).The comment period on this document was from July 28 through September 30, 1996.
The "Operable Unit I/Site-Wide Radiological Soils Feasibility Study"and "Operable Unit I Proposed Plan" were submitted in early December to the three agencies overseeing the Lab cleanup. It generally takes three to five months for the three agencies (U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation) to review and agree on the proposed cleanup alternative.
The final plan is expected to be available for public review and comment in the summer of 1997. A public notice will announce its release.