Area residents and Lab employees are not currently at risk from the seven known chemical and radiological plumes at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) site. That is the conclusion of an agency studying potential health impacts from contaminated groundwater at BNL.
On October 14, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released its Health Consultation Report and an equally important Addendum to the report.
The Agency began the consultation at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the ongoing Superfund cleanup at BNL. The purpose of the Health Consultation was to examine the groundwater quality and determine the potential impact, if any, to public health if area residents were to use water from their private wells for drinking or bathing.
Although the ATSDR confirmed the existence of the seven on- and off-site plumes previously documented by BNL's Environmental Restoration Division (ERD), the Agency stated that "there is no indication that anyone is being exposed to all the contaminants or all the plumes." Based on the sampling results of private residential wells, the Agency has concluded that the contamination, which includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and low-level radionuclides, is "not sufficient to produce adverse health effects."
Historical data evaluated
In developing its conclusions and recommendations, the ATSDR studied historical and current results from residential well sampling performed by BNL and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services regarding the causes and current status of the groundwater contamination. It also studied the potential health effects of each of the identified VOCs and radionuclides present in the plumes, both on- and off-site.
ATSDR has also concluded that tritium does not pose a threat to the public health because it has not been detected in concentrations above the drinking water standard (DWS) in off-site or site boundary wells. In addition, on-site drinking water wells are not affected; as a result, no one is being exposed to the tritium contamination. Similarly, strontium-90, which moves extremely slowly in groundwater and is on-site l.5 miles from the BNL boundary, does not pose a threat to public health because it would take several hundred years to reach the site boundary.
The Agency indicated that the levels of VOCs, (including trichoroethene, perchloroethylene, and carbon tetrachloride) and radionuclides (tritium and strontium-90) that have been detected in residential wells are "not expected to cause noncancerous effects." ATSDR specifies noncancerous effects because too few studies on low-level VOC exposure exist to make reliable cancer estimates. Also, there are no testing results from residential wells prior to 1985.
ATSDR and the New York State Department of Health questioned the accuracy of the analytical method that BNL had used for radium-226 for a number of on- and off-site monitoring wells. These wells had originally indicated concentrations well above the DWS of three picocuries per liter. Therefore, new samples were collected and analyzed by a method specific for radium-226. The new method, which is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved test for radium, indicated levels of radium below the DWS. As a result, in the Addendum to the report, the ATSDR has changed its conclusions and recommendations to exclude radium-226 as one of the radionuclides that is present in off-site monitoring wells at concentrations above the DWS.
Analysis to continue
The ATSDR will continue to analyze monitoring and residential well data to determine whether contaminant levels pose a future threat to public health. In reviewing the data from off-site residential wells, the ATSDR concluded that because the depths of these wells are uncertain and the full extent of the VOC plumes has not been determined, there is potential for these wells to become contaminated over time. Residents can avoid the potential for future exposure by accepting the DOE offer of free public water hookups. The Agency recommended that residents of Shirley and Manorville accept the offer because the public well fields are not contaminated and are routinely monitored.
The Agency further advised that residential wells in areas of North Shirley, Shirley, and Manorville where homes have not been connected to public water should continue to be monitored. Also, new residents should be advised not to use their wells until the water has been tested for contamination.
Air consultation underway
ATSDR is also in the process of carrying out an air quality consultation, which is expected to be released in late 1998. Historic and current air emissions from BNL facilities will be reviewed to determine if they present a potential health risk to the public or BNL employees.
The ATSDR Health Consultation Report is now available for public review
and comment. The public comment period (which ends December 9, 1997) allows
people to review and comment on the findings, determine whether community
health concerns have been adequately addressed, and provide the ATSDR with
additional information. The report can be found at BNL's four information
repositories (for locations click
here). To contact ATSDR, call 1-800-447-1544 or visit its web page at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/.