Having successfully and safely completed the excavation of 55 former waste pits at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Environmental Restoration Division (ERD) is taking final steps to sort and process the remaining wastes.
Biological waste, consisting of animal carcasses and bones excavated from the Chemical/Animal Pits, has been packaged in sealed containers and will be shipped off-site for incineration. Some of the excavated soils are also ready to be shipped off-site to a permitted waste disposal facility.
The Chemical/Animal Pits and Glass Holes Removal Action was conducted under the Lab's Superfund program after the contents of the pits were identified as a source of contamination to area soils and groundwater. The Chemical/Animal Pits were used for the disposal of chemical containers, glassware, and animal carcasses from the late 1950s to 1966. The Glass Holes were used for the disposal of laboratory glassware and chemical containers from 1966 to 1981.
The unlined pits varied in size from 10 to 20 feet wide and from 12 to 30 feet deep. The pits were found to contain bottles, cylinders, and other containers, some filled with various laboratory chemicals.
ERD and its contractors have now begun final work on the removal action for the former waste pits. The removal action has involved excavating more than 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, buried waste and debris. The soil in the pits was excavated to a depth where sampling showed that New York State cleanup goals were met. Excavated material was taken to a processing area, where intact bottles and other containers were separated from the debris and soil. The soil and segregated wastes were then placed on plastic liners and covered. This part of the removal action was completed in August.
Final characterization, management, and disposal of the excavated wastes and debris began in October. The remaining stockpiled waste will be stored on-site temporarily and will eventually be sent to permitted waste facilities for disposal. The former waste pits have been filled with clean soil and seeded. Site restoration will be completed after the wastes stored on-site are disposed. The remaining areas will then be seeded.
The U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation agreed that the remedial alternative that would be most protective of human health and the environment was excavation of the pit contents with off-site disposal. Excavation ensured that the source of contamination was removed, thereby eliminating the possibility of future soil and groundwater contamination. The final waste shipments are expected to be completed in 1999.
For more information, see the Chemical/Animal Pits and Glass Holes Final Evaluation of Alternatives Report (indexed as BNL/RA6/8.5), available for review at the Lab's four information repositories (for locations, see below).