Report on localized soil cleanup is anticipated
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) soon will be releasing a report on cleanup alternatives for contaminated soils at the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer, or BLIP. The BLIP Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis will summarize the nature and extent of soil contamination, describe and evaluate removal alternatives, and recommend one alternative. The recommended alternative will prevent further contamination of groundwater beneath BNL property by radioactive elements.
BLIP, which is located in the northwestern section of the BNL property, has operated from 1972 to the present. This facility is a national resource for producing radioactive isotopes that are crucial to nuclear medicine for both research and clinical use. BLIP also supports BNL research on diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides (radioactive elements).
Routine BLIP operations generate particles called neutrons that pass through the soil beneath the BLIP building. These neutrons "activate" the soil by reacting with atoms already present in the soil to form radioactive elements. For example, hydrogen atoms within the soil can be converted into tritium.
As a result of BLIP operations, soil located beneath the facility has been activated with several radionuclides. Some of the radionuclides are short-lived. However, tritium and sodium-22, both of which have been found in groundwater on Lab property near BLIP, are longer-lived and therefore have a greater potential to affect groundwater.
Brookhaven has responded to soil activation under the BLIP in a number of ways. The Lab re-routed rainwater downspouts on the BLIP building and placed a cap over the BLIP target area to prevent rainwater from draining through contaminated soils and moving radionuclides into the groundwater. Also, BNL has more thoroughly characterized groundwater in the area by taking additional groundwater samples in thirteen separate locations.
To effectively protect groundwater beneath BLIP, a number of removal action alternatives are being evaluated, including upgrading the existing cap over the soil, containing the soil in place by injecting a grout into the ground, and excavating the activated soil. After weighing all of the key factors, the best remedy will be proposed. As part of BNL's groundwater monitoring program, six permanent monitoring wells will be installed near BLIP in 1999.
When the BLIP report is released, the public will have 30 days to review the proposed action and express their preference for one of the proposed alternatives.
Deer hunting OK, says NYSDOH report
Restrictions on deer hunting in the vicinity of Brookhaven National Laboratory are unnecessary, according to a report issued by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). The NYSDOH finds that the maximum likely radiation exposure from deer consumption is below New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) guidelines. Nevertheless, the March 1999 report does recommend that the public, particularly hunters, be advised of the presence of elevated levels of cesium-137 in deer close to the Laboratory site.
The NYSDOH report, titled Deer Meat Contaminated with 137Cs at Brookhaven National Laboratory, examines cesium levels from 32 deer sampled between 1992 and 1999. Cesium levels in deer in the vicinity of BNL consistently were found to be greater than cesium levels in deer found elsewhere on Long Island. The levels measured are quite low and are not harmful to the deer. Elevated cesium levels are thought to occur because deer on the Lab's property graze on lawns and vegetation, some of which are contaminated with low levels of cesium.
Based on the average cesium levels measured in deer, the NYSDOH projects a radiation dose of five millirems per year (mrem/yr) using a conservative figure of 64 pounds of deer meat consumed by a person in one year. (By comparison, the dose that a typical resident of North America receives from eating foods containing naturally-occurring and fallout-related radionuclides is about 40 mrem/yr.) The 64-pound figure is based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and corresponds to two 10-ounce meals of deer meat per week.
The NYSDOH also calculates a maximum likely dose for any person of nine millirems per year, using more conservative values of cesium levels in deer and deer meat consumption. A nine-millirem exposure would require the consumption of nearly 88 pounds of deer meat per year the equivalent of 1.7 pounds of deer meat per person every week.
These projected doses are below the 10 millirem per year guidance value established by the NYSDEC. Therefore, the NYSDEC concludes that no area hunting restrictions are needed, and no restrictions on consumption of deer harvested in the BNL area will be issued. The Standing for Truth About Radiation (STAR) Foundation had petitioned for deer hunting restrictions due to the presence of elevated levels of cesium-137 in deer near the Lab.
The NYSDEC will advise hunters of the presence of elevated cesium levels in deer close to BNL. Hunting on the BNL site is banned by the Laboratory because firearm possession is prohibited at federal facilities.
The public can obtain a copy of the NYSDOH report by calling 1-800-458-1158. The report is also available on the web at http://www.esh.bnl.gov/esd/Deer/Deer.html.
Latest documents
These documents, as well as all previous reports from BNL's Environmental Restoration Division, are available at these locations.