Groundwater program gathering momentum
Brookhaven continues to make significant progress in designing and constructing treatment systems to clean groundwater on and off of Laboratory property. In the past five years, nearly half of the approximately 17 planned systems have been installed. In the past year alone, two systems have been completed and a third is under construction.

This summer, residents south of the Laboratory will notice increasing activity as cleanup work advances. In 2001, the Laboratory will be installing monitoring wells – most temporary but some permanent – at depths of approximately 250 feet. Groundwater samples from these wells will be tested, and will help Brookhaven to design and locate the planned off-site treatment systems. The permanent wells will remain to monitor the effectiveness of the cleanup systems.

In 2001-02, the Lab will install deep monitoring wells extending down approximately 250-450 feet. Data from these wells will determine exactly how deep chemicals from the Laboratory have traveled and whether treatment of this deeper aquifer will be needed.

To give community members an opportunity to have their questions answered, Lab personnel will visit homes in the immediate vicinity of drilling locations before work starts. Also, Laboratory staff will ask residents for additional input when the treatment systems are being designed to gather suggestions on the appearance and location of the systems.

The Laboratory will construct six off-site groundwater treatment systems – five to the south, and one to the southwest. All systems are expected to be operational by 2006. A fact sheet explaining the planned off-site work is available at www.bnl.gov/erd/ou3doc.html, or by calling Kathy Gurski at (6t31) 344-7459.

Soil fact sheet available online
A fact sheet describing the upcoming soil cleanup work is available online at www.bnl.gov/erd/ou1doc.html. Interested community members can call (631) 344-7459 to request a copy.

New Director named to head EM projects at Brookhaven
Leslie (Les) Hill, an environmental management professional with more than 20 years of experience, was named Brookhaven’s Director of Environmental Management, formerly known as the Environmental Restoration Division, effective April 16, 2001.

In his new position, Hill heads a staff of more than 80 environmental and administrative professionals who make up the Environmental Management Directorate (EMD). EMD manages the ongoing environmental cleanup at the Lab.

Hill said he plans to focus on completing the environmental cleanup so that the Lab can get back to its primary business: science. "The best thing we can do is get this job done, and do it expeditiously and safely," he said.

Raised in Deer Park, Hill is no stranger to the Laboratory, and still fondly recalls a visit to BNL with his eleventh-grade physics class that he sad was a "triggering event" in his life. "Up until that point, I wanted to be an architect when I grew up, even though I loved physics," he said. "After touring the graphite reactor, and seeing the displays and meeting with scientists and engineers, I came away knowing that I would become a nuclear engineer instead."

Hill believes that although the site cleanup has progressed significantly over the past five years, several challenges remain, including the cleanup of the Peconic River, the decommissioning of BNL’s three now-closed reactors, and ongoing budget and management issues. "We have a great team of people here to face these challenges, and a lot of seeds planted that are just starting to bear fruit," he said. "We also should be proud of the work we’re doing, because we all have home and families here and we all have the same interests in mind."