Peconic sediment trap installed
In late February, the laboratory completed the installation of a sediment
trap in the Peconic River at the lab's eastern boundary. The trap will
serve two functions: it will minimize the off-site movement of sediment, and
will also prevent the migration of fish into and out of these areas until
cleanup is completed (see story).
Reactor stabilization ongoing
Stabilization work at two of the Lab's small research reactors is
continuing. An update on each is included below:
High Flux Beam Reactor
Since being permanently shut down in November 1999, the High Flux Beam
Reactor has been placed in a stable "surveillance and maintenance"
mode. Ninety-five percent of the experimental floor has been emptied, and
most of the equipment has been shipped to other operating research
facilities. Long-term monitoring is continuing.
Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor
In December 2000, the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor was permanently
shut down after 41 years of operation. Since then, actions to place the
facility in a safe, stabilized condition have been ongoing, and include plans to
ship its spent fuel to DOE's Savannah River Site later this year.
Once this fuel has left the site, there will be no more reactor fuel at the Laboratory.
River panel funding approved
Late last year, Brookhaven National Laboratory made $35,000 available
to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to fund an expert panel to
review the Peconic River cleanup plan.
The County originally requested the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. After an unsuccessful search for an appropriate DOE funding method, the Department asked the Laboratory to provide the funds to the County.
According to the County, the money will support its review of the Peconic River cleanup plan by paying for an independent, objective, third-party review of the plan. The County's input will be included in the draft of the Peconic River cleanup plan. It is expected to be ready for public review this fall.
The County is responsible for selecting the expert panel, keeping it on an agreed-upon timetable, and completing and delivering the panel's review. DOE's and BNL's role is to administer the contract that pays the expert panel members.
"The Suffolk Count Department of Health Services is a valued stakeholder," said Frank Crescenzo, Acting Manager of the Department of Energy's office at Brookhaven. "By helping the Country address its technical questions and concerns, we're helping to complete this cleanup project."
Soil cleanup progresses
Over the past several months, the Laboratory has made substantial progress
in the removal of contaminated soils from an area known as the "Building
650 Sump Outfall." Soils in this area contain radionuclides deposited
in the 1960s as a result of waste disposal practices that were discontinued at
the end of that decade. Area trees have been cleared, and the soil
excavation is expected to be completed this summer.
Cleanup of an old radioactive materials storage area is also under way, and is expected to be completed later this fall.
A fact sheet describing these soil cleanup projects is available on line at http://www.bnl.gov/erd/soils/ou1/ou1rd-sheet.html