Department of Energy Seeks Public Comment on Brookhaven Graphite Reactor Cleanup

August 2, 2004

Note: The following press release has been issued by the Department of Energy.

UPTON, NY - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking public comment on the proposed cleanup plan for the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The public comment period will be open from August 2 to September 3, 2004. The Proposed Remedial Action Plan for the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor and its accompanying Feasibility Study are available on the BNL web site at http://www.bnl.gov/bgrr , and in the local libraries listed below.

Information sessions on the proposed plan will be held on August 17, 2004, from 2 to 4 p.m., and on August 19, 2004, from 7 to 9 p.m., both in Berkner Hall at Brookhaven Lab. A public meeting will be held on August 24, 2004, from 7 to 9 p.m., also in Brookhaven Lab's Berkner Hall.

The preferred alternative identified in the proposed plan reflects early community and regulator input and includes the removal of the BGRR's graphite pile, biological shield, and reasonably accessible contaminated soils.

This cleanup project is overseen and funded by the DOE's Office of Environmental Management.

Background

The BGRR, which was the first reactor in the U.S. built solely to perform scientific research on peaceful uses of the atom, operated from 1950 to 1969. Deactivation of the facility was initiated in September 1969, and the last BGRR fuel element was removed in March 1972. The BGRR complex consists of several structures and systems that were used to operate and maintain the research reactor. Some parts of the equipment, structures, and soils are still contaminated.

During its operation, the BGRR used radioactive fuel to create the chain reactions necessary for research to be performed. The chain reactions occurred within the graphite "pile," which is located inside Building 701. A thick biological shield, which minimized radiation within the building, surrounds the pile.

As the result of its past operations, the BGRR currently contains approximately 8,047 curies of radioactive contaminants, including hydrogen-3 (tritium) and carbon-14, and fission products cesium-137 and strontium-90. The pile and biological shield contain over 99 percent of the remaining radiological inventory in the BGRR complex. Over the past five years, several interim cleanup actions have been completed, and others are now planned or under way.

Cleanup Alternatives and the Preferred Alternative

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, which is also known as the Superfund Act), requires that the selected cleanup remedy must protect human health and the environment. The cleanup remedy also must be cost-effective, comply with other laws, and, to the greatest extent practical, use permanent solutions, alternative treatment technologies, and resource-recovery alternatives.

Early input received from the community and regulatory agencies indicated a strong preference for removal of the reactor pile and biological shield. The Department of Energy developed four cleanup alternatives for the graphite reactor. All four alternatives included the completion of actions that are currently under way or planned, followed by long-term response actions, including water-infiltration management, surveillance and maintenance, and institutional controls. Three of the alternatives include the above and at least the removal of the reactor pile and biological shield.

After considering all input, the U.S. Department of Energy is recommending "Alternative C" as the preferred cleanup remedy because it represents the best balance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's criteria for selecting remedies under CERCLA and it best addresses the overall protection of human health and the environment.

Alternative C includes:

• the completion of actions that are currently under way or planned, followed by long-term response actions, including water-infiltration management, surveillance and maintenance, and institutional controls
• the removal of the reactor pile and biological shield, and
• the removal of accessible pockets of contaminated soil and the fuel canal structure.

This alternative would remove a total of 8,093 curies from the BGRR complex, including all of the long-lived radioisotopes. Approximately 1.5 curies, primarily cesium-137 and strontium-90, would remain in contaminated structures below Building 701 and within the belowground air ducts. These contaminants are bound within concrete, embedded within steel, or located within areas that are currently inaccessible and are not considered a groundwater-contamination source.

Long-term activities would include routine inspection and surveillance of the BGRR facility, scheduled upkeep and maintenance of Building 701, water-infiltration management, groundwater monitoring, and provisions requiring removal of contaminated soil that may become accessible during future work.

Next Steps DOE and BNL encourage public input to ensure that the cleanup decision for the graphite reactor is considerate of community expectations and is protective of human health and the environment. The community has already played an integral role in shaping the four cleanup alternatives. Comments on this cleanup recommendation will provide additional assurance of an appropriate cleanup.

Formal written comments will be accepted from August 2, 2004 through September 3, 2004. Public comments should be mailed to Michael D. Holland, Site Manager, U.S. Department of Energy - Brookhaven Site Office, Bldg. 464, Attn: BGRR, P.O. Box 5000, Upton, NY 11973-5000. Comments can also be e-mailed to tellDOE@bnl.gov , or faxed to (631) 344-3444.

Upon completion of the public comment period, DOE will review public comments and make a final decision on the cleanup remedy. A "responsiveness summary," in which the public comments and DOE's responses to them are compiled, will be part of a Record of Decision that documents the final cleanup agreement.

The Proposed Remedial Action Plan for the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor and the Feasibility Study are available for review at http://www.bnl.gov/bgrr on the World Wide Web and at public libraries in Middle Island and Shirley, at the BNL library, and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II library in New York City. For further information, call Jen Clodius, Brookhaven National Laboratory, at (631) 344-2489, or John Carter, U.S. Department of Energy, at (631) 344-5195.

Environmental remediation at Brookhaven Lab is carried out under requirements of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. Past operations at the laboratory have resulted in soil and groundwater contamination. Remediation work is conducted under the framework of an interagency agreement among the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Department of Energy owns the Brookhaven property and the Department's Office of Environmental Management oversees and funds the cleanup program.

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