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Oak Ridge Reservation
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Y-12 Plant; K-25 Site [Oak Ridge Gaseous
Diffusion Plant]; and Oak Ridge Associated Universities)
Oak Ridge, Anderson and Roane Counties, Tennessee
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Office: Oak Ridge Operations Office
Size:
37,000 acres (57.8 square miles)
NPL Status:
Placed on the NPL on November 21, 1989.
Mission:
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) provides extensive research and
development in energy production. Activities include reactor and accelerator
development and operation, production and sale of radioactive and stable
isotopes, and environmental and health research.
The K-25 Site (the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) was a production and
development facility for uranium enrichment. Production operations at the K-25
Site ceased in 1985. The present mission of the K-25 Site is environmental
restoration, decommissioning, waste management, and support for other
government agencies in the Work for Others program.
The Y-12 Plant's original mission was to separate the fissionable isotope of
uranium-235 by the electromagnetic process. The plant today has four principal
missions: to dismantle nuclear weapon components; to provide special production
support to DOE programs; to support ORNL research programs; and to serve as a
manufacturing, technology, and demonstration center.
The Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a private, not-for-profit
association of 49 colleges and universities. It is a contractor to DOE,
conducting research and education programs in the areas of energy, health, and
the environment for DOE, ORAU's member institutions, and other private and
government organizations.
Overview of Environmental Conditions:
The sites include waste units that are either radioactive, hazardous, mixed
(both radioactive and hazardous), or non-radioactive/non-hazardous. Examples of
the concerns include radioactive underground tanks, solid waste disposal areas,
liquid waste pit and trenches, hydrofracture facilities, and dense, non-aqueous
phase liquid migration in fractured rock. More than 400 contaminated units
exist at the reservation, and surface water and groundwater also are
contaminated.
CERCLA/RCRA Remediation Funding in FY 95: $122,799,000
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Progress in Reaching Interagency Agreement
DOE, EPA Region IV, and the State of Tennessee have negotiated an IAG for the
following sites included within the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR): ORNL, Y-12
Plant, K-25 Site, ORAU, and the Clinch River. The IAG was effective on January
1, 1992. In accordance with the IAG, the ORR is currently integrating the
requirements of corrective measures under RCRA and applicable state law with
response actions under CERCLA.
Specific Cost Estimates and Budgetary Proposals Involved in Each Interagency
Agreement
Funds budgeted for environmental restoration under the IAG at the ORR total
$89.5 million of appropriated funds for FY 96 and $91.0 million for FY 97
according to the request in the President's Budget.
Public Comments Regarding Interagency Agreements
The public comment period for the IAG closed on February 25, 1991. No comments
were received. No new public comments regarding the IAG were received in FY 95.
Progress in Conducting Remedial Investigations/Feasibility Studies
To address contamination of the ORR as a whole, the reservation has been
partitioned into 80 OUs/Work Units consisting of source control OUs and
integrator OUs (such as groundwater and surface water), which can be
prioritized to achieve the most effective and rapid investigation and cleanup
possible. OUs are redefined and work schedules are adjusted as investigations
progress and new data become available. RI/FSs are being conducted for each OU.
Removal actions and interim remedial actions are conducted, where appropriate,
to address threats to human health and the environment in advance of the final
remedial action selection.
The remedial action work plans, site characterization studies, RI reports, and
remedial design work plans have been prepared, using EPA guidelines for CERCLA
RI/FSs and RCRA RFIs where appropriate. These documents were sent out in
accordance with milestones specified in the negotiated IAG and the schedule
defined in the RCRA permit. Public meetings were held during the year to advise
the public of the restoration process being implemented to remediate the ORR
and to address the public's concerns over the relative risk associated with the
offsite contamination. Work completed or underway during FY 95 includes:
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ORAU - The South Campus Facility RI/FS was submitted in February 1995 and
approved in May 1995. Additionally, a PP was submitted for the South Campus
Facility and approved in February 1995.
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ORNL - Completion of the WAG 5 RI and the WAG 1 Surface Impoundments RI/FS.
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Y-12 Plant - Completion of the Chestnut Ridge OU 2 PP and the Bear Creek Valley
OU 2 PP.
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ORR (Offsite) - Completion of the Lower Watts Bar OU PP and ROD, and the Lower
East Fork Poplar Creek OU PP and ROD.
Progress in Conducting Remedial Actions
Final CERCLA remedial action will be initiated after RODs are signed. Removal
and interim cleanup actions completed or underway during FY 95 include:
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K-25 Site - Completion of the closures for the Pond Waste Management/Drum
Repackage, the Main Plant Area/K-1407-B Holding Pond, and the Main Plant
Area/K-1407-C Retention Basin. RCRA Closure Plans for the Main Plant
Area/K-1417 Concrete Block Casting/Storage Area and the Main Plant Area/K-1419
Sludge Fixation Plant have been submitted. Submitted the Site Development Plan
for the K-25 Site. Completed decommissioning for the six cooling towers wooden
superstructures and the two K-25 Site Powerhouse Buildings. Completed the
abatement of Risk Assessment Codes 1, 2, and 3 findings and partial reroof for
K-1401 (Sections A and B).
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ORNL - Completion of the Core Hole 8 interim action, Molten Salt Reactor
Experiment Auxiliary Charcoal Bed Cell isolation, and Molten Salt Reactor
Experiment Purge and Trap System. WAG 6 Tumulus Pad Closure, WAG 6 Monitoring
Station construction, WAG 5 Seeps C and D removal, assessments for the WAG 4
seeps, and the WAG 1 Gunite and Associated Tanks Treatability Study are in
progress.
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Y-12 Plant - Completion of the Steamline Asbestos Removal, the Electrochemical
Machinery Basement Area interim action, Y-12 Upper East Fork Poplar Creek
Interim Drum Yard, and Building 9409-5 Tank Storage Area closures. Two
assessments, WAG 4 seeps and WAG 1, are in progress.
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ORR (Offsite) - The Lower East Fork Poplar Creek OU has proceeded to the
construction phase of its remedial actions.
In addition, the ORR accomplished numerous community relations efforts with the
regulators and the community during 1995. A few of these include:
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Agreements with the regulators on land use assumptions;
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Establishment of onsite disposal cells for Oak Ridge low-level and mixed waste
by the year 2000;
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Establishment of higher mercury cleanup levels at Lower East Fork Poplar Creek
from 50 ppm to 400 ppm, saving millions of dollars;
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Participation in the Data Quality Objectives process and the SAFER Pilot;
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Quarterly public information meetings and numerous project-level workshops; and
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Initiation of Oak Ridge and Paducah Site-Specific Advisory Boards.
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