Connecticut FUSRAP Sites

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The only currently active Connecticut site within the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) is CE (see map). There is one completed site located in Connecticut, Seymour Specialty Wire, which is discussed in the overview of the FUSRAP program presented in the Tennessee section of this report. FUSRAP was established in 1974 under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act to identify, investigate, and clean up or otherwise control previously decontaminated Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission sites, together with other sites assigned to the U.S. Department of Energy by Congress, where residual radioactive contamination exceeds current guidelines.

FUSRAP encompasses 46 sites in 14 states and is funded through the Oak Ridge Operations Office. For a general discussion of FUSRAP and associated costs, see the overview of the program presented in the Tennessee section of this report. All costs for waste management activities, program management, and relevant landlord activities attributable to the Department of Energy are provided for within the scope of environmental restoration. There are no FUSRAP sites with either current or planned nuclear material and facility stabilization activity needs. Funding for all sites is 100 percent nondefense.

CE

The CE site, which covers approximately 445 hectares (1,100 acres), is located on Prospect Hill Road in a mixed industrial and residential area of Windsor, Connecticut. Interstate 91 adjoins the site on the east, and an onsite brook runs along the north of the site, eventually joining the Farmington River.

Estimated Site Total

(Thousands of Current Year Dollars)
	FY 1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Environmental Restoration	699	3,613	1,693	3,853	4,610	Grey shaded area reflects annual cost estimates for the first five years of the site BEAR Base Case (as of October 1995) and includes 3% annual inflation, see Readers' Guide.
1996 Appropriation	454			These levels reflect the current estimates for compliance with applicable statutes and agreements (as of March 1996), see Readers' Guide.
1997 Congressional Request		694
(Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996 Dollars)
	FY 1996-2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025	2030	Life Cycle*
Environmental Restoration	2,685	1,779						22,321
* Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in constant FY 1996 dollars.

FACILITY MISSION

In the 1940s and 1950s, the CE facility supplied nonnuclear components for reactor projects that were managed by the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1955, new contracts led to the use of highly enriched uranium (i.e., uranium enriched to more than 20 percent in the isotope uranium­235). Since the 1960s, the facility has been authorized under license to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to fabricate low-enriched uranium for light-water-moderated power reactors and to conduct research and development activities on light-water reactor fuel.

The facility's fuel production operations were shut down in 1993, but research and development activities continue. Currently, CE is undergoing decontamination and decommissioning of plant facilities where fuel production took place. The site has submitted a plan for these activities to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Although the site is designated for cleanup under FUSRAP, the extent of the Department of Energy's responsibility for site cleanup is limited to the contamination resulting from the use of highly enriched uranium.

FUTURE USE

This report assumes that the site will continue to operate as a private industrial facility.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

In 1993, in order to pursue onsite studies, the Department of Energy tentatively determined that it had authority to conduct remedial action at the site. In 1994, it concluded that it had this authority for the following reasons: the Atomic Energy Commission owned and furnished highly enriched uranium at the site; CE was an Atomic Energy Commission prime contractor; the Atomic Energy Commission inspected the facility as part of the contracting process; the Atomic Energy Commission maintained an onsite presence at another part of the site by constructing and operating a reactor prototype; the Atomic Energy Commission provided health and safety advice and direction for handling highly enriched uranium; although the facility is licensed for possession of nuclear materials, it has never been licensed for production activities involving highly enriched uranium; and any authority for remedial action at the site must be restricted to highly enriched uranium or other nuclear materials that the facility is not licensed to handle.

The Department's authority at the site is restricted to Building 3; other facilities or areas associated exclusively with Building 3, such as sewer lines and drain pipes; and contamination that is exclusively highly enriched uranium. The extent of FUSRAP involvement in remediation has yet to be fully determined. Radiological characterizations planned for the near future will define the levels of uranium enrichment in various portions of the facility. These characterizations will also help to determine the scope of remedial action that will be necessary and how that action should be carried out. The Department of Energy will work with CE to assess the nature and extent of contamination and reach a consensus regarding cleanup. CE is undergoing cleanup activities to close out existing Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses.

The site will be cleaned up under authority granted to the Department of Energy by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Executive Order 12580. Documentation required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the National Environmental Policy Act in support of remedial action will be prepared. Key regulators are the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Connecticut Department of Health Services, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the local health department.

Major Environmental Restoration Activity Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION DATE Fiscal Year
Assessment (Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis with Action Memorandum)	1998
Remedial Action	2002

ASSESSMENT

During the 1980s, radiological surveys identified areas of thorium and uranium contamination in a "burn and drum" storage area at the site as well as in drainpipes and sewer lines, a waste storage pad area, and a brook on the property. CE remediated these areas in 1986. Oak Ridge Associated Universities performed a 1989 confirmatory survey that concluded the area was within Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidelines for thorium and uranium in soil.

In 1993, another survey revealed the presence of highly enriched uranium residues in areas where the Atomic Energy Commission formerly conducted activities. The contamination consisted primarily of very small uranium shavings in five major locations at the site. The survey results indicate the need for further cleanup. FUSRAP will conduct additional radiological characterization in the near future to determine more precisely the nature and extent of contamination at the site and to help identify effective cleanup strategies.

REMEDIAL ACTION

The Department of Energy has not performed any remedial action at the site. Upcoming characterization will define areas that need to be addressed in accordance with FUSRAP guidelines. Until these further investigations are complete and the data are interpreted, dependable estimates of the volume of waste resulting from remedial action are not available.

The Department and its contractors will coordinate the planning and implementation of remedial action with CE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate assumes decontamination of one building (Building 3), excavation of contaminated soils, and disposal at an existing out­of­state commercial disposal facility. The cost estimate assumes that the approximate waste volume is 7,650 cubic meters (10,000 cubic yards) of low-level waste.

Environmental Restoration Activities Cost Estimate

(Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996 Dollars)
	FY 1996-2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025	2030	Life Cycle*
FUSRAP - CE
Assessment	1,161							5,803
Remedial Action	1,524	1,779						16,518
Total	2,685	1,779						22,321
* Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in constant FY 1996 dollars.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the CE site.

Nondefense Funding Estimate

(Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996 Dollars)
	FY 1996-2000	2005	2010	2015	2020	2025	2030	Life Cycle*
Environmental Restoration	2,685	1,779						22,321
* Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in constant FY 1996 dollars.