Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

 Home
 BEMR Contents
 U.S. Map

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is composed of two sites: Main Site and Site 300. The Main Site, also known as the Livermore Site is located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of San Francisco and 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) from downtown Livermore. It occupies approximately 2.6 square kilometers (one square mile) of relatively flat terrain in the Livermore Valley. Residential subdivisions were recently built adjacent to the site boundary. They are separated from the site by a wide city roadway. Site 300 is approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of the Laboratory's Main Site. It occupies approximately 28.6 square kilometers (11 square miles) of rugged foothills that straddle Alameda and San Joaquin Counties.

FACILITY MISSION

The Department of Energy owns the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Main Site and Site 300. The Department and the University of California jointly operate the sites. The Main Site was initially used as a flight training base and an engine overhaul facility. Transition from Naval operations to scientific research began in 1950, when the Atomic Energy Commission authorized construction of a materials-testing accelerator site. The Commission established the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Site (the predecessor of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) as a facility for nuclear weapons research. Site 300 is a remote high-explosives testing facility. It hosts several areas for high-explosives components, several instrumental firing tables for explosives testing, an advanced test particle accelerator, and various support and service facilities such as a motor-pool and machine shops.

The current mission of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is research, testing, and development that focus on national defense and security, energy, the environment, and biomedicine. The Laboratory's specific defense mission is researching, testing, and developing technologies related to nuclear weapons. Over the years, the Laboratory's mission has broadened to meet other national needs, such as enhancing economic competitiveness and science education.

Based on the 1993 Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report by the University of California and the Department of Energy, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will continue to be a multidisciplinary research and development laboratory focussed on national defense. It will continue to operate both the Main Site and Site 300 for the foreseeable future. This report assumes that the Department of Energy Office of Defense Programs will continue to be responsible for all landlord activities and associated costs.

The Department of Energy purchased Site 300 from local ranchers in the 1950s. The surrounding area is agricultural and has an average population density of fewer than one person per square mile. The site's mission is researching and testing nonnuclear high-explosives components for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons program. The Department plans to continue using Site 300 to test high explosives components.

FUTURE USE

The Oakland Office and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have actively participated in discussions and meetings, coordinated activities, and reached agreement on future land use with the local community, regulators, and other interested stakeholders. This report assumes that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will remain a Controlled Access research and development facility. Future use of the Main Site is classified as Industrial. Site 300 will maintain a mix of Industrial and Open Space/Wildlife Management uses.

NUCLEAR MATERIAL AND FACILITY STABILIZATION

This report assumes that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will enter the Environmental Management facility stabilization process in 1998. The report anticipates that the following facilities at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will enter the Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization program: a chemistry building (#222), a heavy element facility (#251), and a reactor dome (#281). These facilities will be transferred to the Environmental Restoration program in FY 2008. This report assumes that the Environmental Laboratory Building (#412) and the Accelerator Building (#212) will pass directly to the Environmental Restoration decommissioning program. The resulting waste types will include transuranic, low­level mixed, low­level, and hazardous. The costs associated with treating, storing, and disposing of this waste are included in the Waste Management program estimates provided later in this summary. This report assumes that the stabilization and maintenance process at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be completed by FY 2008. See the Main Site Map for the location of Nuclear Material Facility Stabilization program activities.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

Environmental restoration activities at the Main Site and Site 300 are conducted as two distinct projects and are governed by separate Federal Facility Agreements. Parties to these agreements include the Department of Energy, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Environmental Protection Agency Department of Toxic Substances Control and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. The Department of Toxic Substances Control is the lead state agency for the cleanup at both sites.

Past operations at the Laboratory's Main Site involving handling and storing hazardous materials resulted in the release and subsequent migration of contaminants into soil and ground water. Nineteen different source areas of contamination have been identified in various parts of the site. The Main Site was placed on the National Priorities List by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1987.

Past operations at Site 300 have resulted in the release of hazardous and radioactive materials from landfills, dry wells, and wastewater lagoons to soil and ground water. Some of these contaminants have migrated offsite. Because of these releases, Site 300 was placed on the National Priorities List in 1990. The Federal Facilities Agreement for Site 300 identified six operable units for assessment and remediation.

The costs for shipping and disposition of hazardous waste spent carbon canisters are built into the Environmental Restoration program. All other costs associated with treatment, storage, and disposal are borne by the Waste Management program.

MAIN SITE

The major contaminants in soil and ground water at the Main Site are volatile organic compounds and petroleum hydrocarbons. The principal volatile compounds of concern are trichloroethane and tetrachloroethane. Chlorinated hydrocarbons have been detected in ground water at concentrations of up to ten parts per million (California drinking water standard is five parts per billion.) Tritium has also been detected in two areas onsite at concentrations above the drinking water standard. To date, only one source of tritium, a 1991 leak from a tank at Building 292, has been identified and closed. Ongoing investigations are focused on identifying all remaining sources of ground-water contamination.

Between 1961 and 1979, an underground fuel-storage tank released approximately 64,430 liters (17,000 gallons) of gasoline. The tank was closed-in-place in 1981 and the soil was remediated in 1993 and 1994. This report assumes that a No Further Action approach will be required for the soils at this release site.

Ground-water treatment plans have been proposed to reduce the concentrations of solvents, gasoline, and other contaminants to levels below those specified in Drinking Water Standards. Negotiations with regulatory agencies resulted in an agreement to focus on three issues: the western offsite plume capture, the southern offsite plume capture, and interior areas source control and mass removal.

ASSESSMENT

The primary ground­water contamination at the Main Site is a 3.6 square-kilometer (1.4­square­mile) plume that is threatening private wells and the municipal water supply wells of the nearby city of Livermore. The principal contaminant of concern is trichloroethane. Assessment activities have focussed on determining the extent of ground-water contamination. Chlorinated hydrocarbons have been detected in ground water at concentrations of up to ten parts per million.

Remaining assessment activities involve investigating potential source areas that are identified by the regulatory agencies or the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as having radioactive or hazardous materials. Many of the remaining source areas are buildings where hazardous and/or radiative materials were handled but where there is no evidence of releases having occurred.

REMEDIAL ACTION

Currently, the Department of Energy is using enhanced pump­and­treat methods to remediate ground water at five treatment units. It is using onsite and offsite extraction wells to contain further migration of the plume of contaminated ground water. By May, 1995, more than 637 million liters (168 million gallons) of ground water was extracted and treated to remove organic solvents, and more than 37,900 liters (10,000 gallons) of gasoline was recovered. Activated carbon canisters contaminated with volatile organic compounds generated by remedial actions are removed to offsite treatment facilities.

Wells within the plume have been closed and their users provided with a public water supply. The trichloroethane plume is not expected to affect the municipal wells for the next 70 years. The planned pump and treat remediation to reduce the concentrations of contaminants to Maximum Contaminant Levels is expected to require 50 years. Hydraulic control of the western offsite plume was established in 1995 and resulted in a diametric decrease in offsite volatile organic compounds concentrations. The assumed effectiveness of the remedial action approach negates the need for long-term surveillance and monitoring.

Tritium in ground water will be allowed to decay naturally in place. This report assumes that the tritium will take approximately 15 years to decay below Maximum Contaminant Levels. Source controls and mass removal are assumed to be complete.

Contaminated soils have been remediated and a few remaining areas are undergoing source investigations. This report assumes that No Further Action will be required to remediate soils.

DECOMMISSIONING

Decommissioning activities are planned for five buildings currently listed in the Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization Surplus Facilities Inventory. These facilities include: the Chemistry Building (#222), the Reactor Dome Building (#281), the Environmental Laboratory Building (#412), the Accelerator Building (#212), and the Heavy Element Building (#251). Operations at these facilities include chemistry and material science laboratory analysis, analytical laboratory operations, and multifunction research laboratory analysis. Decommissioning activities will include the cleanup and disposal of radioactive and hazardous materials, including asbestos. The effort will include planning, characterizing, decontaminating, demolishing, and disposing of all building materials so that the resultant vacant sites can be landscaped for soil retention. However, because of data entry errors, this estimate does not include any costs for decommissioning activities.

SITE 300

The environmental restoration at Site 300 focuses on assessing and remediating releases of solvents, tritium, and high-explosive components from landfills, drywells, spills, leaks, and other sources at the site. The site centers its attention on: solvent releases from debris piles and drywells at the General Services Area, from the Building 833 and 834 areas, and from the Pit 6 landfill. It also pays particular attention to solvent and high-explosive component releases from the High-Explosive Process Area, tritium releases from the Building 850 firing table and the Pit 7 landfill complex, and solvent releases at the Canyon behind Building 832. See the Site 300 Site Map for the location of Environmental Restoration program activities.

All major ground­water plumes at Site 300 have been delineated. The major area of concern is the General Services Area, which houses support facilities, such as machine shops, administrative offices, and motor­pool facilities for all of Site 300. From 1950 to 1960, solvents were discharged into drywells or the ground at several locations in this area, resulting in soil and ground­water contamination. Trichloroethene plumes have reached the shallow alluvial aquifer in the Corral Hollow Basin and into the regional aquifer at the General Services Area. At present, the levels of contamination in ground water and soil do not pose immediate health risks to site workers or the public. In the area where high explosives are processed, low concentrations of volatile organic compounds and high explosives are present in soil and perched water­bearing zones.

Offsite, the contaminated ground water threatens two water­supply wells that are monitored regularly. The Department of Energy has made a formal agreement with their users to provide clean water wells or local surface water supplies. Upon securing the alternative water supplies, the Department will deactivate the original wells and convert them into monitoring wells.

ASSESSMENT

Assessment activities have focused on determining the extent of onsite and offsite soil and ground-water contamination. Assessment is 80 percent complete at Site 300. During the next two years, the Department will investigate Building 854, the Building 832 Canyon, the "Sandia" Drop Tower, the Building 815 Area, and the Building 850 Area. Volatile organic carbons are believed to have been released in these areas. Assessment activities will be complete by FY 2001.

The source of contaminants in the eastern General Service Area is an abandoned debris pile that has been removed. The source of contaminants in the central General Services Area is closed drywells where solvents were disposed. The contamination plume at the eastern General Services Area extends offsite and down the Corral Hollow Alluvial channel for approximately 1.6 kilometers (1 mile).

A thermal testing facility in Building 834 has been operating since 1957. Before 1994, this facility used trichloroethene as a heat transfer fluid. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, trichloroethene was released into the ground through pipe leaks and spills. In the 1980s, the facility piping and solvent storage areas were upgraded to prevent further releases. Historical information about operations and data from site characterization indicate that up to 2084 liters (550 gallons) of trichloroethene was released into the ground. Most of this material is still present in the soil and ground water.

Contaminant concentrations in soil and ground water are very high at Building 834; and it is likely that pockets of free product trichloroethene (dense nonaqueous phase liquid) are present. However, the ground water at Building 834 is perched on a lens of clay close to the top surface. A second clay lens is located below 85 meters (280 feet) of unsaturated sediments. The two clay systems physically separate the Building 834 site from the regional aquifer and the perched ground water has virtually no pathway to leave the site. This poses no risk to the public.

At Pit 6, volatile organic compounds from the closed landfill have contaminated the uppermost aquifer. The ground water from this uppermost aquifer reaches the surface at a location approximately 152 meters (500 feet) west of the landfill within the site boundary where the contaminants slowly evaporate. The concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the ground water have dropped significantly since 1987.

A low­level tritium plume is emanating from the closed landfill complex of Pit 3/Pit 5 and the Building 850 firing table. The plume is entirely onsite. Fate and transport calculations predicted that tritium concentrations offsite will remain below federal and state drinking water standards. Polychlorinated biphenyls, volatile organic compounds, and depleted uranium also have been detected in the ground water of this operable unit; the extent of contamination is still under investigation.

REMEDIAL ACTION

The treatment of trichloroethene contaminated ground water began at the eastern General Services Area in 1991. At the central General Services Area, ground water from a shallow alluvial aquifer has been remediated for trichloroethene contamination with both pump­and­treat and soil­vapor­extraction systems since 1993. By the end of 1994, a total of 11.6 kilograms (25.6 pounds) of volatile organic compounds had been removed from the two General Service Area ground-water treatment systems.

The Oakland Operations Office proposed that the Department take advantage of the unique situation at the Building 834 area to test removal/cleanup technologies for volatile organic compounds and dense nonaqueous phase liquids. The regulatory agencies granted approval for this approach and the remedial alternative was recorded in the Interim Record of Decision for the Building 834 Operable Unit. Concurrently, the Department of Energy is pursuing an exemption to the Basin Plan for this site from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. This exemption will allow remediation of the Building 834 plume to risk­based standards instead of the much more stringent Maximum Contaminant Level requirement.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure of the High Explosive Burn Pits will begin once the new Explosive Waste Treatment Facility becomes operational, which is scheduled to occur at the end of FY 1997. This cost estimate assumes that the facility will be closed in-place using state performance standards. Closure of the High Explosive Burn Pits will be followed by post-closure monitoring until 2025. It also assumes that the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board will not require solid waste assessment tests to be performed on the existing Site 300 landfills that are presently in the Environmental Restoration program.

Soil remediation will occur at Building 834 and the General Service Area. Remediation will prevent further releases of volatile organic carbons to the ground water. Soil vapor extraction is under way at the central General Service Area and will be undertaken at Building 834. This report assumes 34,000 cubic meters (44,540 cubic yards) at Building 834 and 25,000 cubic meters (32,750 cubic yards) at the General Service Area will be remediated.

Direct Program Management/Support

Program Management tasks support the Environmental Restoration, Waste Management, Technology Development, and Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Main Site and Site 300. Program Management tasks supporting the environmental restoration activity at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Main Site and Site 300 include personnel management, strategic planning, financial management, interaction with Department of Energy and external regulatory agencies, monitoring of project progress, and administrative support.

Federal grants to the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the two Regional Water Quality Control Boards have been awarded since 1993 to provide financial compensation to the state agencies for their expenditures on the Main Site and on the Site 300 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act program. These grants are renewed every year. For the past three years, the total annual compensation to the State agencies has been approximately $300,000. Beginning in 1996, the annual expenditures claimed by the State agencies against the grants are expected to show a declining trend as the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study work for Site 300 approaches completion.

A Technical Assistance Grant of $100,000 was awarded to the local stakeholder group, Tri-Valley Cares, which has a deep interest in the environmental restoration program at both the Main Site and Site 300. $50,000 of this fund is intended to provide for their efforts prior to the Record of Decision stage and the remaining $50,000 is intended for the Remedial Action phase of the program.

The Department of Energy and the State of California have an Agreement­in­Principle providing for technical and financial support to the State for its activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Main Site and Site 300. Technical and financial support includes environmental oversight, monitoring, access, emergency preparedness, and other initiatives to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste management activities costs at the site address waste generated by both the Office of Defense Programs and the Office of Environmental Management. In addition to the Main Site and Site 300, satellite operations take place at 2020 Research Drive and the Livermore Airport. Operating under interim status, the Main Site receives hazardous and mixed waste from Site 300 and the two satellite operations. No other offsite locations are currently allowed to send waste to the Main Site. See the Locality Map for the locations of offsite facilities.

In support of programs at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Hazardous Waste Management Division stores, treats, packages, and prepares for transport transuranic, transuranic mixed, low-level, low-level mixed, and hazardous waste. Waste is treated onsite or shipped to an offsite waste handling facility; no disposal of this waste occurs onsite at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The Hazardous Waste Management Division manages four active waste management facilities at the Main Site: Area 514 Facility, the Area 612 Facility, the Building 693 Facility, and the Building 233 Facility. All Main Site waste facilities are presently operating under interim status permits issued by the State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The Main Site has submitted a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit application for its waste storage and treatment facilities. The Federal Facilities Compliance Act prescribed Site Treatment Plan addressing mixed waste is being evaluated by the State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control. See the Main Site Map for the location of Waste Management program activities.

In addition to Main Site facilities, the Hazardous Waste Management Division manages a permitted hazardous waste storage facility, Building 883, at Site 300. The facility is designed primarily for interim storage of hazardous waste before it is transported to the Main Site for treatment or sent directly offsite for disposal. Site 300 is fully permitted.

Waste minimization activities are the responsibility of the Hazardous Waste Management Division's Pollution Prevention Group. This group performs program administration, planning, waste characterization, documentation, reporting, evaluation of new technologies, technology transfer assistance, a Laboratory-wide awareness program, and integration of pollution prevention into programmatic activities. The group's activities help to reduce the generation of hazardous, mixed, radioactive, and nonhazardous (solid) waste. The group will continue to conduct pollution prevention opportunity assessments for various Laboratory processes, including engineering and economic analysis and identification of technologies to be implemented.

Construction projects planned to enhance and streamline waste management operations at the Laboratory include the Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility, the Mixed Waste Management Facility, and the Explosive Waste Treatment Facility.

The Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility project will provide new, centralized, and integrated facilities for the Hazardous Waste Management Division and proposed Mixed Waste Management Facility operations. The Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility portion of the project will fulfill all of the Hazardous Waste Management Division's requirements for storing, handling, treating, and disposing of various Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-generated waste. The Mixed Waste Management Facility portion of the project is a demonstration project for research and development of a molten salt oxidation process and other treatment processes for mixed waste. The Explosive Waste Treatment Facility, required by a Consent Agreement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, will be used to destructively dispose of explosive waste at Site 300.

Each of these planned construction projects has an expected useful life of 30 years. Once the useful life of the facility is over, the Environmental Management program will decommission the buildings. However, this estimate does not include costs for upgrades or ultimate decommissioning of these facilities.

The Hazardous Waste Management Division's planned waste management activities and their projected completion dates are shown in the Milestones table below.

Transuranic Waste

GENERATION AND HANDLING

Transuranic mixed and transuranic waste is generated only at the Livermore Main Site. Virtually all of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's transuranic waste is generated by the Office of Defense Programs at the Plutonium Facility (Building 332) and the Heavy Element Facility (Building 251).

Thirty-three 55-gallon drums of transuranic waste were generated and stored in 1994. The annual number of drums usually ranges between 50 and 100, with the addition of one or two TRUPACT-Standard Waste Boxes (volume of 1.89 cubic meters [2.55 cubic yards]).

All of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's transuranic waste inventory is considered to be retrievably stored, because it was all generated before an approved transuranic waste quality assurance project plan was implemented. Such a plan should be approved in the latter part of calendar year 1995. The plan will require further waste characterization, such as radiography and headspace gas sampling.

TREATMENT

Currently, no transuranic waste stored by the Hazardous Waste Management Division is known to require treatment to meet the waste acceptance criteria of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (Carlsbad, New Mexico). This waste consists of high efficiency particulate air filters, which may require immobilization of fine particles, and waste that does not meet TRUPACT-II wattage limits or actual gas generation requirements for transport. The latter may merely require repackaging in smaller quantities per drum. Transuranic mixed waste is stored under the assumption that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will be granted a No Migration Variance and therefore the waste will not require treatment. Organic liquids are solidified by waste generators under permit exemptions. Some reactive waste may require permitted treatment by the generators.

STORAGE

Current inventory includes glove box trash (approximately 300 drums), organic and aqueous solidified liquids (76 drums), metal scrap (3 standard waste boxes and 30 other boxes, 7 of which also contain high efficiency particulate air filters), salt blocks (3 drums), and high efficiency particulate air filters (3 drums, 1 nonstandard waste box, and parts of 6 other boxes also containing metal scrap).

Transuranic waste is stored at Buildings 625 and 612-1, located in the Area 612 Facility, and in the Building 233 Facility, while waiting for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Building 233 Facility, used to store high curie transuranic waste, will be replaced by Building 280 to reduce site personnel exposure resulting from the continued operation of Building 233. Some nonmixed waste, such as Plutonium 238-contaminated waste, is stored by their generators while awaiting radioassay capability.

DISPOSAL

Transuranic waste from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be disposed of at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Existing transuranic waste either meets the waste acceptance criteria of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and TRUPACT-II Authorized Methods of Payload Control Criteria or will meet them after repackaging or, in a few cases, treatment. Thirty-one nonstandard boxes will be repackaged in the Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility, which has not yet been constructed. A small amount of reactive waste will require treatment to remove this hazardous characteristic. This report assumes the life-cycle volume of transuranic waste generated will be 2,057 cubic meters (2695 cubic yards) and the life-cycle volume of transuranic mixed waste generated will be 136 cubic meters (178 cubic yards).

Transuranic waste will be transported in TRUPACT-II Standard Waste Boxes from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has an approved site-specific TRUPACT-II Authorized Methods of Payload Control Criteria. Approximately half of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's transuranic waste does not currently meet TRUPACT-II Authorized Methods of Payload Control Criteria wattage limits for radiolytic hydrogen and methane generation. Studies being conducted by the Department of Energy Gas Generation Program, and similar studies conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are expected to alleviate most of these problems. The Department may have to repackage some waste to meet wattage or actual gas generation limits.

All costs for transportation and disposal of transuranic waste are included in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site cost estimates. Characterization and packaging costs are included in the disposal estimate.

Low-Level Mixed Waste

GENERATION AND HANDLING

Research activities at the Laboratory generate mixed waste displaying a wide range of chemical and physical properties. Non-Resource Conservation and Recovery Act or California-only hazardous waste that contains a radiological component is identified and managed as radioactive waste in accordance with applicable Department of Energy Orders and federal nuclear regulatory standards.

TREATMENT

The Hazardous Waste Management Division is responsible for the onsite transfer, treatment, storage, and preparation for offsite shipment of mixed waste generated throughout the Laboratory. The treatment methodology designated for each specific mixed waste stream is established in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Site Treatment Plan as part of the activities required under the Federal Facilities Compliance Act (1992). Under the Site Treatment Plan, mixed waste will be treated onsite or stored onsite prior to shipment to offsite permitted facilities.

Under the Site Treatment Plan, the mixed waste streams generated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are categorized into 11 treatability groups based on their radiological, matrix, and regulated contaminant parameters. The treatability group matrix descriptions for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory waste streams, inventory volumes, and projected five-year additional generation rates are provided in the following table.

Mixed waste treatment operations at the Livermore Main Site take place at either the Area 514 Facility or the Area 612 Facility. The treatment processes include chromium reduction, neutralization, metal precipitation, filtration, size reduction, and solidification. Incineration is not conducted at the Livermore Main Site. Treatment such as bulking and pH adjustment may be performed on a small scale in containers in designated container storage units. Mixed waste is treated in containers and/or tanks in Building 612, Building 514, Area 514 Waste Treatment Tank Farm, and Building 513. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has requested regulatory agency approval to add centrifugation and evaporation treatment units as well as to increase current treatment operations for mixed waste.

Building 513 in the Area 514 Facility and Building 612 in the Area 612 Facility contain laboratories used to perform small-scale operations under the treatability study exemptions. These two laboratories serve three general functions within the conditions prescribed by the treatability study requirements: (1) perform preliminary analytical testing (prior to state-certified analysis) of waste treated in permitted units to verify reduction of hazardous properties below industrial sewer discharge limits, below hazardous waste characteristic classification thresholds, and/or below land ban disposal treatment standards; (2) develop process improvements, test new or novel process techniques at a test-scale level, provide modeling data, evaluate performance, or provide evidence for new equipment and/or raw material selection; and (3) perform bench-scale treatment to minimize waste, meet Department of Transportation shipping requirements, and/or satisfy land ban disposal treatment standards.

Mixed waste streams for which Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory does not have existing or currently planned treatment capabilities, will be shipped to the Department of Energy's Hanford facility and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

STORAGE

The onsite mixed waste management facilities at the Livermore Main Site are the Area 514 Facility, the Area 612 Facility, the Building 233 Facility, and the Building 693 Facility. Mixed waste may be received at all four facilities. No mixed waste management facilities are located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Site 300. Future storage operations will be centralized and integrated in the completed Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility.

Containerized mixed waste is stored at an onsite waste management facility until it is transported offsite to a permitted and approved treatment, storage, or disposal facility. Mixed waste is packaged in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency storage containment and waste compatibility requirements and Department of Transportation regulations for transportation. Seventeen specific areas are used to store containerized mixed waste. Bulk aqueous mixed waste is stored in two tank units referred to as the Area 514 Storage Tank 514-R501 Unit and the Area 514 Wastewater Treatment Tank Farm.

DISPOSAL

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory does not dispose of any waste onsite. Waste disposal is accomplished by one or more of the following methods, listed in order of preference: onsite treatment followed by discharge to the sewer, offsite recycling, and/or offsite treatment, storage, and disposal. Treated waste may be discharged to the sewer under the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's permits and agreements with the Livermore Water Reclamation Plant. This report assumes that 2,330 cubic meters (3052 cubic yards) of mixed low-level waste will be treated at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and subsequently disposed. An additional 372 cubic meters (487 cubic yards) will be disposed of at the Nevada Test Site.

The treatment of "characteristic" mixed waste is typically designed to remove the hazardous characteristic through chemical modification or stabilization/encapsulation to prevent it from leaching out of the waste form. Once the hazardous nature has been removed or stabilized, the waste becomes low-level radioactive waste, which, when certified and approved, is disposed of at the Nevada Test Site.

Envirocare of Utah is presently the only commercial disposal site for mixed waste. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will use this site to dispose of contaminated soils and stabilized residue from the treatment of mixed waste containing "listed" hazardous components.

Low-Level Waste

GENERATION AND HANDLING

Significant variations in the physical composition of the low-level waste are prevalent because of the nature of the research work at the Laboratory. The low-level waste generated by the major programs includes miscellaneous construction debris, equipment, laboratory trash, stabilized waste, and contaminated environmental media (e.g., soils, asphalt, concrete, and gravel). This waste is primarily contaminated with uranium, tritium, and plutonium below 100 nanocuries per gram.

TREATMENT

Low-level waste treatment operations at the Livermore Main Site take place at either the Area 514 Facility or the Area 612 Facility, and are primarily for aqueous liquids. The treatment processes include chromium reduction, neutralization, metal precipitation, filtration, and solidification. Treatment, such as bulking and pH adjustment, may be performed on a small scale in containers in designated container storage units. Low-level waste is treated in containers and/or tanks in Building 612, Building 514, Area 514 Waste Treatment Tank Farm, and Building 513.

STORAGE

The onsite low-level waste management facilities at the Livermore site consist of the Area 514 Facility, the Area 612 Facility, the Building 233 Facility, and the Building 693 Facility. Low-level waste may be received at any of these facilities. Future storage operations will be centralized at the completed Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility.

DISPOSAL

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has no waste disposal facility onsite. Low-level waste is shipped to the Nevada Test site for disposal. This report assumes 4,429 cubic meters (5,802 cubic yards) of low-level waste will be generated over the life cycle.

Hazardous Waste

GENERATION AND HANDLING

Hazardous waste types generated include: explosive waste, environmental restoration generated waste, biohazardous waste, organic liquids, inorganic liquids, contaminated soils, organic sludges, inorganic sludges, laboratory chemicals, asbestos, paints, empty containers, polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated materials, batteries, inorganic gases, and organic gases.

TREATMENT

With the exception of empty containers, which are compacted in Building 612, solid hazardous waste is not treated or compacted onsite for volume reduction. Wastewater that contains hazardous constituents in quantities exceeding sewer discharge limits is also packaged and shipped offsite. Hazardous wastes shipped to an offsite treatment, storage, and disposal facility for treatment and/or disposal include: corrosive liquids, corrosive liquids with metals, contaminated soils, metal-bearing sludges, laboratory chemicals, asbestos, paints, empty drums, and polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated materials. Waste streams such as solvents, oils, coolant, batteries, certain metal-bearing waste, and some mercury-containing waste are primarily shipped offsite for recycling. The waste is typically packaged in Department of Transportation-approved steel drums and stored in Area 612 prior to offsite shipment to a licensed treatment, storage and disposal facility or recycling facility.

When hazardous waste is treated at the Livermore Main Site, treatment operations take place at either the Area 514 Facility or the Area 612 Facility. Treatment processes include chemical and/or physical alteration of the waste through filtration, solidification/stabilization, neutralization, chemical precipitation, bulking, pH adjustment, silver recovery, chromium reduction, and size reduction, among others. Future additional treatment is proposed in the centralized and integrated Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility. The Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility will also house the research, development, and demonstration project called the Mixed Waste Management Facility. Processes and/or equipment may be transitioned out of the Mixed Waste Management Facility and used for treatment if proven successful.

Waste treatment at Site 300 is currently limited to the burning of explosive waste at the High Explosive Burn Pits. Future additional treatment at Site 300 is proposed in the new facility called the Explosive Waste Treatment Facility, where nonnuclear high explosive waste will be destroyed by way of detonation and/or burning.

STORAGE

Hazardous waste is primarily containerized and stored at a hazardous waste management facility until they are transported offsite to a permitted and approved treatment, storage or disposal facility. Hazardous waste is not stored at the hazardous waste management facilities for longer than one year. Waste is packaged in containers that meet the waste compatibility requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency storage regulations.

Each hazardous waste storage area has a continuous base that is impervious to the waste and each area is constructed so that spills and surface water runoff can be contained. Hazardous waste is segregated according to hazardous property information disclosed on the label and waste requisition form. Containers of incompatible waste are segregated by distance or physically separated by dikes, berms, or walls. Storage capability at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory includes container storage units, a storage tank farm, and portable tank and tank trailer storage facilities. Practical hazardous waste storage capacity is estimated to be 850 cubic meters (1,131 cubic yards).

DISPOSAL

Hazardous waste is primarily sent to appropriate offsite commercial treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. However, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory also bulks hazardous waste with mixed waste for treatment and discharge to the sanitary sewer. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory wastewater discharge permit with the Livermore Water Reclamation Plant defines the limits of hazardous constituents found in aqueous waste, such as toxic metals, volatile halogenated solvents, radioactive components, total dissolved solids, pH and other conventional and nonconventional pollutants. Prior to any discharge, the sewerable wastewater must be tested and, if it is found to be above internal discharge limits, it must be treated at the 514 Facility.

Licensed and certified drivers from the Hazardous Waste Management Division transfer hazardous waste onsite. The waste must meet waste acceptance criteria before it can be transported from a waste accumulation area to a Hazardous Waste Management Division storage facility. If the waste meets this acceptance criteria, it is shipped directly from the waste accumulation area to an approved offsite treatment, storage, or disposal facility. This report assumes that 39,824 cubic meters (52,169 cubic yards) of hazardous waste will be generated over the life cycle.

Direct Program Management/Support

Program management tasks supporting waste management activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Main Site and Site 300 include facility management; personnel management and training; administrative support; document, guidance, and procedure preparation and revision; data and waste tracking management; liaison with Department of Energy and external regulatory agencies; inspections and audits; budget preparation and control; and waste minimization planning. Waste minimization planning includes evaluating, training, and implementing the following programs: recycling; substituting less hazardous or nonhazardous raw materials; reducing volume and/or toxicity; and modifying source processes.

The California Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and Management Review Act regulates the Waste Minimization program. Pollution prevention planning activities support the waste generators in reducing hazardous, mixed radioactive and nonhazardous waste. This support includes program administration, waste characterization, documentation reporting technology transfer, the Chemical Exchange Warehouse, and recycling.

DESCRIPTION OF PERSONNEL

Current Composition

Environmental Management personnel comprise a multidisciplinary work force that includes professionals, technicians, laborers, and craft workers. This skill mix is necessary to conduct the environmental management activities of the site. The current federal and contractor personnel needs are presented in the table on the next page.

*The projections for Full-Time Equivalent employees are based on FY 1996 planning baselines (see Reader's Guide).

Site Management Structure

The Oakland Operations Office is the field organization responsible for implementing Management Plans at the Laboratory. The University of California is the management and operating contractor responsible for environmental restoration and waste management activities. The current contract will expire in FY 1998 and the Oakland Operations office is currently evaluating its options. Defense Programs performs site management activities.

Future Full-Time Equivalent Needs

This report expects that with declining waste generation and completion of environmental restoration activities, the number of environmental management Full-Time Equivalents will also decline accordingly.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following tables present estimated funding information for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS ESTIMATE

The FY 1996 life-cycle cost estimate of $2.4 billion represents a 15 percent increase over the FY 1995 life-cycle estimate of $2.2 billion, after taking the 1995 expenditure of $71 million into account.

The overall life-cycle costs for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Environmental Restoration program are 68 percent higher in the 1996 Baseline Report ($639 million) than in the 1995 Baseline Report ($402 million), after taking into account the 1995 expenditure of $21 million. There are a number of changes in estimated cost and duration of Environmental Restoration activities. Decommissioning costs are $34 million (82 percent) lower in the 1996 report because an error in data entry caused the inadvertent omission of some costs for decommissioning activities. Remediation costs increased from $317 million in 1995 to $482 million in 1996 and surveillance and maintenance cost estimates increased from $15 million in 1995 to $44 million in 1996. These changes were the result of applying improved estimating techniques. The estimated duration of remedial action activities is five years shorter in the 1996 report because of the application of improved technology. The estimated duration of surveillance and maintenance activities is also five years shorter and is due to increased knowledge of the overall project. Program management costs allocated to the Environmental Restoration program decreased from $188 million in 1995 to $101 million in 1996 as the result of reduced overhead and improved cost estimating techniques.

The 1996 life-cycle estimate for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Waste Management program is $1.7 billion, which is a 40 percent increase over the 1995 estimate of $1.3 billion, after taking the 1995 expenditure into account. As a result of the national assumption that all Waste Management support of non-Environmental Management Department of Energy programs will continue until FY 2070, Waste Management support to the Office of Defense Programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been extended 40 years. Hazardous waste management costs decreased from $783 million in the 1995 Baseline Report to $413 million in the 1996 Report. This change is attributed to using more thorough "bottom up" data and assuming continued success with waste minimization/pollution prevention activities. Low-level waste costs increased from $65 million in the 1995 report to $308 million in the 1996 report. Mixed low-level waste costs increased from $165 million to $184 million in the 1996 Baseline Report. Support costs increased from $304 million in 1995 to $714 million in 1996. These changes are due to improved cost estimating techniques, an increase in program duration and added work scope. Finally, estimated transuranic waste management costs decreased from $205 million in 1995 to $128 million in 1996. This is attributed to an assumption in 1996 that treatment needs for transuranic waste to meet the current Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Waste Acceptance Criteria were minimal. In contrast, the 1995 report included costs associated with treatment to Land Disposal Restriction requirements.