Bliss and Laughlin Steel Site

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FACILITY MISSION

In 1952, Bliss and Laughlin performed machining and straightening operations on uranium rods under subcontract to National Lead Industries in support of work for the Atomic Energy Commission. Records indicate that Bliss and Laughlin machined uranium at the site during September and October 1952. In addition, 53 drums of turnings generated by Bliss and Laughlin activities were removed from the site for disposal. In 1972, Bliss and Laughlin sold the facility to Ramco Steel, Inc. The current owner is Niagara Cold Drawn Corporation.

A designation survey of interior and exterior portions of the building performed by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education in March 1992 confirmed the presence of fixed residual natural uranium on the floor, columns, and ceiling in a small area called the special finishing area. The source of radioactive constituents was processed natural uranium metal, and the primary radionuclide of concern is uranium­238.

Risk to the public from exposure to the radioactive material is minimal because of the limited extent of residual radioactivity.

FUTURE USE

The site will continue to operate as a cold­rolled steel processing facility, and the Department of Energy will release it with no radiological restrictions after remediation is complete. Therefore, this report assumes that future use of the site will remain Industrial/Commercial.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

The Department of Energy has not conducted any remedial action at this site. In 1995, a radiological and chemical characterization revealed an affected surface area of approximately 185 square meters (2,000 square feet). Because of the current owner's commercial operational constraints, the Department of Energy is unable to gain access at this time to clean the affected surface areas.

The total volume of waste to be addressed under FUSRAP is estimated to be no more than 15 cubic meters (20 cubic yards). Waste minimization efforts will consist of scanning radioactive waste and segregating the waste accordingly.

Key regulators include the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency Region II.

ASSESSMENT

All assessment activities at the Bliss and Laughlin Steel site are complete. The following sections summarizes the results of these activities.

Because of the operations performed at the site, the primary radioactive constituent is processed natural uranium. Surveys conducted by National Lead of Ohio during the early 1950s identified residual radioactivity on machinery. Investigations have not located any records that indicate the radiological conditions of the site after uranium machining operations ended.

The Department of Energy conducted radiological and chemical characterization at the Bliss and Laughlin Steel site in 1995. The characterization included a survey of the floor area and the overheads in the vicinity of the special finishing area. The Department performed a less intensive survey throughout the rest of the building, with emphasis on areas adjacent to the special finishing area, high­traffic areas, and likely areas of material transfer such as locker rooms. The Department drilled six core samples through the slab in areas where the potential for migration of constituents was greatest. Investigators took additional samples from the dust on overhead beams and material on the floor. A composite sample of floor material was analyzed for total toxicity characteristic leaching procedure constituents, which included metals, volatile and semivolatile organics, pesticides, and herbicides.

The characterization revealed an affected surface area of approximately 185 square meters (2,000 square feet). Of 45 locations surveyed on the overheads above the special finishing area, two showed elevated beta/gamma levels. Elevated surface radioactivity on the floor in the special finishing area was limited to approximately 150 square meters (18 by 8.5 meters) [1,625 square feet (58 by 28 feet)] of floor area, some of it obstructed by machinery. Investigators surveyed the remainder of the building as extensively as building conditions allowed and found no evidence of residual radioactivity. They did not detect any radioactive or hazardous waste constituents in subsurface soil samples.

REMEDIAL ACTION

The Department of Energy has not performed any remedial action at the site. At the owner's request, the Department has postponed remedial action and will reconsider it for FY 1998. This cost estimate assumes remedial action will be initiated and completed in FY 1998. The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate assumes building decontamination and disposal of waste at an existing out­of­state commercial disposal facility. The cost estimate assumes a total site waste volume of 15 cubic meters (20 cubic yards) of low-level waste.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the Bliss and Laughlin Steel site.