New Brunswick Site

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The New Brunswick Site is a 2.3 hectare (5.6­acre) property in New Brunswick, New Jersey that is owned by the Department of Energy. Located in an industrialized area less than 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from downtown New Brunswick, it is bordered by Jersey Avenue on the north, an Amtrak railway on the south, and industrial development on the east and west.

FACILITY MISSION

From 1948 through 1977, the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies used the New Brunswick Site as a general nuclear chemistry laboratory for work related to nuclear and nonnuclear materials for the reactor and weapons programs. The site consisted of a main building, a plutonium laboratory complex, a Hot Cell for handling radioactive materials, and nine other structures. During its 29 years of operation, New Brunswick Laboratory provided a variety of services that used nuclear materials such as thorium and uranium ores, high­purity plutonium and americium, and types of enriched uranium. Throughout this period, the complex discharged liquid waste containing various radionuclides into the sanitary sewer system as permitted by Atomic Energy Commission guidelines then in effect.

In 1960, soil contaminated with pitchblende [uranium oxide (U3O8), the main component of high­grade African or domestic uranium ore, which also contains other oxides and sulfides, including radium, thorium, and lead compounds] was moved to the site from a landfill in a nearby town. The Department mixed the material with clean soil and used it to fill an unused rail siding that once entered the property from the southern side. The total volume of contaminated soil placed in this area was approximately 3,450 cubic meters (4,500 cubic yards). In 1977, the Department relocated all laboratory operations and personnel to Illinois, and declared the New Jersey facility surplus. Partial remediation of the site was performed in 1978 and from 1981 through 1983.

The site poses no health risks. The only remaining areas of contamination are the area where the old rail siding was filled in and two small subsurface areas. A fence with locked gates restricts public access. Vegetation covers the surface to prevent contaminant migration via runoff from contaminated soils. Gamma activity from the contaminated areas is low, and site contaminants do not affect local ground water.

FUTURE USE

Because the Department of Energy owns the site, future use of the site after remediation depends on disposition of the property by the General Services Administration. If the property is released for private ownership, it is likely to be developed for industrial uses because of zoning restrictions and prevalent use of surrounding property. The approach assumed for this report allows for Industrial/Commercial use after remedial action is complete.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

The New Brunswick Site is being cleaned up under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Key regulators include the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental Protection Agency Region II, and the local health department. The Department is preparing documentation required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in support of remedial action.

The Department undertook the first phase of remedial action in 1978, soon after operations at the site ended. This phase included removal of most contaminated materials, including exposed plumbing, contaminated equipment, and portions of floors, walls, and ceilings.

In 1980, additional radiological characterization revealed residual contamination in onsite sewer lines and further defined the extent of soil contamination. The results of this characterization initiated a second phase of remedial action that was conducted from 1981 through 1983. All above-ground structures, contaminated concrete foundations, onsite drain lines, and radioactively contaminated soil on the front two-thirds of the site were removed and disposed of at the Nevada Test Site. Final activities for this second phase of work involved restoring the remediated portion of the site by grading, planting a ground cover as a pollution control measure, and installing 13 ground-water wells.

The Department will use typical construction and excavation equipment such as front-end loaders, backhoes, and dump trucks during future remedial actions. Trucks will take excavated soils to a rail siding for loading into rail cars, which will transport the material to an existing out-of-state commercial disposal facility.

Major Environmental Restoration Activity Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION DATE Fiscal Year
Assessment (Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis with Action Memorandum)	1996
Remedial Action	1998

ASSESSMENT

After the first phase of remedial action at the site in 1978, surveys detected surface contamination (primarily uranium, thorium, and americium) in and on buildings. Trace amounts of radium, cesium, strontium, yttrium, and plutonium were also detected. Surveys in 1980 revealed low levels of contamination in the onsite sewer lines and more precisely defined the extent of soil contamination.

In 1989, the Department of Energy undertook a survey to determine whether radioactive contamination existed on the offsite railroad property to the south and whether soils in the filled rail siding contained hazardous waste as defined under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Results revealed no radioactive contamination at the offsite railroad property and indicated that levels of all chemical contaminants except mercury, copper, and zinc are below the proposed soil cleanup levels.

In August 1992, the Department conducted additional onsite surveys and limited radiological and chemical sampling to collect information for remedial action planning. As in earlier surveys, the tests detected contamination only in the filled railroad spur at a small location along the southwestern fenceline.

An environmental surveillance program has been in place at the site since 1983. Air, ground water, and soil are monitored and periodically sampled to detect any above­background contamination from the site. An annual report compiles and interprets the monitoring and sampling data from the previous year. During activities such as soil excavation, the Department will conduct additional monitoring to ensure that no contaminants are spread as a result of the work. Results of routine chemical and radiological ground-water sampling at the site since 1983 indicate that ground water has been largely unaffected by site contamination.

REMEDIAL ACTION

During remediation of the New Brunswick Site, the Department will use a streamlined approach to expedite the process and conserve resources. Although the presence of chemical contamination onsite and the nature and extent of the radiological conditions on the rear third of the site are not fully defined, the Department will perform only limited additional characterization.

The decision to use a streamlined approach is based on the assumption that above­guideline radioactive contamination is present onsite only in the filled railroad spur area and in two small areas) one near the middle of the lot and another along the rear fenceline. The offsite railroad area is not likely to be radioactively contaminated, and no hazard assessment should be required. Furthermore, the Department assumes that the site does not contain chemical contamination at levels that would expand the anticipated excavation area (railroad spur) or affect the handling or disposal of the excavated material. Additional sampling before or during cleanup will be conducted to confirm this assumption.

Documented information regarding historical site activities, remedial actions completed to date, and survey and sampling results to date support these assumptions. The front two­thirds of the site has been cleaned up and certified. After 29 years of operation, contamination was confined to building surfaces and drain pipes; it is probable that any laboratory contamination was cleaned up during the first two phases of cleanup.

The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate assumes excavation of contaminated soil and disposal at an existing out­of­state commercial disposal facility. The cost estimate assumes a total waste volume of 3,450 cubic meters (4,500 cubic yards). Before excavation, a radiological survey will delineate the extent of contamination. The Department will construct temporary access roads on the property, and use an existing concrete pad as a decontamination area for trucks and other equipment. Radiological surveys will be performed during excavation to determine the presence and extent of remaining contamination. Excavation will continue until all radioactively contaminated material above cleanup guidelines has been removed. In addition to attaining cleanup guidelines, the Department will practice the principle of reducing contamination to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable.

Silt fences and/or hay bales will control sediment and soil erosion and runoff during cleanup. Routinely wetting the soil during excavation will suppress dust. Berms, dikes, or ditches will control surface water.

Soil excavation will use typical construction equipment such as backhoes. Excavated soil will be placed in roll-off containers on trucks, which will then be covered and secured, for transportation to a rail siding. The containers will then be transferred to rail cars for shipment to the out­of­state commercial disposal facility.

In remediated areas, the Department will collect radiological and chemical verification samples before or during remedial action. Analyses of samples collected by an independent verification contractor and the Department of Energy will verify these data. Conducting verification sampling while remedial action is in progress will allow any unexpected areas of contamination to be excavated without requiring excavation equipment and crews to remobilize. This approach will conserve time and resources. After the remediated areas have been certified to be

within radiological and chemical guidelines, the Department will restore them with clean backfill material as required and reseed them with ground cover.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the New Brunswick Site.