The Nuclear Weapons Complex Management for Health, Safety, and the Environment (1989) / Chapter Skim
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3. Environment
3. Environment
Pages 34-53
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From page 34... ...
were perceived to have had sole responsibility to define programs to protect human health and the environment within the weapons complex. The waste management and environmental practices of the complex were born in the wartime atmosphere of urgency that understandably put a high priority on production but with little attention to the environment Initially practices relating to the disposal of chemical wastes were similar to those of other industries at the dine.
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From page 35... ...
The establishment of environmental standards for the weapons complex in principle requires the determination of the appropriate balance of risks and benefits arising from the operation of the facilities. It is by no means obvious that the balance for the weapons facilities is necessarily the same as that for industrial activities.
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From page 36... ...
It describes how the Department intends to set priorities and establishes a goal to have completed the restoration of contaminated sites in 30 years. It anticipates spending $6.8 billion on environmental restoration activities over the next five years.
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From page 37... ...
Examples include the presence of cesium-137 in streams and wetlands at the Savannah River Site, plutonium-239 in soil at the Rocky Flats Plant, fission products in shrublands at the Hanford Reservation, and mercury in freshwater ecosystems at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. Measurable groundwater contamination, usually involving organic solvents such as trichloroethylene, has been identified at several facilities including the Lawrence Liverrnore National Laboratory, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, the Rocky Flats Plant, the Hanford Reservation, and the Savannah River Site.
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From page 38... ...
The first, the National Priority System (NPS) to be developed in consultation with EPA and other federal agencies, affected state and tribal governments, and other bodies, will be used to determine how resources should be allocated within and among corrective action, environmental restoration, and waste management operations projects.
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From page 39... ...
Another measure of risk is risk to a population. Population risk involves combining estimated rislcs to individuals with probabilities that a certain number of individuals will live within various distances from a site and be exposed to various amounts of contaminants.
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From page 40... ...
In the Five-Year Plan, DOE lays out the basic steps of the environmental restoration process required under RCRA and the Comprehensive Environmental Responses Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund"~. These steps include preliminary assessment, inspection, characterization, evaluation of cleanup alternatives, cleanup action, and compliance.
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From page 41... ...
Recommendation The Department should seek to achieve site-specific cleanup standards. Consistent risk assessment methodologies should be used to bring scientific information into decisions regarding extent of cleanup, cleanup methodologies, and prioritiesfor environmental restoration.
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From page 42... ...
Characterization of Contaminated Sites Conclusion Intensified sampling to describe the extent and nature of contamination, as well as hydrogeology and ecology, is necessary to guide cleanup, isolation, or restoration activities in a timely manner. Improved data management will assist in the retrieval and analysis of the massive amount of information collected.
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From page 43... ...
Nevertheless, an overall evaluation of environmental impact requires adoption of a broader, more consistent view applied across the complex. Recommendation Each installation should develop a comprehensive data base of environmental information, one that will allow the data to be accessed and usedfor a variety of purposes related to remediation of contaminated sites within the installation.
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From page 44... ...
44 THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX _~ W,t~ tt ~V'" S o R A G T E A T M E N D 1 S P S A L High-Level Waste {HLW) | Low-Level Waste (LLW)
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From page 45... ...
E7WIRONAfENT A_ Transuranic Waste (TRIG I Hazardous Waste LLW EM tt i t _I __ em_ _ 4~ ~ i ~7 He_ Ed 45 T$1U In Doub—IS— T~e 1 : 1. : 1 ; ~ em_ ; 1 T P__ ~~ _ i_ ~' MAY Conorated Contact Hendled TRU Sad Wast*
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From page 46... ...
Recommendation The Department of Energy should build on its FiYe-Year Plan for waste management operations to include all production wastes anal residuals, as well as wastes resulting from decommissioning and decontamination efforts. Additionally, the Five-Year Plan should be developedfurther to include plansfor implementing the policies it set forth.
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From page 47... ...
As the Department begins to modernize the nuclear weapons complex, it should incorporate waste minimization concepts into the planning process at the outset. The economic, technical, environmental, safety, and health benefits of reduction in process losses and waste generation are far-reaching.
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From page 48... ...
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH An essential component of DOE's mission is the support of research on environmental and health effects of energy technologies Over the years, DOE's commitment in these areas has waxed and waned. Today, when faced with the enormous task of addressing its extensive environmental contamination, upgrading waste management operations, and modernizing the complex, the need for more information on environmental effects and for the development of technologies to address these problems is great The Five-Year Plan recognizes the need for applied research and technology research and development to be conducted in support of environmental restoration goals.
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From page 49... ...
For the weapons complex, determinations are complicated because, in many cases, two or more contaminants may be contributing simultaneously to biological stress. It thus would be helpful to understand the nature of the combined (possibly synergistic, possibly antagonistic)
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From page 50... ...
The Role of DOE Measurement Laboratories Conclusion There is a serious erosion of technical expertise at the DOE measurement laboratories that could eventually have an adverse effect on the Department's interlaboratory comparison program and traceability of measurements to standards. Three DOE laboratories that specialize in the detection and measurement of radionuclides and internal and external exposures are a rich and unique source of technical expertise for the DOE weapons complex.
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From page 51... ...
At many sites, effective and comprehensive environmental monitoring and research programs are being carried out, but because of poor communication of results and the absence of public involvement, public understanding has not improved. At some of the sites, progress is being made through regular public meetings with technical personnel responsible for environmental programs, but little effort is made by key department and contractor management to participate in public meetings or to understand and address the concerns of the local public.
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From page 52... ...
Involvement of the public and state officials in environmental issues at the weapons complex facilities necessarily implies the responsibility of all parties to investigate and implement decisions from a sound base of scientific and technical information. Recommendation The Department and its contractors must significantly improve the involvement of the public and state officials in-activities related to environmental issues at its sites.
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From page 53... ...
As a part of DOE's basic research program related to environmental remediation, the ecological resources of weapons complex installations should be made accessible to qualified researchers under the minimum constraints required to meet specific security interests.
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