| Title: |
Lessons Learned in Detecting, Monitoring, Modeling and Remediating Radioactive Ground-Water Contamination
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| Resource Type: |
document --> technical publication --> report
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| Country: |
USA
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| Year: |
2011 |
| Availability: |
NRC Job Code N6937
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| Author 1/Producer: |
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (US NRC)
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| Other Authors/Producers: |
T. Sullivan, M. Hauptmann, and W. Gunther
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| Author / Producer Type: |
Agency, regulator or other governmental or inter-governmental body
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| Format (e.g. PDF): |
PDF
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EUGRIS Keyword(s): |
Contaminated land-->Contaminants-->Others
Contaminated land-->Risk assessment-->Risk assessment overview
Contaminated land-->Risk management-->Risk management overview
Contaminated land-->Risk management-->Strategies
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| Short description: |
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a multi-discipline Department of Energy (DOE)
research institute that has been in operation since 1947. Historical operations included running
accelerators, nuclear research reactors, and other large complex equipment. Some of these
operations caused groundwater contamination. This report discusses the tritium plume from the
High Flux Beam Reactor and several strontium plumes from past operations at the Brookhaven
Graphite Research Reactor, their discovery through monitoring, and their treatment. The tritium
plume discovery led to public outrage; characterization, design, and implementation of a
treatment system within 60 days; and eventual dismissal of Associated Universities Incorporated
from the management of BNL despite the small health risk to employees or the public.
Management of the strontium plume included a major alteration to the original regulatory
cleanup agreement when field data showed the preferred alternative to be economically
impractical. The report documents activities used to manage these contamination issues through
source control, monitoring, modeling, plume and risk management, and communications. The
lessons learned from these cleanup projects have altered the stewardship culture and methods of
performing research, communicating with the public, and conducting work at BNL. These
valuable lessons are highlighted in this report. (EXTRACT)
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Submitted By:
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Professor Paul Bardos WhoDoesWhat?
Last update: 02/06/2011
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