1994 ANL-E Site Environmental Report

Executive Summary



This report is a summary of the ongoing environmental protection program conducted by ANL in 1994. It includes descriptions of the site, the ANL missions and programs, the status of compliance with environmental regulations, environmental protection and restoration activities, and the environmental surveillance program. The surveillance program conducts regular monitoring for radiation, radioactive materials, and nonradiological constituents on the ANL site and in the surrounding region. These activities document compliance with appropriate standards and permit limits, identify trends, provide information to the public, and contribute to a better understanding of ANL's impact on the environment. The surveillance program supports the ANL policy to protect the public, employees, and the environment from harm that could be caused by ANL activities and to reduce environmental impacts to the greatest degree practicable.

Compliance Summary

Radionuclide emissions, the disposal of asbestos, and conventional air pollutants from ANL facilities are regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA). A number of airborne radiological emission points at ANL are subject to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations for radionuclide releases from DOE facilities (40 CFR 61, Subpart H). All such air emission sources were evaluated to ensure that the requirements are being properly addressed. The ANL individual off-site dose required to be reported by these U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations was 0.015 mrem/y in 1994. This is 0.15 % of the 10 mrem/y standard.

At ANL, asbestos-containing material was frequently encountered during maintenance or renovation of existing facilities and equipment. Asbestos was removed in strict accordance with the NESHAP regulations as well as with the much stricter Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) worker protection standards. All asbestos waste material was disposed of at off-site landfills in Illinois. Approximately 153 m3 (5400 ft3) of asbestos-containing materials were removed and disposed of off-site during 1994.

The ANL site contains several sources of conventional air pollutants. The steam plant and fuel dispensing facilities operate continuously and represent the only significant sources of conventional air pollutants. The operating permit for the steam plant requires continuous opacity and sulfur dioxide monitoring of the smoke stack from Boiler No. 5, the only boiler equipped to burn coal. Coal was burned five months during 1994, whereas natural gas was used exclusively as a fuel for seven months of the year. During the period coal was burned, which is in colder weather to supplement the gas-fired boilers, one excursion for opacity was observed. The last of the high sulfur coal was burned in January 1994.

The principal regulatory mechanism designed to achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The authority to implement the NPDES program has been delegated to the State of Illinois. Nine surface water discharge points are regulated by the ANL NPDES permit, which identifies the sampling locations, sampling frequency, constituents, and limits. The permit renewal, which became effective October 30, 1994, increased the number of monitored discharge points to 28. Although there was a slight decrease of NPDES exceedances (24) during 1994, overall the number of NPDES exceedances has been declining with 86 in 1990, 44 in 1991, 19 in 1992 and 25 in 1993.

ANL was granted interim status under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by submitting a Part A permit application in 1980. In 1990, a Part B permit application was submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Fourteen hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities have been identified. The Part B permit application is currently under review.

ANL has prepared and implemented a site-wide underground storage tank compliance plan. Thirty-three tanks were removed over the past several years and 22 tanks replaced or upgraded in FY 1992 and FY 1993. Three tanks in the 800 Area (Building 827) which are no longer necessary for operation remain to be removed. One additional tank (Tank No. 17) servicing Buildings 813 and 815 will be upgraded or replaced as appropriate in FY 1995. Of the locations from which tanks were removed or replaced, 17 were found to have some degree of exterior contamination from leaks, spills, or overfills. All but one of these contaminated sites were successfully cleaned and filled. One removal completed in 1989 required an IEPA-approved "dirty" closure due to its proximity to a building.

In 1986, ten potential Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CHURCHLY) sites were identified. Under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, a total of 15 Preliminary Assessments (PA) reports were submitted. In late 1990, Site Screening Investigation (SSI) reports were completed on two individual sites and one composite submittal of three locations (317/319/ENE). Characterization studies are at various stages for a number of the identified sites.

The only Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) compounds in significant quantities at ANL are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) contained in electrical capacitors, transformer oil, and PCB-contaminated soil and sludge. All pole-mounted transformers and circuit breakers containing PCBs were replaced or retrofilled with non-PCB oil. All removal and disposal activities were conducted by licensed contractors specializing in such operations. A sludge drying bed, servicing the ANL wastewater treatment plant, is contaminated with PCBs of unknown origin. An extensive characterization study was conducted and the sludge was containerized and stored.

The DOE implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (N-F-PA) regulations has been undergoing significant changes since 1992. Most NEPA project reviews sent to DOE for review and approval were determined to be categorical exclusions although Environmental Assessments (EA) will be required for several projects. There are currently no active projects at ANL for which an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required.

The 1994 Five-Year Plan requests funds for on-site corrective action projects, environmental restoration projects, and waste management activities. The corrective action projects concentrate on upgrading or replacing existing treatment facilities. Environmental restoration activities are projects which assess and clean up inactive waste sites. These include two inactive landfills, three French drains (dry wells used to dispose of liquid chemicals), two inactive wastewater treatment facilities and a number of areas that may have been contaminated with small amounts of hazardous chemicals. A number of Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) projects for on-site nuclear facilities have been identified, including clean up at the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor (EBWR) and Chicago Pile-Five (CP-5) research reactors. The majority of the Waste Management projects involve improvements to existing treatment or storage facilities.

The major compliance issue at ANL in 1994 was compliance with the new NPDES limits for TDS, copper, ammonia, nitrogen, and total residual chlorine. Another significant issue involved the inadvertent shipment, through an independent contractor, of waste oil contaminated with PCBs to an off-site recycling facility. Other compliance issues included exceeding the action levels for lead and copper in drinking water, elevated levels of some routine indicator parameters in the groundwater at the sanitary landfill, and clean-up of environmental contamination caused by previous activities on the ANL site.

Environmental Surveillance Program

Airborne emissions of gaseous radioactive materials from ANL were monitored and the effective dose equivalents were estimated at the site perimeter and to the maximally-exposed member of the public. The CAP-88 version of the EPA/AIRDOSE-RADRISK code was used. The estimated maximum perimeter dose was 0.35 mrem/y in the north direction, while the estimated maximum dose to a member of the public was 0. 12 mrem/y. This is 0. 12 % of the DOE radiation protection standard of 100 mrem/y for all pathways. Approximately 90% of this estimated dose is due to the release of 1750 curies of radon-220 in 1994. If the radon-220 impact is excluded from reporting, as required in 40 CFR 61, Subpart H, the estimated dose to the maximally-exposed individual would be 0.015 mrem/y. The estimated population dose from all releases to the approximately eight million people living within 80 km (50 mi) of the site was 5.8 man-rem compared to 13.0 man-rem in 1993.

Air monitoring was also conducted at ANL for total alpha activity, total beta activity, strontium-90, isotopic thorium, isotopic uranium, and plutonium-239. No statistically significant difference was identified between samples collected at the ANL perimeter and samples collected off the site. Monitoring for hazardous chemical constituents in ambient air was not conducted.

The only source of radionuclides and chemical pollutants in surface water due to ANL releases was in Sawmill Creek below the wastewater discharge point. At various times, measurable levels of hydrogen-3, strontium-90, cesium- 137, plutonium-239, and americium241 were detected. Of these radionuclides, the maximum annual release was 1. 14 curies of hydrogen-3. The hydrogen-3 was added to the wastewater as part of normal Laboratory operations. The dose to a hypothetical individual using water from Sawmill Creek as his sole source of drinking water would be 0.0788 mrem/y. However, no one uses this as drinking water and dilution by the Des Plaines River reduces the concentrations of the measured radionuclides to levels below their respective detection limits downstream from ANL at Lemont. Sawmill Creek is also monitored for nonradiological constituents to demonstrate compliance with State of Illinois water quality standards. Silver and copper were occasionally detected above the standard.

Surface soil and grass samples were collected at ten perimeter and ten off-site locations during 1994. The purpose of the sampling was to detect the possible buildup of radionuclides from the deposition of airborne emissions. The results indicate no statistically significant difference between the perimeter and off-site concentrations of potassium-40, cesium-137, radium-226, thorium-228, thorium-232, plutonium-238, plutonium-239, and americium-241.

Sediment samples were collected from Sawmill Creek, above, at, and below the point of wastewater discharge. For comparison purposes, samples were also collected from the beds of ten off-site streams and ponds. The analysis of the off-site samples for selected radionuclides established their current ambient levels. Elevated levels of cesium-137 (up to 0.49 pCi/g), plutonium-238 (up to 0.002 pCi/g), plutonium-239 (up to 0.019 pCi/g), and americium-241 (up to 0.008 pCi/g) were found in the sediment below the outfall and are attributed to past ANL releases.

Dose rates from penetrating radiation (gamma-rays) were measured at 14 perimeter and on-site locations and at five off-site locations in 1994 using thermoluminescent dosimeters. The off-site results averaged 82 + 6 mrem/y, consistent with the long-term average. Above-background doses occurred at one perimeter location and were due to ANL operations. At the south fence, radiation from a temporary storage facility for radioactive waste resulted in an average dose of 92 mrem/y for 1994. The estimated dose from penetrating radiation to the nearest resident south of the site was < 0.01 mrem/y.

The potential radiation doses to members of the public from ANL operations during 1994 were estimated by combining the exposure from inhalation, ingestion, and direct radiation pathways. The pathway that dominates is the airborne releases. The highest estimated dose was about 0. 12 mrem/y to individuals living 500 m north of the site if they were outdoors at that location during the entire year. Doses from other pathways were calculated and were small at this location. The magnitude of the doses from ANL operations are well within all applicable standards and are insignificant when compared to doses received by the public from natural radiation (- 300 mrem/y) or other sources, e.g., medical x-rays and consumer products (- 60 mrem/y).

Radiological and chemical constituents in the groundwater were monitored in several areas of the ANL site in 1994. The ANL domestic water supply is monitored by collecting quarterly samples from the four wells and a treated water tap. All results were less than the limits established by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) except for elevated levels of total dissolved solids (TDS). The action levels for copper and lead in drinking water were exceeded during 1994.

Ten monitoring wells screened in the glacial till and two into the dolomite were sampled quarterly at the 317/319 Area and analyzed for radiological and for volatile organic, semivolatile, PCBS, and pesticides/herbicides constituents. The major organic contaminants detected were trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, and chloroform. Measurable levels of hydrogen-3, strontium-90, and cesium-137 were present in several of the wells. A characterization program to assess the extent of the groundwater contamination was initiated during 1993 and continued in 1994.

Eleven monitoring wells screened in the glacial till and two into the dolomite at the 800 Area sanitary landfill are sampled on a quarterly basis and analyzed for metals, volatile organic compounds, semivolatiles, PCBS, pesticides/herbicides, and hydrogen-3.- Levels above Water Quality Standards (WQS) for chloride, iron, manganese, and total dissolved solids were found in some wells. Above background levels of hydrogen-3, 1,4-dioxane, chlorodifluoromethane, and tetrahydrofuran were found in several of the wells. A work plan for a groundwater characterization program at this site was completed during 1993 and work began in 1994.

An extensive quality assurance program is maintained to cover all aspects of the environmental surveillance sampling and analysis programs. Approved documents are in place along with the supporting standard operating procedures. Newly collected data were compared both with recent results and historical data to ensure that deviations from previous conditions were identified and promptly evaluated. Samples at all locations were collected using well-established and documented procedures to ensure consistency. Samples were analyzed by documented standard analytical procedures. Data quality was verified by a continuing program of analytical laboratory quality control, participation in inter-laboratory cross-checks, and replicate sampling and analysis. Data were managed and tracked by a dedicated computerized data management system which assigns unique sample numbers, schedules collection and analysis, checks status, and prepares tables and information for the annual report.
Disclaimer
Contact the authors of this document: Norb Golchert, ngolchert@anl.gov or Ron Kolzow, rkolzow@anl.gov

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