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Final Release LLNL Site 300 (USDOE) Background Site History and Description Site History Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Site 300 is a Department of Energy (DOE) facility operated by the University of California since 1952. This facility is used to assure the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons. LLNL has not tested and does not test nuclear weapons; it tests only non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. Prior to 1971, LLNL was a part of the y University of California Radiation Laboratory(UCRL). In 1953, UCRL suggested the land that is now Site 300 be used as a high-explosives (HE) test facility in support of LLNL's Weapons Program Mission of research, development and testing of non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. Testing began at Site 300 in 1955. In the past, the site operated dry wells, waste water lagoons, and solid-waste landfills which historically accepted waste from Site 300. One of the landfills also received some waste from the Lawrence Livermore Main Site and from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory(LBNL). Current operations at the site include measuring the physical properties of explosives, vibration and shock testing, thermal materials testing, laser and particle beam developmental experimentation, and physical processing (fabrication, mechanical pressing, and machining) of shaped explosives and detonation devices. Site 300 was added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) on August 30, 1990 because of contaminants found by LLNL in groundwater at Site 300 and the total tonnage of material deposited in Site 300 landfills. Under the provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), LLNL performed a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study(RDFS) with oversight by the EPA,the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The RI addressed such topics as subsurface geology, groundwater flow, contaminant fate and transport, and the nature and extent of contamination. The RI's purpose was to characterize on-site and off-site, or potential off-site, contamination, as well as evaluations of the risk and hazard associated with the contamination. The Feasibility Study developed and evaluated alternatives for remedial action to address contamination of environmental media at Site 300. In 2001,interim remedies were selected for most contaminated areas of the site in the Interim Site-Wide Record of Decision. These remedial actions for site cleanup are being implemented at the site. In 2007 a Record of Decision is expected to set cleanup levels. Site Description LLNL Site 300 is located approximately 60 miles east-southeast of San Francisco, CA. It is approximately 17 miles east of Livermore, CA and about 9 miles southwest of Tracy, CA city 1