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LLNL Environmental Community Letter LLNL Environmental Community Letter Big Trees a be sited on 9 acres located in the northeast sector of LLNL, NM1w Groundter Treatment Questionsr Comments an area that also contains Building 693, a facility operated by Facility The analysis of soil samples taken in January in Livermore's Big the Hazardous Waste Management Division of EPD. The prox- If you have questions or comments,or if you would like more Trees Park indicates that plutonium in park soil samples is below imity of the building to the DWTF may result in some useful information about LLNL's Speaker's Bureau and the environ- the maximum allowable level for residential areas set by the EPA. consolidation of functions in the future. Treatment Facility D, the Laboratory's newest ground water mental tour,or if you wish to be included on the mailing list treatment facility,was dedicated late last year with representa- for DOE/LLNL environmental projects,please call or write: I The soil samples were analyzed by the State Department of The DWTF will provide the Lab with the ability to: tives from the offices of Congressman Bill Baker,Laboratory Health Services,the EPA, and the Laboratory,using a commer- Director Bruce Tarter, and the DOE in attendance. Bert Heffner cial lab under contract. • Open radioactive and mixed waste containers to characterize, P.O. Box 808,L-790 decontaminate, and certify them. The contents will then be The treatment facilities are part of an extensive DOE/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory The investigation was undertaken after a soil sample taken from repackaged and shipped. clean-up plan to treat ground water contaminated with solvents Livermore,CA 94551 the park was analyzed by EPA and showed a level of 0.164 pic- • Conduct waste treatment and storage activities in accordance released to the ground when the site was a U.S.Navy pilot (510)422-9799 ocuries of plutonium per gram(pCi/g) of soil. This is less than with current and impending regulatory requirements and training and engine overhaul facility and during subsequent Lab 1/15th the EPA health concern level of 2.5 pCI/g but above DOE standards. use of the property. The solvents are commonly referred to as And please let us know what you think of the Environmental expected global fallout levels for the area. volatile organic compounds,or VOCs. Community Letter. The DWTF replaces limited-use facilities with a modem, inte- Soil samples from areas within and adjacent to the park were grated complex that will provide a long-range solution to Currently, there are five treatment facilities on site. Treatment analyzed. Results indicate that 12 of the 15 areas sampled in LLNL's and DOE's hazardous,radioactive, and mixed waste Facility A, located at the southwest corner of the Laboratory, or near the park have plutonium concentrations within global management problems. The appropriate permitting and public prevents further off-site migration of contaminants by capturing fallout levels for this region. Three areas showed higher levels participation requirements are being determined. the ground water which has moved off-site. Treatment Facilities of plutonium. One area outside the park showed values below B,C, and D currently treat on-site ground water only,helping global fallout. All of these higher values were below EPA prevent further spreading of the VOCs. Treatment Facility F screening levels. The FY95 Plan for the Mixed Waste treats both contaminated ground water and soil to remove gaso- H.F. Heffner line that leaked from an underground fuel tank. Community Relations The Laboratory plans to conduct a more detailed investigation Management Facility (NW MF) Environmental Protection Department in the three areas noted above. The additional sampling will The newest facility extracts the contaminated water from the seek to better define the boundaries of these areas,according to The MWMF is a national test bed whose purpose is to demon- ground,first passing the water through an air-stripping process. Bill McConachie,head of the EPD's Environmental Restoration strate alternatives to incineration for the disposal of mixed This process releases the VOCs into a contained air stream that Division. waste. Successful technologies will be made available to other passes through granular activated carbon to remove the contam- DOE sites as well as to commercial organizations. inants. The carbon is later disposed of as a waste product. The facility is capable of treating 70 gallons of water per minute. DISCLAIMER eeof ration Pro ram The FY95 Plan for the MWMF was released in December 1994 This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of DOE g g by the DOE. The Plan calls for a pilot demonstration facility to the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor U ate be built on the LLNL site and outlines the following objectives the University of California nor any of their employees,makes any warranty, Environmental TO r express or implied,or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, for FY95: completeness,or usefulness of any information,apparatus,product,or process The DOE Reconfiguration Program is continuing to expand its The EPD offers a comprehensive, three-hour tour of the disclosed,or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products,process,or service by public involvement activities by encouraging the public to • Complete the preliminary design of the major systems of the Laboratory's environmental activities. Held on the third trade name,trademark,manufacturer,or otherwise,does not necessarily consti- review the National Environmental Policy Act. The Program MWMF. Thursday of every month, the tour includes: a ground water tute or imply its endorsement,recommendation,or favoring by the United has established an"800"number(800-776-2765) that the public • Begin the final design of the major systems. treatment facility, the sewer diversion facility, the hazardous States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United may use to register comments. • Issue Project Baseline,Revision 2, to address the technical, waste yard, the drainage retention basin, the Nova laser, a States Government or the University of California and shall not be used for operational,permitting,and scheduling issues involved with protected and endangered species presentation, and the recycling advertising or product endorsement purposes. housing MWMF in one of the buildings comprising DWTF. areas. The tour is also available for small groups,but please call Work performed under the auspices of the U.S.Department of Energy by Decontamination and Waste This co-housing step will help to cut the costs of MWMF at least two weeks in advance to register. For more information, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. substantially. please call Kristin Giller at (510) 424-2580. UCRL-AR-112812-95-1 Treatment Facility (D WTO • Complete necessary environmental permit applications. • Complete implementation and documentation of manage- The DOE has announced Key Decision One,authorizing the ment control systems. preliminary design for the DWTF. The purpose of the facility is to characterize, treat, and store mixed waste (a combination The above objectives will help the Laboratory meet the DOE of hazardous and radioactive wastes). The project will eventually directive to cut the budget as much as possible. So far, the include the design and construction of seven new buildings, Laboratory has pared the original estimate from$16.5 million totaling approximately 115,000 square feet.The buildings will to$7.6 million,a reduction of 54%. 2 3