DECHEM: A remedial planning tool for metallic contaminants in soil at UMTRA Project sites. Final report and users` guide

Technical Report · Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:10140073

The DECHEM (DEcontamination of CHEMicals) method was developed for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project to guide characterization and remedial planning for metals contamination in soils. This is necessary because non-radiological hazardous constituents may be more mobile than radium-226 (Ra-226), and hence may migrate more deeply into subpile soils (beneath tailings that are to be relocated) or into adjacent contaminated soils at UMTRA Project sites. The result is that remedial action to the Ra-226 excavation limit, as specified in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, may not adequately remove hazardous non-radiological contamination. Unmitigated, these contaminants in soil may cause health risks because of their presence in resuspended particles, their uptake by crops or fodder their seepage into aquifers used for drinking water or other possible exposure pathways. The DECHEM method was developed in response to the need for advanced planning for the remediation of chemical contaminants at UMTRA Project sites, and includes the following elements: Establishment of acceptable exposure rates for humans to chemicals, based on EPA guidelines or other toxicological literature. Modeling of chemical migration through environmental pathways from a remediated UMTRA Project site to humans. Determination of allowable residual concentrations (i.e., cleanup guidelines) for chemicals in soils that results in doses to humans that are below established acceptable exposure rates. The initial development and application of the DECHEM method has focused upon hazardous metallic contaminants such as arsenic, lead, molybdenum, and selenium, which are known to occur in elevated concentrations at some UMTRA Project sites.

• Research Organization: USDOE Albuquerque Field Office, NM (United States). Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project Office
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-82AL14086
• OSTI ID: 10140073
• Report Number(s): DOE/UMTRA-400655-0000; ON: DE93009466
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Mar 1989
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
MILL TAILINGS
STABILIZATION
REMEDIAL ACTION
D CODES
SOILS
CONTAMINATION
ARSENIC
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
LEAD
MOLYBDENUM
SELENIUM
PROGRESS REPORT
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
DECONTAMINATION
HUMAN POPULATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
054000
540250
540220
HEALTH AND SAFETY
SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES
CHEMICALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT