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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A large scale environmental assessment: The Clinch River Remedial Investigation

Conference ·
OSTI ID:212046
;  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
The USEPA identified the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in east Tennessee as a Superfund National Priorities List site in 1989. Facilities at the ORR have released a variety of radiological, organic, and inorganic contaminants to the local aquatic environment as a result of nuclear weapons production, uranium enrichment, and energy research and development activities from the mid 1940s to the present. The Clinch River Remedial Investigation (CRRI) was initiated to meet the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements to determine the nature and extent of hazardous releases to the aquatic environment. Phase 1 of the CRRI consisted of sampling and analysis of selected sites representing differing levels of contamination to determine the range of contaminant concentrations present in off-site water, sediment, and fish. Sampling activities in support of Phase 2 of the remedial investigation were designed to assist in defining the nature and extent of the contaminants of concern in sediment, water and biota, and to provide information for assessing the potential risks to human health and the environment associated with those contaminants. A concurrent study evaluated potential remedial alternatives and identified effective and acceptable corrective measures. An overview of the CRRI, including a history of the facilities and their contaminant releases, and the regulatory context in which the remedial investigation occurred is presented.
OSTI ID:
212046
Report Number(s):
CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English