Mercury Cleanup at the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex - 18304

Conference · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2018

OSTI ID:22975448

Macias, Dan ^[1]

---

1. URS, CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, East Tennessee Technology Park, P.O. Box 4699, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

The Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) is one of the nation's most important national security assets. The facility played a key role in producing the world's first atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project and since World War II has been a vital contributor to America's nuclear deterrent capability. Historically, mercury was used extensively in operations at Y-12 in connection with production of components for nuclear weapons. During peak usage - from 1950 to 1963 - approximately 11 million kilograms of mercury were used. Over the years, large quantities of mercury - as much as 330,000 kilograms -- were lost within buildings and to soil and surface water. Today, mercury is considered the greatest environmental risk on the Oak Ridge Reservation and mercury cleanup is a high priority for the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM). Remediation of Y-12 and East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) to mitigate the mercury risk is based on a phased, adaptive management approach. The approach to address surface water includes treatment actions in the short term and research and technology development to evaluate longer-term solutions in the downstream environment. A number of formidable challenges must be addressed in order to assure safe, effective cleanup of mercury contamination at Y-12 and in EFPC. In the long term, understanding how mercury moves in the EFPC system is essential to the development of new technologies and remedial options and strategies for mercury contamination in the creek. OREM has developed and is currently executing a Mercury Technology Development Plan to address these long term needs. As a major component of the short term actions, UCOR has completed the design of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility. Outfall 200 is the point at which the west end Y-12 storm drain system discharges to Upper East Fork Poplar Creek (UEFPC). Outfall 200 is consistently the largest single source of mercury to UEFPC. Construction and operation of this facility is critical to reduce mercury in UEFPC, and operation of this facility will be required before demolition of mercury contaminated facilities can begin. Once operational, the Mercury Treatment Facility will have a treatment capacity of 3,000 gallons per minute (gpm), a storm water capture rate of 40,000 gpm, and two million gallons of storm water storage capacity. The headworks with transfer pipeline is designed to capture flow from Outfall 200 and move it to the treatment facility. A contract for construction of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility is expected to be awarded in 2018. Early site preparation began in 2017. The early site preparation scope includes utilities relocation, small structure demolition and creek bank secant wall installation. Initial operation of the Mercury Treatment Facility is planned for 2022. (author)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22975448
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--20-WM-18304
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
DECONTAMINATION
HAZARDS
LAND POLLUTION
MANHATTAN PROJECT
MERCURY
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
OPERATION
REMEDIAL ACTION
SOILS
STREAMS
WATER POLLUTION
WATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT
Y-12 PLANT