Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 300 area facility liquid effluent monitoring: 1994 and 1995 field tests
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Effluent Management Services manages liquid waste streams from some of the 300 Area buildings on the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, to ensure liquid discharges to the Columbia River are in compliance with permit requirements. The buildings are owned by the U.S. Department of Energy and operated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In fiscal year (FY) 1994 and FY 1995, three field tests were conducted to gather information that could be used to (1) increase the understanding of 300 Area building liquid waste streams based on the characterization and monitoring data collected during calendar year (CY) 1994 and CY 1995 and (2) establish improved methods for evaluating facility releases. The three field tests were (1) an evaluation of a continuous monitoring/event-triggered sampling system, (2) a volatile organic compound hold-time study, and (3) an investigation of the dilution and retention properties of the 300 Area process sewer. The results from the first field test showed that future characterization and monitoring of 300 Area facility liquid waste streams could benefit significantly from augmenting continuous monitoring with event-triggered sampling. Current continuous-monitoring practices (i.e., monitoring of pH, conductivity, and flow) cannot detect discharges of organic pollutants. Effluent control effectiveness would be enhanced by incorporating a continuous total organic carbon analyzer in the system to detect events involving releases of organic compounds. In the second field test, sample hold times were shown to have a significant effect on volatile organic compound data. Samples analyzed in the field within 1 hour of collection generally had 1.5 to 3 times higher volatile organic compound concentrations than those analyzed 1.5 to 4 weeks later at on-site and off-site laboratories, respectively. The number of volatile organic compounds detected also decreased with increasing hold times.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 552785
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-11553; ON: DE97054076; TRN: 98:008642
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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