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U.S. Department of Energy
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Road A Chemical Basin: Environmental information document

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5918266

The Road A Chemical Basin at the Savannah River Plant was closed and backfilled in 1973. It received miscellaneous radioactive and chemical aqueous waste. Four groundwater monitoring wells indicate no elevated levels of analytes in the groundwater. The closure options considered for this waste site are waste removal and closure, no waste removal and closure, and no action. Modeling calculations were made to determine the risks to human population for the three postulated closure options. An ecological assessment was conducted to predict the environmental impacts on aquatic and terrestrial biota. The relative costs for each of the closure options were estimated. Maximum health risk due to radioactive materials (/sup 238/U) is about 8.0E-06 excess health effects per year, for the no action option. The no waste removal and closure and waste removal and closure options reduce the calculated risk to about 1.2E-06 and 1.2E-08 HE/yr, respectively. The maximum calculated impact due to noncarcinogenic materials (lead) is 0.54 ADI fraction. The maximum calculated ADI fraction for lead after the period of institutional control is 4.1 E-04 for the reclaimed-farmland pathway for the no action option. Public risk attributable to atmospheric releases of chemical and radioactive constituents is minimal. For all years and options modeled, the noncarcinogenic risks calculated were zero except for the year of excavation, which had an ADI fraction of 1.41E-09. The maximum individual radiological health risk for the waste removal and closure option is small (6.97E-12 HE/yr). The radiological health effects for the no waste removal and closure and no action options are zero. The ecological assessment shows that the effects of any closure activities on river water quality and wildlife would be insignificant. The cost estimates show that the waste removal and closure option is the most expensive ($4,000,000). 41 refs., 13 figs., 41 tabs.

Research Organization:
Savannah River Lab., Aiken, SC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-76SR00001
OSTI ID:
5918266
Report Number(s):
DPST-85-699; ON: DE88000757
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English