Biological and chemical assessment of M-Area process discharge to TIM's Branch, June 1985--December 1986

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:7014257

Carlton, W H ^[1]; Starkel, W M; Giffin, M; Trapp, K E ^[2]

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1. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
2. Environmental and Chemical Sciences, Inc., Aiken, SC (United States)

The production facilities of M-Area process uranium, lithium, and aluminum into fuel and target components for nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). These processes produce wastewaters that contain dissolved metals, solvents, and nitric acid. Beginning in July 1985, wastewater was diverted to the M-Area Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility (LETF), which treats the waste via precipitation, filtration, and neutralization. Major constituents of the LETF discharge include nitrate (as NaNO{sub 3}), phosphorus, total suspended solids, and trace amounts of aluminum, lead, nickel, iron, and uranium. In addition to the intermittent LETF discharge, the A-014 outfall also has received a continuous discharge of noncontact cooling water (700 to 2500 gpm) since 1982 and effluent from the M-Area Ground Water Recovery Action (MAGWRA) air stripper (375 gpm) since September 1985. These effluents consist of trace amounts of (trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane) in the MAGWRA effluent. In June 1985, a chemical and biological monitoring program was initiated to determine if M-Area discharges are a significant environmental hazard to Tim's Branch. The main concerns are whether the discharge is toxic to aquatic life and whether high levels of nitrate in the discharge from the M-Area Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility (LETF) will cause eutrophication of the aquatic system.

• Research Organization: Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Lab.; Environmental and Chemical Sciences, Inc., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-76SR00001; AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 7014257
• Report Number(s): CORR-870139; ECS-SR--43; ON: DE92019919
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACTINIDES
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOMASS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMISTRY
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHLOROPHYLL
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FISHES
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HETEROCYCLIC ACIDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
INVERTEBRATES
LIQUID WASTES
METALS
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYTOCHROMES
PIGMENTS
PORPHYRINS
PROTEINS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
TOXICITY
URANIUM
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
WATER CHEMISTRY