FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 31, 2000

SCHUMER: NEW FUNDING WILL SPEED BROOKHAVEN CLEANUP BY TWO YEARS

Department of Energy Commits $41.3 Million Over

Next Five Years To Move Cleanup Completion from 2006 to 2004

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has committed $41.3 million in new funding to Brookhaven National Lab over the next five years, enabling the lab to complete its accelerated cleanup plan. The funding, which Schumer has been fighting for since May, will move up the cleanup's completion date from 2006 to 2004.

"The Department of Energy's decision to give Brookhaven's accelerated cleanup plan the green light is great news for Brookhaven and all of Long Island," said Schumer. "It will ultimately save millions of dollars, give Suffolk residents peace of mind, and allow Brookhaven to put the cleanup behind it once and for all."

The Brookhaven accelerated cleanup plan involves installing groundwater treatment systems, soil remediation and waste disposal to address groundwater contamination caused by leakage and residual hazardous waste from the lab. The lab will also decommission its High Flux Beam Reactor. The accelerated plan will cost more than initial cleanup estimate, but is expected to save at least $12 million in the long run.

Since meeting with Brookhaven officials and BNL's Citizen Advisory Counsel (CAC) in May, Schumer has been lobbying Energy Department Secretary Bill Richardson and Congress for funding for the accelerated cleanup. Schumer took Richardson on a tour of Brookhaven in August, set up a meeting between Richardson and the CAC and successfully fought for the inclusion of an additional $5 million for the cleanup in the FY01 Energy and Water Appropriations bill in September.

The $41.3 million in new funding comes from several areas, including:

An additional $3 million from the Department of Energy and an additional $5 million

from Congress on top of the $27.2 million already allocated for the Brookhaven cleanup under the FY01 Energy/Water Appropriations Bill. The FY01 funding marks a significant increase over the $22 million allocated for Brookhaven in FY 2000.

A new, $1.1 million technology grant to demonstrate new robotic technology for characterizing contamination in the lab's graphite reactor.

Increases in the amount of DOE funding for 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Under the DOE's old funding plan, Brookhaven would receive $27 million in both 2002 and 2003, $34.5 million in 2004 and $36.3 million in 2005. Under the plan announced today, BNL will receive $34 million in both 2002 and 2003, $44 million in 2004 and $45 million in 2005.

In addition to the money for the cleanup, the lab will also receive an allocation of $13.5 million in FY01 to put the its High Flux Beam Reactor in a safe shutdown condition. The lab will use most of the $45 million allocated for FY 2005 to begin decommissioning the reactor, a year earlier than the Department's original plan.

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