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Oak Ridge Health Studies
To evaluate the potential health effects that residents
living near the reservation might have as a result
of contaminants released from the Oak Ridge Reservation,
the Tennessee Department of Health entered into an
agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
for an Oak Ridge Reservation health study project.
The Oak Ridge Health Studies are independent state
evaluations of contaminants released from DOE's Oak
Ridge Reservation since its creation. The Tennessee
Department of Health directed the studies, which
were funded by DOE at a cost of approximately $14
million. The studies assessed the contaminants released
from the X-10 site, now referred to as the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory; the Y-12 weapons plant now referred
to as the Oak Ridge Reservation Nuclear Materials
Production Plant; and the K-25 site known as the
Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and renamed East
Tennessee Technology Park.
The Oak Ridge Health Studies were conducted in two
parts. Phase I was a dose reconstruction feasibility study that
evaluated all past releases from the reservation.
This phase of the study evaluated the available information
and data on past releases and the exposure pathways
of those releases. The information gathered was then
analyzed to determine which contaminants might be
of priority public health concern and whether it
would be feasible to conduct studies that would reconstruct
the releases of these contaminants. The purpose of
this analysis was to estimate the potential exposure
to the contaminants that might have been experienced
by people living near the site at the time the contaminants
were released.
The Phase I dose reconstruction feasibility study
identified five substances to be studied further
in Phase II dose reconstruction
analyses:
- Radioactive iodine
- Mercury
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Radionuclides released to White Oak Creek
- Uranium
In addition, Phase II dose reconstruction analyses
included more detailed assessments and estimates
of the potential past exposure and risk to those
contaminants that might have been experienced by
persons living off the reservation but near the site
at the time the contaminants were released.
The Tennessee Department of Health entered into
the agreement with DOE to conduct the Oak Ridge Health
Studies in 1991. The studies were released in 2000.
Details of the studies and the results obtained may
be reviewed at the Oak Ridge Health
Studies Web site.
An earlier survey evaluating mercury contamination
was conducted by the state of Tennessee in 1983,
in cooperation with CDC's National Center for Environmental
Health. This survey documented body levels of mercury
in Oak Ridge residents and assessed the immediate
health risk to persons exposed to mercury-contaminated
soil and fish. The survey was conducted in response
to community members' concerns about mercury contamination,
especially in the East Fork Poplar Creek floodplain.
Results indicated that residents and workers were
not likely to be at increased risk for significantly
high mercury levels.
The Tennessee Department of Health conducted a health
statistic review in 1992 to compare cancer incidence
rates for 1988–1990 for counties surrounding
the Oak Ridge Reservation with the rates for the
entire state of Tennessee. The department also conducted
a health statistics review in 1994 that compared
the mortality rates for 1980–1992 of counties
surrounding the reservation with the rates for the
entire state. The reviews concluded that some rates
were high and some low compared to the state rates,
but that no patterns related to the site were identified.
Studies were conducted at the East Tennessee Technology
Park to evaluate DOE's Toxic Substances Control Act
Incinerator. A 1997 Governor of Tennessee Independent
Panel Report concluded that the incinerator facility
and operating conditions were in accordance with
the facility's permit. Few operating violations had
occurred, and the amount of waste actually burned
was but a small fraction of the volume allowed. The
highest concentrations measured by the site monitors
were significantly lower than permissible levels.
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