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Contacts: Pete Genzer, (631) 344-3174 or Mona S. Rowe, (631) 344-5056

Brookhaven Lab Releases 2006 Site Environmental Report

October 15, 2007

UPTON, NY - The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has issued its 2006 Site Environmental Report. Report highlights include the Lab's recycling or re-use of more than 13 million pounds of waste, its launch of an open space stewardship program with Suffolk County students and teachers, and its recognition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for reducing mercury waste and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) use on site. The document can be found here.

The Site Environmental Report is prepared annually to summarize and document Brookhaven's environmental data; environmental management performance; compliance with applicable U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), federal, state, and local regulations; and restoration and monitoring programs. It also documents the steady progress toward cleaning up the site and fully integrating environmental stewardship into all facets of the Laboratory's mission. These cleanup and integration efforts are major commitments for Brookhaven, one of ten national laboratories owned and funded by DOE.

Brookhaven maintains a comprehensive environmental monitoring program to ensure protection of human health and the environment. This program monitors potential pathways of exposure, measures potential environmental impacts from Laboratory operations, and provides data to evaluate compliance with applicable regulatory limits. Environmental program highlights for 2006 include the following:

• Brookhaven's pollution prevention program, recycling programs, and conservation initiatives saved more than $1.8 million and supported the recycling or reuse of more than 13 million pounds of industrial, sanitary, hazardous, and radiological waste. The Laboratory invested approximately $37,000 in seven newly funded pollution prevention projects, with an annual anticipated savings of approximately $74,200, for an average payback period of less than one year.
• Brookhaven was honored with a National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Achievement Award from the EPA for reducing both its mercury waste generation and its inventory of PCBs. The Laboratory switched all fluorescent light fixtures to low-mercury bulbs, and replaced mercury-containing devices, such a thermometers and temperature-control devices, with alternatives. The Laboratory also converted most of its PCB-filled equipment to those that contain less hazardous alternative dielectric fluids.
• In 2006, 28 teachers from 11 Suffolk County school districts launched the GREEN Institute Open Space Stewardship Program in their schools. GREEN stands for "Gaining Research Experience in the Environment." The new program, initiated by Brookhaven's Office of Educational Programs, aims to foster partnerships between schools and land stewards in their local communities. Students in grades K through 12 perform environmental research on undeveloped land owned either by a public or private agency, and report their findings back to that agency.
• A 2006 environmental management system surveillance audit determined that Brookhaven remains in conformance with the globally recognized ISO 14001 Standard. ISO 14001 requires an organization to identify potential environmental impacts and establish controls needed to minimize impacts, to monitor and communicate environmental performance, and to establish a formal process for continually improving the system. Brookhaven was the first Long Island-based operation and the first DOE Office of Science facility to achieve this accreditation.
• Under the EPA's Performance Track Program, the Laboratory made significant progress in increasing Brookhaven's land and habitat conservation, reducing radioactive air emissions, reducing the use of ozone-depleting substances, and reducing its mercury inventory. The Performance Track Program recognizes top environmental performance among participating U.S. facilities and is considered the "gold standard" for facility-based environmental performance.
• Ten external environmental audits were conducted by regulatory agencies in 2006, including inspections of Brookhaven's potable water system, wastewater discharges, the Lab's petroleum storage facility, chemical bulk storage facilities, and the hazardous waste program. With the exception of several minor conditions that have since been addressed, the facilities were found to be in compliance with the regulations.
• In 2006, the dose to a hypothetical member of the public exposed to the maximum level of radiation due to Laboratory air emissions was 0.08 millirem (mrem), or less than 0.03 percent of the average annual natural background level of radiation (approximately 300 mrem on Long Island) and well below the 10-mrem limit set by the EPA under the Clean Air Act. Ambient radiation dose measurements in 2006 demonstrated that the on-site dose was consistent with off-site measurements and with results from locations in New York State that are not located near radiological facilities.
• The calculated maximum hypothetical radiation doses for a person eating locally caught deer and fish were estimated at 2.96 mrem and 0.07 mrem, respectively. Dose estimates are conservative, especially since hunting is not allowed on the Brookhaven site. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has determined that no restrictions on hunting or consumption of deer taken near Brookhaven are needed.
• Under the Peconic River remediation project, completed in 2005, mercury-contaminated sediment was removed from the river. Follow-up sampling in 2006 showed that 93 percent of samples analyzed at 16 on-site and 14 off-site locations met the project cleanup goals. Two initial samples contained mercury at levels higher than the cleanup goals, and additional samples confirmed that finding. Additional follow-up sampling in those areas of the Peconic River was planned for 2007.
• Low levels of mercury continue to be detected in Peconic River fish, but do not exceed EPA consumption criteria. A general fish advisory exists for all New York State ponds and rivers. Consumption of Peconic River fish within these guidelines is protective of public health.
• Brookhaven reported seven spills of antifreeze, fuel oil, or other small-volume chemical releases in 2006. All of the spills were cleaned up to the satisfaction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The Laboratory has been very successful in reducing the number and severity of spills on site with the implementation of a spill awareness program. From 2005 to 2006, the total incidence of reportable spills was reduced by 50 percent.
• Wastewater discharges from Brookhaven's sewage treatment plant contained radionuclide levels that were within the typical range of historical levels and were well below New York State Drinking Water Standards. Due to decommissioning and decontamination work accomplished at the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR), which last operated in 1996, total releases of tritium from the plant were the lowest ever recorded.
• Discharges to recharge basins showed low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including disinfection byproducts generated by the use of chlorine for the control of bacteria and algae in cooling water and potable water systems. Data from upstream and downstream locations showed that the Peconic River water quality on site is indistinguishable from control locations (areas not influenced by Brookhaven operations).
• Areas of the Laboratory site where past activities have caused groundwater contamination continued to undergo extensive monitoring and cleanup in 2006. Brookhaven also monitors a number of research and support facilities to ensure that engineered and operational controls are effectively protecting groundwater quality. During 2006, 13 groundwater remediation systems were in active operation, and Brookhaven continued to make significant progress in restoring groundwater quality on and off site. During 2006, 372 pounds of VOCs and 5.3 millicuries of strontium-90 were removed from the groundwater, and more than 1.5 billion gallons of treated groundwater were returned to the aquifer. To date, approximately 5,600 pounds of VOCs and 11.6 millicuries of strontium-90 have been removed from the aquifer. Additional groundwater extraction wells will be added to several on-site and off-site remediation systems in 2007. The modifications are based on an analysis of monitoring and system performance data and ensure that areas of contaminated groundwater will be captured and cleanup goals will be achieved.
• In 2006. the Lab and DOE released for public comment a proposed plan to address radiological groundwater contamination in the center of the Lab site. This plan was finalized and approved by EPA, NYSDEC, and DOE in May 2007.

Brookhaven has published annual site environmental reports from 1962 to 1966 and from 1971 to 2006. Summary reports for the years 1947 to 1961 and 1967 to 1970 are also available. Data summarized in the 2006 report were obtained through testing performed by state-certified laboratories.

To obtain a copy of the summary booklet and an accompanying CD containing the full report, call (631) 344-3711. Copies are also available for review at public libraries near Brookhaven. The full report and summary are also available here.

Number: 07-105  |  BNL Media & Communications Office

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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