High Flux Beam Reactor Surveillance & Maintenance and Monitoring
Surveillance & Maintenance
The High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)
is being decommissioned. BNL will deploy a surveillance and
maintenance (S&M) program to manage the inventory of radioisotopes remaining
at the HFBR complex and to ensure that the complex is maintained in a safe
condition. The complex includes the
HFBR confinement building, ancillary buildings, and associated systems.
Residual radioactive contamination at the HFBR will be maintained in a
safe condition under the S&M program and future human exposure pathways will
be prevented. The program will cover the period of time specified by
the cleanup alternative selected under the HFBR Proposed Remedial Action
Plan and detailed in the Record of Decision (ROD).
Routine S&M activities will include:
- Continued groundwater monitoring and response actions in accordance
with the Operable Unit (OU) III Record of Decision (ROD).
- Continued air effluent monitoring
- Routine inspections of the reactor complex, including the
maintenance and periodic refurbishment of structures, systems, and
components throughout the period of radioactive decay
- Routine inspections and maintenance of the yard area, including
periodic refurbishment of ground cover to prevent soil erosion
- Periodic reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
Surveillance activities will be performed by various BNL
organizations. The activities will be scheduled and tracked. In
addition to the routine S&M activities outlined above, there will also be
operations and maintenance activities performed at the HFBR. These
activities will be limited to those necessary to support the S&M activities.
Housekeeping will be limited to pick-up and deliveries, garbage collection,
and vacuuming and mopping of floors. Grounds keeping activities will
include debris removal, lawn mowing, weed whacking, and removal of leaves,
snow and ice. Preventive maintenance to minimize potential failure of
systems and components such as buildng ventilation exhaust systems.
The HFBR S&M plan will be developed by the Department of Energy (DOE) in
consultation with the EPA and NYSDEC.
Groundwater Monitoring
The Long Term Response Action (LTRA) Group was formed as part of
the Environmental & Waste Management Services Division (EWMSD) in 2004. The LTRA Group was assigned the responsibility for the long-term surveillance,
monitoring, maintenance, operating, reporting, and community involvement
activities that are required to complete federal Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental cleanup
activities at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).
The LTRA Group conducts groundwater monitoring on the BNL site of the
HFBR tritium plume, which resulted from the spent fuel pool leak, in
accordance with the
OU III ROD.
The monitoring program includes a network of 111 permanent wells sampled at
frequencies ranging from monthly to annually. The well network
is supplemented with temporary wells that are installed on a semi-annual
basis to address any data gaps in the permanent well network that may be
created by changes in the location of the tritium plume. Groundwater
monitoring data is reported to the regulatory agencies - EPA, NYSDEC, the
New York State Department of Health and the Suffolk County Department of
Health Services - quarterly, and is summarized in an annual report.
Any unexpected data results are communicated to the regulators during weekly
conference calls, or immediately, if warranted.
Definitions
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Operable Units (OUs) are groups of areas within a site that
contain the same or similar contamination. The areas within one OU are
not necessarily adjacent. Six OUs have been designated at BNL.
The plans for remediating an OU are developed in accordance with an
Interagency Agreement among EPA, NYSDEC, and DOE and are detailed in a ROD. |
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A Record of Decision
(ROD) documents the final remedy selected for the sites, and
includes a responsiveness summary, which addresses comments received on the
Proposed Plan during the public comment period. When the ROD is
finalized, remedial design and remedial action begin. |
Last Modified: February 1, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to:
Kathy Schoenig
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