Introduction CHAPTER
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Introduction CHAPTER Timothy Jannik Savannah River National Laboratory 1 Al Mamatey Regulatory Integration & Environmental Services he Savannah River Site (SRS), one of the facilities in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex, was constructed during the early 1950s to produce materials (primarily plutonium-239 and tritium) usedT in nuclear weapons. The site covers approximately 310 square miles in South Carolina and borders the Savan- nah River. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) assumed responsibility from Washington Savannah River Company (WSRC) for SRS Maintenance and Operations activities in August 2008. Savannah River Remediation (SRR) subsequently took over the site’s Liquid Waste Operations functions from WSRC in July 2009. Mission locations, and by safely stabilizing any waste tank residue remaining on site. SRS’s mission is to fulfill its responsibilities safely and securely in the stewardship of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, nuclear materials, and Site Location, Demographics, the environment. These stewardship areas reflect and Environment current and future missions to SRS covers 198,344 acres in Aiken, Allendale, and • meet the needs of the U.S. nuclear weapons Barnwell counties of South Carolina. The site is ap- stockpile proximately 12 miles south of Aiken, South Caro- lina, and 15 miles southeast of Augusta, Georgia • store, treat, and dispose of excess nuclear mate- (figure 1–1). rials safely and securely The average population density in the counties sur- • treat and dispose of legacy radioactive liquid rounding SRS is about 91 people per square mile, waste from the Cold War with the largest concentration in the Augusta met- ropolitan area. Based on 2000 U.S. Census Bureau • clean up radioactive and chemical environmen- data, the population within a 50-mile radius of the tal contamination from previous site operations center of SRS is approximately 712,780. This trans- lates to an average population density of about 91 SRS continued in 2009 to improve environmental people per square mile, with the largest concentra- quality, clean up its legacy waste sites, manage any tion in the Augusta metropolitan area. waste produced from current operations, and plan for future operations. This included working with Water Resources the South Carolina Department of Health and Envi- ronmental Control (SCDHEC), the Environmental SRS is bounded on its southwestern border by the Protection Agency (EPA), and the Nuclear Regula- Savannah River for about 35 river miles and is ap- tory Commission to find mutually acceptable solu- proximately 160 river miles from the Atlantic Ocean. tions for waste disposition. As part of its ongoing mission, the site will continue to address the highest- The Savannah River is used as a drinking water risk waste management issues by safely disposing of supply source for some residents upstream of SRS. liquid waste and surplus nuclear materials at offsite The nearest downriver municipal drinking water Environmental Report for 2009 (SRNS–STI–2010–00175) 1-1 1 - Introduction SRNL Map Figure 1 –1 The Savannah River Site SRS is located in South Carolina, about 12 miles south of Aiken, South Carolina, and about 15 miles southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The Savannah River flows along a portion of the site’s southwestern border. The capital letters within the SRS borders identify operations areas referenced throughout this report. source (Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Author- for processes and for drinking water. ity’s Purrysburg Water Treatment Plant) is located approximately 90 river miles from the site. The Geology river also is used for commercial and sport fishing, boating, and other recreational activities. There are SRS is located on the southeastern Atlantic Coastal no known large-scale uses of the river for irrigation Plain, which is part of the larger Atlantic Plain that by farming operations downriver of the site. The extends south from New Jersey to Florida. The groundwater flow system at SRS consists of four center of SRS is approximately 25 miles southeast of major aquifers. Groundwater generally migrates the geological Fall Line that separates the Coastal downward as well as laterally in recharge areas— Plain from the Piedmont. Characterization of re- eventually either discharging into the Savannah gional earthquake activity is dominated by the cata- River and its tributaries or migrating into the deeper strophic Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of regional flow system. SRS groundwater is used both August 31, 1886 (est. magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter 1-2 Savannah River Site Introduction - 1 scale). With nearly three centuries of available A detailed description of the site’s 2009 Liquid Waste historic and contemporary seismic data, the Charles- Operations activities can be found on the CD accom- ton/Summerville area remains the most seismically panying this report. active region of South Carolina—and the most sig- nificant seismogenic region affecting SRS. Ongoing Separations studies by University of South Carolina seismolo- gists suggest a recurrence interval of 500–600 years In the past, the SRS separations facilities processed for magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes (similar to special nuclear materials and spent fuel from site the 1886 event) near Charleston. Earthquake activity reactors to produce materials for nuclear weapons occurring within the upper Coastal Plain of South and isotopes for medical and National Aeronautics Carolina, where the majority of SRS is located, and Space Administration applications. The end of is best characterized by occasional small shallow the Cold War in 1991 brought a shift in the mission events associated with strain release near small- of these facilities to stabilization of nuclear materi- scale faults and intrusives. Levels of seismic activity als from onsite and offsite sources for safe storage or within this region are very low, with magnitudes or disposition. F Canyon, one of the site’s two primary sizes generally less than or equal to 3.0 separations facilities, was deactivated in 2006. The other facility, H Canyon, continues to operate, and Land and Forest Resources an important part of its mission is the conversion of weapons-usable, highly enriched uranium to low-en- About 90 percent of SRS land area consists of riched uranium for use in the manufacture of com- natural forests and managed pine plantations, which mercial reactor fuel, a key function of the nation’s are planted, maintained, and harvested by the U.S. nuclear nonproliferation program. Department of Agriculture Forest Service–Savan- nah River. The site contains portions of three forest Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage types: Oak-Hickory-Pine, Southern Mixed, and Southern Floodplain. More than 370 Carolina bays SRS’s spent nuclear fuel facilities store fuel elements exist on SRS. These unique wetlands provide impor- from a variety of foreign and domestic reactors. tant habitat and refuge for many plants and animals. The mission of the spent nuclear fuel program is to cost-effectively eliminate the hazards associated with Animal and Plant Life legacy spent nuclear fuel—from research reactors around the world—by receiving, stabilizing, and dis- The majority of SRS is undeveloped; only about 10 positioning the fuels in a safe and environmentally percent of the total land area is developed or used sound manner. for industrial facilities. The remainder is maintained in healthy, diverse ecosystems. About 260 species of Tritium Processing birds, 60 species of reptiles, 40 species of amphib- ians, 85 species of freshwater fish, and 50 species of SRS tritium facilities are designed and operated to mammals have been identified at SRS. The site also sup ply and process tritium, a radioactive form of is home to an estimated 950 species of plants. hydrogen gas that is a vital component of nuclear weapons. These facilities are part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Defense Pro- Primary Site Activities grams operations at SRS. Liquid Waste Operations Waste Management SRS continued to manage its Liquid Waste Opera- SRS manages tions facilities in support of the integrated high- activity waste removal program in 2009. This work • the large volumes of radiological and nonradio- included operation of the Defense Waste Processing logical waste created by previous operations of Facility, the Saltstone Production and Disposal the nuclear reactors and their support facilities Facilities, the F-Area and H-Area tank farms, and the Actinide Removal Process/Modular Caustic Side • newly generated waste created by ongoing site Solvent Extraction Unit salt processing facility. operations Environmental Report for 2009 (SRNS–STI–2010–00175) 1-3 1 - Introduction Although the primary focus is on safely manag- Green Remediation is the practice of (1) considering ing the radioactive liquid waste, the site also must all the environmental effects of remedy implementa- handle, store, treat, dispose of, and minimize solid tion and (2) incorporating options to minimize the waste resulting from past, ongoing, and future environmental footprints of cleanup actions. Natural operations. Solid waste includes hazardous, low- remedies used at SRS include phytoremediation level, mixed, sanitary, and transuranic wastes. More (augmented natural vegetative processes), bioreme- information about radioactive liquid and solid diation (augmented naturally occurring microbial wastes is included on the CD housed inside the back processes), and natural remediation (natural pro- cover of this report.