Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (Operable Unit 4), CO NOTICE
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United States Office of EPA/R0D/R08-92/064 Environmental Protection Emergency and April 1992 Agency Remedial Response PB93-964404 &EPA Superfund Record of Decision: Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (Operable Unit 4), CO NOTICE The appendices listed in the index that are not found in this document have been removed at the reQuest of the issuing agency. They contain materiaJ which supptement. but adds no further applicable information to the content of the document All supplemental material is, however, contained in the administrative record for this site. ' 50272-101 REPORT DOCUMENTATION ., ,. REPORT NO. 3. Recipient• Acceaalon No. PAGE EPA/ROD/ROS-92/064 I ~ 4. TIiie and Subdtle 5. Report Daw SUPERFUND RECORD OF DECISION 04/06/92 Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (Operable Unit 4), CO 6. Third Remedial Action - Interim 7. Author(a) a. Perfonning Organization Rapt. No. 9. Performing Orgainizallon Name and Addreaa 10. Project/Taak/Worlc Unit No. 11. Contrac1(C) or Grant(G) No. (C) (G) 1~ Sp-oring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report & Period Covered U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 800/000 401 M Street, s.w. Washington, D.C. 20460 14. 15. Supplementary Note• PB93-964404 16. Abetract (Umit: 200 worda) The Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (OU4) site is part of the 6,500-acre nuclear weapons research, development, production, and plutonium processing complex in Jefferson County, Colorado. The plant is composed of the 450-acre Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) security area and the remaining buffer area. Land use in the area is predominantly rural, agricultural, commercial, and industrial, with several residential areas within 5 miles of the site. Since 1951, the Department of Energy (DOE) has used the site to manufacture components of nuclear weapons; process plutonium; fabricate, machining, and assemble components from metals. The central portion of RFP contains the Solar Evaporation Pond (SEPs) Waste Management Unit, including Ponds 207-A, 207-B North, 207-B Center, 207-B South, 207-C, and the Interceptor Trench System (ITS). The SEPs were formerly used to store and treat liquid process waste having less than 100,000 picocuries (pci/1) per liter of total long-lived alpha activity. These process wastes also contained high concentrations of nitrates as well as treated acidic wastes containing aluminum hydroxide. The ponds are known to have received other wastes, including sanitary sewer sludge, lithium chloride, lithium metal, sodium nitrate, ferric chloride, sulfuric acid, ammonium persulfates, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, (See Attached Page) 17. Document Analylia L Deacriptora Record of Decision - Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (Operable Unit 4), co Third Remedial Action - Interim Contaminated Medium: sw Key Contaminants: voes (TCE), metals (chromium), radioactive materials b. ldentiliera/Open-Ended Terrna c. COSA Tl field/Group 18. AvailabiUty Statement 19. Security Claaa (Thia Report) 21. No. of Pall" None 114 20. Security Claaa (Thia Page) 22. Price I None ruNM ~fi< (4-77) See ANSI-Z39.18 See lnetruclione on Rev11TN vr , ,v_._ (Formerly NTIS-35) Department of Convnerce EPA/R0D/R08-92/064 Rocky Flats Plant (USDOE) (Operable Unit 4), CO Third Remedial Action - Interim stract (Continued) hexavalent chromium, tritium, and cyanide solutions. Sludge from the SEPs was removed periodically to implement repair work on the pond liners and as part of routine waste management activities. Removed sludge was mixed with Portland cement and solidified as a mixture of sludge and concrete for shipment for offsite disposal. In 1986, placement of process waste material into these ponds ceased. From 1971 to 1974, construction of interceptor trenches was initiated to prevent natural seepage and pond leakage from entering North Walnut Creek. In 1981, the system was replaced by the current ITS, which collects an estimated 4 million gallons per year for discharge to the 207-B ponds. This interim ROD addresses management and treatment of liquids contained in ponds 207-A, 207-B North, 207-B Center, 207-B South, and the water collected by the ITS as the OU4 at the site. Future RODs will address removal and solidification of the sludge, and.will further investigate, and characterize the site-. The primary contaminants of concern affecting the surface water are voes, including TCE and carbon tetrachloride; metals, including chromium; and radioactive materials. The selected interim remedial action for this site includes constructing and utilizing three temporary surge tanks and associated piping to contain and transfer water collected by the ITS; evaporating approximately 3 million gallons of water from pond 207-A and 5 million gallons of water from the 207-B ponds using onsite flash evaporators and associated tanks; transferring the distillate to a holding tank for reinjection into the Raw Water System for plant cooling tower usage; collecting the flash evaporator concentrate in holding tanks; and onsite solidification of the residual; and conducting treatability studies using surrogate pond water to simulate the proposed treatment system. The estimated total cost for this interim remedial ction is $8,017,000, which includes an annual O&M cost of $1,170,000 for 3 years. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS OR GOALS: Chemical-specific surface water clean-up goals are based on site-specific radionuclide standards and MCLGs or MCLs and attainment of relevant CWA water quality criteria. ',; :. ~INAL PROPOSED INTERIM MEASURE/INTERIM REMEDIAL ACTION DECISION DOCUMENT FOR THE SOLAR EVAPORATION PONDS OPERABLE UNIT NO. 4 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY . Rocky Flats Plant Golden, Colorado April 1992 ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROGRAM TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES . V LIST OF FIGURES ............ ·.................................. ; . vi UST OF .APPBN'DICE,S ...........•..... ·... ~ . ·. vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . ES-1 1.0 INTRODUCTION . • . 1-1 1.1 Sfl'E NAME AND LOCATION ...................................... 1-1 1.2 STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE .............................. 1-1 1.3 ASSESS~ OF THE SrrE ...................·. ~-. 1-2 1.4 IM/IRA PROJECfS ........................ ·. • . • . 1-2 1.5 DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED REMEDY .......................... 1-2 1.6 DECI.ARATION ................................... ; ........ ·. 1-3 1.7 EPA AND CDH SUPPORT AND ACCEPI'ANCE OF THE SELECTED ~y ................................................... 1-3 2.0 Sfl'E CHARACTERIZATION ............................................ 2-1 2.1 SITE NAME, LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ......................... 2-1 2.1.1 Topography . 2-6 2.1.2 Meteorology . 2-6 2.1.3 Nearby Populations, Uses of Adjacent Land and Nanual Resources . 2-8 2.1.4 Site and Local Surface Hydrology . 2-10 2.1.S Site and Local Hydrogeology . 2-12 2.1.6 Ecology . 2-13 2.2 SITE HISTORY AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES . 2-15 2.3 SUMMARY OF CONTAMINANTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS IM/IRA ....... 2-16 2.3.1 Ponds 207-B North. Center, and South . 2-16 2.3;2 Pond 207-C ......................................... : . 2-16 2.3.3 Interceptor Trench System (ITS) . 2-17 2.4 COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ................................... 2-36 2.5 SCOPE AND ROLE OF THE IM/IRA .........·. 2-37 2.6 SUMMARY OF SITE RISKS . 2-37 2.6.1 Pathway Exposure Assessment . 2-38 2.6.2 Chemicals of Concern . 2-40 2.6.2.1 Radionuclides . 2-40 RFPQJll1&·3 .R 04102192 TABLE OF CONTENTS ( Continued) ~ 2.6.2.2 Metals . .. 2-41 2.6.2.3 Organics . ......................... ; ., . 2-41 . 2.6.3 Toxicity Assessment . 2-41 2.6.3.1 Radionuclides . • . 2-41 2.6.3.2 Metals . 2-42 2.6.3.3 Volatile Organics . 2-42 2.6.4 Risk Olaracterization. 2-42 3.0 DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF SELECTED REMEDY . 3-1 3.1 DESCRlPI'ION OF SELECTED REMEDY . 3-1 3.1.1 Treatment System Components ............................... 3-1 3.1.1.1 Location and Equipment Description . 3-2 3.1.1.2 Process Description . 3-6 3.1.1.3 Sampling and Analytical Requirement . 3-9 3. Ll.4 Waste Analysis Plan (WAP) . 3-9 3.1.1.S Facility Safety Features . 3-9 3.1.2 Storage Components . 3-11 3.1.2.1 Location of Tanks . 3-11 3.1.2.2 Equipment Description . 3-11 3.1.3 General Components . 3-15 3.1.3.1 Quantity of Waste to be Treated . 3-15 3.1.3.2 Treatability Testing . 3-15 3.1.3.3 General Inspections . 3-15 3.1.3.4 Management of Waste ..................... ; . 3-16 3.1.3.5 Institutional Controls . 3-16 3.1.3.6 Assumptions, Uncenainties and Contingencies . 3-17 3.1.3.7 Closure of IM/IRA Structural Components . 3-17 3.1.4 Costs . .. 3-17 3.1.5 Remediation Goals and Perfonnance Standards . 3-17 3.1.6 Proposed Schedule of Milestones . 3-19 3.2 ANALYSIS OF SELECTED RE:MEDY . 3-19 3.2.1 Overall Protection of Human Health and the Environment . 3-21 RFP m,m.J .R ii 04102/92 TABLE OF CONTENTS ( Continued) PAGE 3.2.2 Co~pliance with ARARs . .. .. 3-21 3.2.3 Long-Tem1 Effectiveness and Pem1anence ... ·.. • ............·. 3-21 3.2.4 Reduction of Toxicity, Mobility or Volume through Treatment . 3-22 3.2.S Shon-Tem1 Impacts ............... ~ . 3-22 3.2.6 Implementability . .. 3-23 3.2.7 Cost . 3-23 3.2.8 State Acceptance ..................... ·. ;-. 3-24 3.2.9 Community Acceptance . 3-24 4.0 IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL ARARs .................... 4-1 4.1 STATEMENT AND BASIS OF PURPOSE OF POTENTIAL ARAR ANALYSIS ... 4-1 4.2 SCOPE OF INTERIM MEASURES/INTERIM REMEPIAL ACTION . 4-1 4.3 COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE OR RELEVANT AND APPROPRIATE REQUIREMENTS (ARARs) AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN HEALTH AND TiiE ENVIRONMENT . 4-1 4.3.1 ARARs . 4-2 4.3.2 TBCs . 4-3 4.3.3 ARAR Categories . 4-3 4.4 AMBIENT OR CHEMICAL-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS .................. 4-3 4.4.1 Safe Drinking Water Act MCLs .............................. 4-4 4.4.2 Colorado WQCC Standards for Surface Water .