Groundwater and Soil Remediation Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants Public Edition 2011 TECHNICAL REPORT Electric Power Research Institute 3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 • PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA 800.313.3774 • 650.855.2121 • [email protected] • www.epri.com Groundwater and Soil Remediation Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants Public Edition 1023464 Final Report, July 2011 EPRI Project Manager K. Kim EPRI Staff Contributor R. McGrath This document does NOT meet the requirements of 10CFR50 Appendix B, 10CFR Part 21, ANSI N45.2-1977 and/or the intent of ISO-9001 (1994) ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 ▪ PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 ▪ USA 800.313.3774 ▪ 650.855.2121 ▪ [email protected] ▪ www.epri.com DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED BY THE ORGANIZATION(S) NAMED BELOW AS AN ACCOUNT OF WORK SPONSORED OR COSPONSORED BY THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC. (EPRI). 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THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATION, UNDER CONTRACT TO EPRI, PREPARED THIS REPORT: C.N. Associates, Inc. THE TECHNICAL CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT WERE NOT PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EPRI NUCLEAR QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM MANUAL THAT FULFILLS THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50, APPENDIX B AND 10 CFR PART 21, ANSI N45.2-1977 AND/OR THE INTENT OF ISO-9001 (1994). USE OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT IN NUCLEAR SAFETY OR NUCLEAR QUALITY APPLICATIONS REQUIRES ADDITIONAL ACTIONS BY USER PURSUANT TO THEIR INTERNAL PROCEDURES. NOTE For further information about EPRI, call the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at 800.313.3774 or e-mail [email protected]. Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI, and TOGETHERSHAPING THE FUTURE OF ELECTRICITY are registered service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. Copyright © 2011 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following organization, under contract to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), prepared this report: C.N. Associates, Inc. PO Box 1446 Manchester, MA 01944 Principal Investigators R. Cardarelli G. Oliver This report describes research sponsored by EPRI. This publication is a corporate document that should be cited in the literature in the following manner: Groundwater and Soil Remediation Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants: Public Edition. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2011. 1023464. iii This report was prepared with support from the EPRI Groundwater Guidelines Committee composed of the following individuals: Gail Gary, AmerenUE Wook Sohn, KEPRI Chris Graham, AmerenUE Kathy Yhip, NEI & Southern California Edison Jim Hoffman, AmerenUE Bruce Vogel, NextEra Energy Bill Wendland, ANI Kevin O’Hare, NextEra Energy John D’Souza, Constellation Peter Harvey, NextEra Energy Dean Desenza, Constellation Christine Neely, PSE&G James Breeden, Dominion Helen Gregory, PSE&G Barry Muller, Detroit Edison Soo Chae, OPG Larry Haynes, Duke Energy Ronald Beck, OPPD Cyndi Martinec, Duke Energy Louise England, Progress Energy John Estridge, Duke Energy Michael Roberts, SCE&G Motley Hedges, Energy Michele Rosati, Sogin Northwest Mary-Beth Lloyd, Southern Company Jay Scheffer, Entergy Greg Elmore, Southern Company Patrick Donahue, Entergy Dwight Hostetter, Southern Company Ken Sejkora, Entergy William Bullard, STP Jay Adler, Entergy Robert Richie, TVA Ronald Chrzanowski, Exelon Gerald Malinowski, Xcel Energy Zigmund Karpa, Exelon Greg Gillespie, FENOC Ernesto Castillo, INPO iv REPORT SUMMARY The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Groundwater and Soil Remediation Guidelines provides the nuclear power industry with technical guidance for evaluating the need for and timing of remediation of soil and/or groundwater contamination from onsite leaks, spills, or inadvertent releases to a) prevent migration of licensed material off-site and b) minimize decommissioning impacts. Background Experiences at decommissioning and operating nuclear power plants have shown that leaks and spills from systems, structures, and components (SSCs) and work practices can contaminate on- site soil and groundwater with radiological materials. While the levels of radioactivity caused by these leaks and spills do not pose a threat to public health and safety, stakeholders have expressed concerns related to the potential unmonitored off-site migration of licensed materials from nuclear power plant sites. In response to these concerns, the United States nuclear power industry committed to the Groundwater Protection Initiative in early 2006. The initiative commits each plant in the United States to implementing an on-site Groundwater Protection Program. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) issued the Industry Ground Water Protection Initiative – Final Guidance Document (NEI 07-07) in August 2007. In parallel, the EPRI Groundwater Protection Technology Program issued the Groundwater Protection Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants: Public Edition (EPRI Report 1016099) in January 2008 to provide technical guidance for implementing groundwater protection programs at nuclear power plant sites. These two guidance documents have been successful in guiding the implementation of the industry’s groundwater protection programs. As part of a nuclear plant’s groundwater protection program, operators should have response procedures and policies in place for use if leaks or spills occur or if residual radioactivity is detected in soil or groundwater. NEI 07-07 and NEI 08-08 require these procedures at U.S. nuclear power plants. The decision-making protocol needs to evaluate the extent of the radiological impact on environmental media at the site, and the potential impact on decommissioning costs. Objectives To provide a process to determine whether a detailed evaluation of remediation options is necessary and, if so, provide guidance for a site-specific evaluation of the technical feasibility and cost of various remediation options. v Approach This guidelines document was developed by EPRI and a committee of industry representatives. The project team incorporated experiences and lessons learned from soil and groundwater remediation at operating and decommissioned nuclear power plant and U.S. Department of Energy sites into the development of this guidance. They also incorporated results from past EPRI projects exploring innovative and advanced technologies for soil and groundwater remediation. Results This document provides the guidance necessary to establish a decision making protocol for soil or groundwater remediation at each nuclear power plant site. The remediation evaluation protocol includes remediation objectives, site investigation criteria, and draft site release limits to evaluate the need for remediation in the event of a leak or spill. Considerations that should be included in the decision-making protocol are: 1. Potential for off-site migration of contamination following an inadvertent release. 2. Potential impacts to decommissioning planning and costs, such as increases in contaminated materials requiring disposal at decommissioning. 3. Potential to exceed site release criteria at license termination. 4. Potential impacts to plant operation and business practices. The document also provides the information necessary to evaluate remediation options with respect to technical feasibility, safety, and cost in order to determine if remediation is more effective and/or less costly during operation or decommissioning. Based on this evaluation, the user can make a site-specific and informed technical and business decision for each incident on undertaking remediation during operation or during decommissioning. EPRI Perspective EPRI developed these Guidelines in response to an industry-wide need for guidance in evaluating the need for soil and groundwater remediation and applicable and cost-effective technologies. The decision making process provided in this document was designed to ensure that each nuclear power plant could implement a remediation program that was appropriate for their site, thus allowing each plant to optimize their resources. This collaborative effort with NEI and a utility committee represents the industry’s proactive management of groundwater protection issues. By developing and implementing these EPRI Guidelines in a timely manner, the industry can work with regulators and other stakeholders to develop groundwater-monitoring programs that address public concerns related to groundwater contamination. Keywords Groundwater protection Groundwater remediation Soil remediation Decommissioning vi CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1-1