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BACKGROUND

In 1942, construction began on enormous complexes across the nation created to support the Manhattan Project, a massive, top-secret effort during World War II to build the atomic bomb. The 35,545-acre Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Tennessee remains as a legacy to the Manhattan Project and to the Cold War that followed. The ORR is currently owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and approximately 15 percent of its total area is contaminated by hazardous and radioactive materials.

During World War II, four plants were built on the ORR to create materials for nuclear weapons; these plants were given the code names S-50, K-25, Y-12, and X-10. S-50, a thermally operated uranium enrichment facility, was operated for about a year and dismantled when it proved inefficient. K-25 and Y-12 enriched uranium using more successful techniques: K-25 used gaseous diffusion and Y-12 used electromagnetic separation. X-10 developed the technology to produce plutonium, which was then transferred to the Hanford Plant in Washington for full-scale production.

K-25, Y-12, and X-10 still exist as East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). During the Cold War, these facilities played a key role in maintaining materials and components for nuclear weapons and in preserving a technological lead over the Soviet Union. In the past decade, the missions of Y-12 and ORNL have continued to evolve, while ETTP has been targeted for cleanup and closure.

Over the last 60 years, DOE and agencies that preceded it contaminated more than 500 sites on or near the ORR. This legacy of contamination is being cleaned up to levels that comply with current environmental laws, particularly the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. Indeed, much of the DOE mission now centers on environmental management.

SCOPE OF THIS STATUS REPORT

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation DOE Oversight Division (the "division") performs independent monitoring and oversight of DOE's cleanup and waste-management actions. The division has performed this role since the Tennessee Oversight Agreement was signed in 1991. This status report summarizes the state of Tennessee's perspective on federal cleanup progress at the ORR. The results of state monitoring and analysis are also evaluated, as are the quality and effectiveness of DOE environmental monitoring and surveillance programs.

MAJOR FINDINGS

DOE undertook a number of new high-risk projects this year and completed several begun in prior years. In its oversight of these activities during state fiscal year 2004, the division found no immediate threats to public health from current activities on the ORR, even though public activities were disrupted twice by DOE emergencies. A sodium metal fire at ETTP and a radioactive spill on State Highway 95 in May 2004 indicate that improvements are needed. DOE must continue to properly manage radioactive and hazardous materials and wastes found across the ORR, to protect the public, workers, the environment, and national security.

DOE is attempting to accelerate cleanup on the ORR, with a goal of accomplishing the massive amounts of work necessary to achieve several site closures by 2008. The division has renegotiated schedules to enable this program to move forward in a more flexible manner. However, delays and problems have already begun to surface. If cleanups fail to progress as promised or if shortcuts are taken due to funding shortfalls or schedule constraints, then there is potential for harm to the public or the environment.

The on-site Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF) has a key role in providing a low-cost disposal option for some cleanup wastes. The division oversees the process for deciding which wastes will be allowed in the facility and which must be sent off-site for disposal. Problems with rainwater and runoff management this year have called the design of the EMWMF into question. DOE plans to modify the facility to better address these problems.

Overall, there have been no major changes, either positive or negative, to the quality of air, surface water or groundwater leaving the ORR over the past year.

KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The division has identified five major issues and challenges for DOE.

1. Groundwater management strategies must be determined as source cleanups are completed. Because groundwater is a long-term remediation problem, DOE must ensure adequate controls are in place to monitor, maintain, and modify groundwater remedies as necessary well into the future.
2. Effective long-term stewardship must include record keeping, enforcement, surveillance, maintenance, monitoring, and sufficient funding. DOE's stewardship plans are still vague, although long-term needs should be accounted for as remediation actions take place.
3. DOE must maintain commitment to its Accelerated Cleanup Plan by providing sufficient resources to meet the agreed milestones. Problems with the schedule have arisen this year. DOE's responsibility to keep the public informed about environmental decisions must also be maintained, despite increased security.
4. Characterization and disposal of stored radioactive waste continues to be a challenge. DOE must show a higher priority on this activity, especially with mixed waste treatment under the Oak Ridge Site Treatment Plan, to achieve accelerated cleanup. Treatment, shipping and disposal of transuranic waste must also be accomplished in a timely manner, and DOE must resolve national issues that have already delayed this activity.
5. Plans for documentation, preservation, and commemoration of historic facilities and artifacts must be finalized before demolition of major Manhattan Project-era facilities proceeds much further. The public should be included in these decisions.

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Download the report in PDF format (500 KB).

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