DOE/ORO/2327 Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental ...

Annual Site Environmental Report
ORR, including ORNL. The EMWMF is an engineered landfill that accepts low-level radioactive,
hazardous, asbestos, and PCB wastes and combinations of the aforementioned wastes in accordance with
specific waste acceptance criteria under an agreement with state and federal regulators.
5.3.7.1 ORNL RCRA-CERCLA Coordination
The ORR Federal Facility Agreement is intended to coordinate the corrective action processes of
RCRA required under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments permit with CERCLA response
actions. Annual updates for 2009 for ORNL’s Solid Waste Management Units and Areas of Concern were
consolidated with updates for ETTP, Y-12, and the ORR and were reported to TDEC, DOE, and EPA
Region 4 in January 2010.
In May 2005 ORNL applied for, but has not yet received, a RCRA postclosure permit for SWSA 6.
RCRA groundwater monitoring data is reported yearly to TDEC and EPA in the annual CERCLA
Remediation Effectiveness Report (DOE 2010) for the ORR.
Periodic updates of proposed construction and demolition activities and facilities at ORNL have been
provided to managers and project personnel from the TDEC DOE Oversight Division and EPA Region 4.
A CERCLA screening process is used to identify proposed construction and demolition projects and
facilities that warrant CERCLA oversight. The goal is to ensure that modernization efforts do not impact
the effectiveness of previously completed CERCLA environmental remedial actions and do not adversely
impact future CERCLA environmental remedial actions.
5.3.8 Toxic Substances Control Act Compliance Status
PCB waste generation, transportation, and storage at ORNL are regulated under the EPA ID number
TN1890090003. In 2009, UT-Battelle operated approximately 11 PCB waste storage areas in generator
buildings and RCRA-permitted storage buildings at ORNL for longer-term storage of PCB/radioactive
wastes when necessary. Two PCB waste storage areas were operated at UT-Battelle facilities at Y-12.
The continued use of authorized PCBs in electrical systems and/or equipment (e.g., transformers,
capacitors, rectifiers) is regulated at ORNL. The majority of equipment at ORNL that required regulation
under the Toxic Substances Control Act has been disposed of. However, some of the ORNL facilities at
Y-12 continue to use (or store for future reuse) PCB equipment (such as transformers, capacitors, and
rectifiers).
Because of the age of many of the ORNL facilities and the varied uses for PCBs in gaskets, grease,
building construction, and equipment, DOE self-disclosed unauthorized use of PCBs to EPA in the late
1980s. As a result, DOE and ORNL contractors negotiated a compliance agreement with EPA (see
Table 2.1) to address the compliance issues related to these unauthorized uses and to allow for continued
use pending decontamination or disposal. As a result of that agreement, DOE continues to notify EPA
when additional unauthorized uses of PCBs, such as PCBs in paint, adhesives, electrical wiring, or floor
tile, are found at ORNL. In 2009, there were no discoveries of unauthorized uses of PCBs.
5.3.9 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Compliance
Status
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Title III of SARA
require that facilities report inventories and releases of certain chemicals that exceed specific release
thresholds. The reports are submitted to the local emergency planning committee and the state emergency
response commission. Table 5.9 describes the main elements of the act. UT-Battelle complied with these
requirements in 2009 through the submittal of reports under EPCRA Sections 302, 303, 311, and 312.
ORNL had no releases of extremely hazardous substances, as defined by EPCRA, in 2009.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory 5-27