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

Annual Site Environmental Report
The state of Tennessee has established water quality criteria (WQC) for instream temperature as a
basis to control the effects of wastewater discharges on receiving waters designated for fish and aquatic
life, recreation, domestic water supply, and/or industrial water supply uses. The WQC addresses
maximum instream temperature (30.5°C), maximum rate of instream temperature change (2°C per hour),
and instream temperature change relative to an upstream control point (3°C). Monitoring of instream
temperature in the vicinity of the major cooling water discharges at ORNL was conducted on August 17,
2009. Monitoring was targeted to the third calendar quarter of the year when stream flows are typically
low, air and water temperatures are warm and cooling demand is typically at a maximum. Four rounds of
grab sample measurements for temperature were collected on the day of monitoring both upstream and
downstream of the cooling tower discharges. Individual temperature measurements are presented in
Table 5.19. No instream temperature measurement exceeded the maximum criteria of 30.5°C. Upstream
to downstream temperature change for the monitored stream reaches were calculated for each of the four
rounds of measurements (see Table 5.20). For all rounds, the measured temperature changes across all
monitored stream reaches were less than the maximum change criteria of 3°C. The rates of instream
temperature change between rounds of measurements were also calculated for each stream reach. No rates
of change exceeded the criteria of 2°C per hour (see Table 5.20).
Table 5.19. Field measurements from 2009 instream temperature assessment
Monitoring date: August 17, 2009
Field measurements
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Monitoring location
Temp.
(deg C)
Time
(EDT)
Temp.
(deg C)
Time
(EDT)
Temp.
(deg C)
Time
(EDT)
Temp.
(deg C)
Time
(EDT)
Upstream of Outfall 014 23.3 09:15 24.0 10:58 24.5 13:14 25.2 14:45
Downstream of Outfall 014 23.3 09:13 24.1 10:59 24.5 13:15 25.3 14:46
Upstream of Outfall 227 23.2 09:20 23.2 11:04 24.0 13:11 24.1 14:40
Downstream of Outfall 227 23.1 09:18 23.2 11:05 26.0 13:12 24.7 14:41
Upstream of Outfall 281 21.6 09:40 22.0 10:49 23.2 13:35 23.8 15:15
Downstream of Outfall 281 23.8 09:38 24.0 10:46 25.5 13:36 26.0 15:16
Upstream of Outfall 314 20.0 09:31 20.6 11:12 21.0 13:29 21.8 14:56
Downstream of Outfall 314 22.7 09:30 22.6 11:13 22.8 13:30 23.2 14:58
Upstream of Outfall 363 17.9 09:28 18.1 10:55 18.8 13:20 19.0 14:48
Downstream of Outfall 363 18.0 09:26 18.6 10:54 19.2 13:18 19.2 14:50
Upstream of Outfall 435 16.6 09:31 16.9 11:18 18.0 13:24 18.9 15:04
Downstream of Outfall 435 16.9 09:30 17.5 11:20 18.6 13:25 19.4 15:06
5.5.4 Radiological Monitoring
Beginning in 2009, monitoring of effluents and instream locations for radioactivity that was
previously conducted under the ORNL Radiological Monitoring Plan was reorganized under the ORNL
WQPP. Monitoring established under the former Radiological Monitoring Plan for instream locations
X13, X14, and X15 and the three major treatment facility discharges (Outfalls X01, X02, and X12)
continued unchanged under the WQPP, with the exception that an analysis for 89/90 Sr was added to the
monthly monitoring requirements for Outfall X02, the discharge from the SPWTF. Monitoring was
adjusted for some category outfalls based on a review of data collected under the previous Radiological
Monitoring Plan. Category outfalls are outfalls that discharge effluents with relatively minor constituents
that receive little or no treatment prior to discharge. Those adjustments resulted in a net increase in
analyses for dry-weather discharges from category outfalls. Sampling of radioactivity in stormwater from
individual category outfalls was not conducted in 2009. Table 5.21 details the monitoring frequency and
Oak Ridge National Laboratory 5-49