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

Oak Ridge Reservation
5-70 Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Fig. 5.42. ORNL surface water sampling locations.
in mid-1990s; future remedial actions in those areas are planned and, until completion, little change in
surface water contaminant conditions is expected. The results from 2009 sampling at those locations are
consistent with historical data and with the processes or legacy activities nearby or upstream from these
locations. The VOC chloroform continues to be detected at WOC at WOD. Sampling locations west,
southwest of ORNL [Raccoon Creek (RCK 2.0), Grassy Creek (GCK 3.6), and Ish Creek (ICK 0.7)] are
impacted by contaminated groundwater from Solid Waste Storage Area 3. Future remedial actions should
decrease these levels of radionuclides.
5.5.12 Sediment Monitoring
Stream and lake sediments act as a record of some aspects of water quality by concentrating and
storing certain contaminants. Sampling sites for sediment are the Clinch River downstream from all DOE
inputs (CRK 16), the Clinch River downstream from ORNL (CRK 32), and the Clinch River at the
Solway Bridge, upstream from all DOE inputs (CRK 70) (Fig. 5.43). The locations are sampled annually,
and gamma scans are performed on the samples.
In addition, each year, two samples containing settleable solids are collected in conjunction with a
heavy rain event to characterize sediments that exit ORNL during a storm event. The sampling locations
are Melton Branch upstream from ORNL (MEK 2.1), White Oak Lake at White Oak Dam (WCK 1.0),
WOC downstream from ORNL (WCK 2.6), and WOC Headwaters as a reference location (Fig. 5.44).
These samples are filtered, and the residue (settleable solids) is analyzed for gross alpha, gross beta, and
gamma emitters.