Guidance for Conducting Risk Assessments and Related Risk ...

equests. Included with the annual budget request is an Integrated Priority List, which ranks projects in
order of priority. The Integrated Priority List is determined by reviewing the baseline sequence for the
fiscal year, current budget information, and additional concerns specific to the fiscal year.
Note: As previously stated, both the Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants have documented
site-specific risk assessment guidance related to the implementation of the CERCLA and/or RCRA
processes. Therefore, the remainder of this section addresses the implementation of risk assessment and
related risk activities on the Oak Ridge Reservation only.
2.2 IMPLEMENTING THE RI/FS PROCESS
DOE is responsible for cleaning up the ORR by following the CERCLA RI/FS process. Section
III.A.1 of the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) requires DOE to assess the impacts of Oak Ridge
Reservation areas on human health and the environment (DOE 1992). To fulfill this requirement, sites
must be identified and evaluated to determine whether response activities are needed. DOE has
established a specific RI/FS approach aimed at categorizing sites (Fig. 1) so that the CERCLA process is
accelerated and areas where no further investigation is required are de-listed from the NPL. The approach
involves:
• conducting screening area evaluations by reviewing available information and performing area
reconnaissance to identify potential release areas and/or areas of contamination,
• conducting removal site evaluations to determine whether a removal action is appropriate
immediately,
• conducting remedial site evaluations to determine whether further study is needed for identification of
appropriate response actions, and/or
• conducting studies (e.g., RI/FS) to support decision documents for response actions.
Each of these activities involve either a qualitative or quantitative evaluation of the risks posed to
human health and the environment from exposure to chemicals/conditions at each site. Section 4 of this
document presents a discussion of the risk analysis methods to be used during each of these evaluations.
The categories of sites are listed in Table 2.
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