PROPOSED HOLISTIC STRATEGY FOR THE CLOSURE OF F-AREA,A LARGE NUCLEAR INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE,SOUTH CAROLINA

摘要

F-Area is a large nuclear complex located near the center of the Department of Energy’s(DOEs) Savannah River Site in South Carolina.The present closure strategy for F-Area is based on established SRS protocol for a site-specific,graded approach to deactivation and decommissioning(D&D). Uncontaminated facilities will be closed under the National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA).Facilities requiring removal or in-situ disposition of residual chemical and/or radiological inventories will be decommissioned under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compensation,and Liability Act (CERCLA).The F-Area Tank Farm,which is permitted under the Clean Water Act,will be closed in accordance with an industrial wastewater closure plan.F-Area closure will also involve the near-and long-term remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater resources under CERCLA. rnThe proposed holistic F-Area closure strategy would enhance the existing project-specific SRS closure protocol by incorporating a comprehensive area-wide groundwater modeling tool,or Composite Analysis. The use of this methodology would allow for the assessment of the relative impacts of individual projects, as well as the cumulative effect of all F-Area closure actions,on area groundwater resources.Other critical elements of the proposed strategy include(i)the consistent use of site-specific Risk Assessments (RAs)and Performance Assessments(PAs),(ii)the closer integration of selected soil and groundwater closure projects and near-term D&D projects,and(iii)the creation of an Area Core Team(ACT) consisting of DOE and selected regulator decision-makers to direct area D&D and environmental restoration activities.This holistic approach would facilitate the effective targeting of agency resources on high priority projects whose closure would have the greatest impact on achieving the desired area-wide risk-based end-state and accelerate delisting of F-Area from the National Priority List(NPL).