APPENDIX A: STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT FACILITIES

The Nuclear Weapons Complex (Complex) comprises facilities located at eight major U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, distributed over seven states. Summary descriptions of the Complex sites are presented in chapter 3. This appendix provides more detailed information.

The eight DOE sites described in appendix A include the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), the Savannah River Site (SRS), the Kansas City Plant (KCP), the Pantex Plant (Pantex), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The first section of this appendix provides reference operating assumptions for each of these sites. Information provided includes specific site descriptions, current missions, and environmental regulatory compliance activities associated with ongoing DOE Office of the Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs (DP), and other DOE and non-DOE programs.

Detailed descriptions of the proposed stockpile stewardship projects can be found in the project-specific analyses contained in appendixes I, J, and K for the National Ignition Facility (NIF), Contained Firing Facility (CFF), and Atlas Facility, respectively.

The last section of this appendix provides detailed descriptions of the stockpile management alternatives. Each description includes specific information describing missions, assumptions, functional parameters, expected capabilities, process descriptions, special process requirements, utilities, chemicals used, operational resources, and transportation.

A.1 Reference Operating Assumptions

The reference base for this Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) is No Action, which is defined in chapter 3. Section 3.3 defines No Action for stewardship and section 3.4 defines No Action for management. No Action allows a comparison of stockpile stewardship and management alternatives for the candidate sites against the configuration as it would be expected to operate in 2005 and beyond, not against the current nuclear weapons facility configuration.

No Action assumes that all sites of the Complex would continue their current nuclear weapons-related missions with existing facilities that can comply with environment, safety, and health (ES&H) requirements, and at a production or research level that is consistent with current DOE guidance. The basic nuclear weapons missions assigned to the sites include researching, developing, and testing; maintaining nuclear weapons production and testing capability; processing and storing nuclear materials; operating an extensive transportation safeguards system to assure the safe, secure movement of weapons and strategic quantities of nuclear materials within the continental United States; and cooperating with the Department of Defense (DOD) in responding to nuclear accidents or incidents throughout the world.

Under No Action, the siting and construction of major new stockpile stewardship and management facilities would not occur, there would be no upgrades or modifications to existing facilities other than routine maintenance and repairs, no nuclear weapons missions would be transferred, and future support of the nuclear weapons stockpile would be provided within the confines of the existing Complex capabilities. Some mission requirements for maintenance of the weapons stockpile in the future would not be met under No Action; however, No Action includes those mission requirements as a comparison for the stockpile stewardship and management alternatives. The No Action alternative assumes that weapons Complex sites would continue existing waste management programs which currently support weapons work to meet legal requirements and commitments in formal agreements and would proceed with ongoing cleanup activities related to past weapons work at these sites. Production facilities and support roles at specific sites, however, would be downsized or eliminated in accordance with the reduced workload projected for 2005 and beyond. Facilities that could not comply with requirements would no longer be used.

Detailed reference descriptions of the affected sites follow. These descriptions include discussions of the site location, missions, facility operations, and environmental regulatory compliance. Seismic zone locations of alternative sites are shown in figure A.1-1.

A.1.1 Oak Ridge Reservation

Site Description.ORR consists of approximately 13,980 hectares (ha) (34,545 acres) of Federal-owned lands located directly to the west and south, but within the incorporated city limits of Oak Ridge, TN. The residential section of Oak Ridge forms the northern boundary of the reservation. The Tennessee Valley Authority's Melton Hill and Watts Bar reservoirs on the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers form the eastern, southern, and western boundaries. The city of Oak Ridge and ORR are within the region known as the Great Valley of the Tennessee River, which lies between the Cumberland and Great Smoky Mountains. About 16 kilometers (km) (10 miles [mi]) to the northwest, the Cumberland Mountains rise to an elevation of 914 meters (m) (3,000 feet [ft]) or more, while the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reaches to heights over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) some 113 km (70 mi) to the southeast. The largest city in the area, Knoxville, is located approximately 48 km (30 mi) to the southeast. Land use in the five-county area surrounding ORR varies from the heavily populated and highly developed urban areas around Knoxville to the sparsely populated areas immediately surrounding ORR. The largest single land use for each of the five counties is forestry; the second most common land use is agriculture. The locations of ORR and its principal facilities are shown in figures A.1.1-1 and A.1.1-2.

ORR is a Government-owned, contractor-operated reservation. The prime contractor manages the Y-12 Plant (Y-12), the K-25 site (formerly the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant), the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and most other properties on the reservation. Originally built in the early 1940s for large-scale production of fissionable material for the world's first nuclear weapon, ORR continues to be used today as a research, development, and manufacturing institution.

Y-12 Plant. Y-12 is situated on 328 ha (811 acres), 225 ha (630 acres) of which are enclosed by perimeter security fencing, at the eastern end of ORR in the location known as Bear Creek Valley. The majority of DP activities at ORR are conducted at Y-12. Primary missions include dismantling nuclear weapons components returned from the national arsenal, maintaining nuclear production capability, and providing stockpile support and storage for special nuclear materials. Y-12 also supports other Federal agencies through a Work for Others program. In addition, a technology transfer program has been established to support the U.S. industrial base by applying Y-12 expertise to a wide range of manufacturing problems. All of the current nuclear weapons have components produced at Y-12. The plant itself consists of 494 buildings containing more than 650,000 square meters (m2) (7,000,000 square feet [ft2] ) of floor space.

Y-12 also provides processing of radioactive source materials and support for other Government agencies. Some 47 buildings containing approximately 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 ft2) of floorspace located on Y-12 grounds are utilized by ORNL in support of non-DP missions. ORNL employs some 450 people at Y-12. Also located on the Y-12 site are approximately 20 buildings containing 28,000 m2 (300,000 ft2) that house the DOE construction manager, the water plant maintenance contractor for ORR, and several organizations of the Oak Ridge Operations Office. These activities employ 175 people in DOE and 550 people in construction manager organizations.

K-25 Site. K-25 consists of approximately 688 ha (1,700 acres) and is located about 9.6 km (6 mi) northwest of Y-12. The site consists of 250 buildings with approximately 1,130,000 m2 (12,200,000 ft2 ) of floor space. The primary mission of K-25 has been providing enriched uranium for U.S. nuclear weapons and, later, providing uranium toll enrichment services for use in power reactor facilities around the world. Because of a lack of weapons or commercial requirements, the gaseous diffusion process at K-25 was permanently shut down in 1987. Today, K-25 serves as the operations center for environmental restoration and waste management programs. K-25 is also the home of DOE's Center for Environmental Technology and Center for Waste Management. Missions and activities include technology development, technology transfer, engineering technology, uranium enrichment support, and the central functions of business management, engineering, computing, and telecommunications.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ORNL is a large multipurpose research institution that consists of approximately 1,174 ha (2,900 acres) located 6.5 km (4 mi) southwest of Y-12. The site has approximately 240 buildings containing 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 ft2 ) of floor space. Missions and activities include energy production and conservation technologies, physical and life sciences, scientific and technological user facilities, environmental protection and waste management, science and technology transfer, and education.

ORNL programs focus on basic and applied research, technology development, and technology that has been designated important to DOE and the Nation. It also performs work for non-DOE sponsors when such activities complement DOE missions and address significant national or international issues. ORNL facilities include a high-flux nuclear research reactor, chemical pilot plants, research laboratories, radioisotope production laboratories, accelerators, fusion test devices, and support facilities.

The onsite buildings and structures outside the major plant sites consist of the Scarboro Facility, the Central Training Facility, the Transportation Safeguards Division Maintenance Facility, and some ancillary structures. Most physical facilities used by the various plant protection and security groups are within the plant's fenced area; however, the target ranges are outside the fence but within the buffer zones of the main plant areas. Small-arms ranges are located on the eastern end of Y-12 and north of the western end of ORNL.

The offsite buildings and structures consist of the Oak Ridge Operations Office, the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education facilities, the American Museum of Science and Energy, the prime contractor's "Townsite" facilities, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Laboratory, and other buildings. With the exception of the Federal Office Building and space leased from the private sector, all buildings and structures used for DOE functions are situated on DOE-owned land.

The Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, established in 1980, consists of 5,500 ha (13,590 acres) on ORR. As one of seven DOE research parks, its purpose is to provide protected land areas for research and education in the environmental sciences and to demonstrate that energy technology development is compatible with a quality environment. There are 53 active environmental sciences research sites consisting of 1,442 ha (3,562 acres) on ORR. In addition, there are 15 inactive sites on 131 ha (323 acres).

The primary missions of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education are to provide educational and research programs in the areas of health, environment, and energy for DOE, other Federal agencies, and private industry. The American Museum of Science and Energy is located at a site contiguous to the campus of Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The museum contains historical displays and exhibits about energy in its various forms, as well as topical matter on the growth of the nuclear power industry.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducts meteorological and atmospheric diffusion research, that is supported by both itself and DOE, at the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Laboratory and field sites on ORR. This laboratory also provides services to DOE contractors and operates the weather instrument telemetering monitoring system for DOE.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. The policy of ORR is to conduct operations safely and to minimize any adverse impact of operations on the environment, ensuring incorporation of all local and national environmental-protection goals in the daily conduct of business. ORR consists of Y-12, ORNL, and K-25 and most permits and data on releases are reported by individual sites, with Y-12 being the most important site for making decisions in this PEIS. However, some environmental compliance agreements consider ORR to be a single Federal facility.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delegated regulatory authority to the State of Tennessee for air, water, solid waste, hazardous waste, and mixed waste. The State of Tennessee and DOE have entered into a 5-year Oversight Agreement that was signed on May 13, 1991. That agreement has been extended for an additional 5 years until June 28, 2001. The purpose of this agreement is to assure Tennessee citizens that their health, safety, and the environment are being protected during ORR operations. The agreement reflects the obligations and agreements between DOE and the state regarding technical and financial support provided by DOE and the state for oversight of these activities. The agreement has provisions for modifications, as appropriate, to address community issues that may arise. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is the lead state agency for implementation of the agreement. This agency has established a DOE Oversight Division located in the city of Oak Ridge and is staffed with over 50 employees. The Oversight Division routinely visits the three ORR sites to attend formal meetings and briefings, to conduct walk throughs of buildings and grounds, or to conduct observations of site operations to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and DOE orders.

The remainder of this section summarizes the status of Y-12 compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. DOE finalized the environmental assessment (EA) for the Proposed Interim Storage of Enriched Uranium Above the Maximum Historical Storage Level at the Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in September 1994, and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). This EA analyzed the storage of a larger quantity of enriched uranium than historically had been stored at Y-12. In its FONSI, DOE decided to store no more than 500 metric tons (t) (550 short tons [tons]) of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and 7,105.9 t (7,833 tons) of low-enriched uranium at Y-12 on an interim basis until long-term storage and disposition decisions can be made and implemented.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. ORR was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on December 21, 1989, making the site subject to the provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). As a result, DOE, EPA, and the state developed a Federal Facility Agreement for environmental restoration activities at ORR effective January 1, 1992, to serve as the interagency agreement in accordance with Section 120 of CERCLA. The agreement is intended to integrate the corrective action processes of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and CERCLA. EPA, DOE, and the state have negotiated the agreement to ensure that the environmental impacts associated with past and present activities at ORR are thoroughly investigated and that appropriate remedial actions or corrective measures are taken.

The Federal Facility Agreement establishes a procedural framework and schedule for developing, implementing, and monitoring response actions at ORR in accordance with CERCLA, RCRA, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and applicable state laws. Response actions under the agreement will achieve comprehensive remediation of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, pollutants, or contaminants at or from ORR. The agreement coordinates responses and remedial activities necessary to protect human health and the environment and reduces duplication of corrective actions or administrative requirements under CERCLA and RCRA. The three parties to the agreement intend to consolidate the DOE CERCLA response obligations with the corrective action measures required under RCRA permits. The agreement also addresses technical standards for new and existing liquid low-level radioactive waste storage tanks.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. Sections 311 and 312 of the act require reporting to local officials the inventories of hazardous chemicals and extremely hazardous substances. Y-12 reported inventories in 1993, which included 42 hazardous chemicals and 5 extremely hazardous substances.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The three ORR sites each generate both RCRA hazardous waste and mixed waste. Y-12 conducts storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste under RCRA Part B Permits, and interim-status provisions. The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments permit requirements for corrective actions, effective since October 25, 1986, have now been integrated into the Federal Facility Agreement previously mentioned under CERCLA.

Effective June 12, 1992, DOE and EPA completed a Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement to resolve the compliance issue of storing land-banned waste for extended periods. The agreement acknowledges that ORR is currently storing, and will continue to store, mixed waste subject to land disposal restrictions. It contains a compliance schedule that dictates the steps required to bring ORR facilities into compliance with respect to the management of mixed wastes and includes the strategies and plans for treatment of the backlog of land-banned waste.

In May 1991, a moratorium on offsite shipment of hazardous waste to non-DOE sites was placed on DOE facilities, including those on ORR. The moratorium was established to prevent waste containing any radioactive material from being shipped to a facility that is not licensed to handle it. The moratorium essentially requires all RCRA hazardous waste generated at ORR to be managed as mixed waste until appropriate procedures are developed and approved to ensure that waste streams are free of radioactivity above background levels. Such procedures have been prepared by each of the ORR sites. Y-12 received approval from DOE for four procedures certifying "No Rad Added" to allow offsite shipment of hazardous wastes.

Water quality data from the exit-pathway wells at the east end of Y-12 may indicate that the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) carbon tetrachloride and tetrachloroethane are being transported off ORR through the Maynardville Limestone at depths of 30 to 91 m (100 to 300 ft). The monitoring well is located in a general industrial area, and no drinking water wells have been identified in the area. Property owners in the area have been notified and provided with a status report.

The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. This act is an amendment to RCRA. DOE published the Interim Mixed Waste Inventory Report in April 1993, annual updates, and periodic updates describing its inventory of mixed wastes and treatment capabilities. ORR prepared and submitted to the state in October 1993 a conceptual site treatment plan for ORR. In accordance with the Federal Facility Compliance Act, a Commissioner's Order issued on September 26, 1995, by the State of Tennessee, to become effective on October 2, 1995, included the Site-Specific Treatment Plan for Mixed Waste at ORR. This order allows ORR to store existing quantities of mixed waste and requires DOE to comply with a site treatment plan. The site treatment plan contains milestones and target dates for DOE to characterize and treat its inventory of mixed waste.

Clean Water Act. National Pollutant and Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are required for each ORR facility. The Y-12 NPDES permit was issued April 28, 1995, and encompasses about 150 active point-source discharges requiring compliance monitoring. The new NPDES permit covers stormwater discharges, as well as point source discharges. The number of permitted-outfalls continues to decline as the outfalls are consolidated or eliminated, or as changes in implementation occur at the site. Through monitoring of discharges, DOE can demonstrate that Y-12 has achieved an NPDES permit compliance rate in 1993 of more than 99 percent.

Sanitary wastewater from Y-12 is discharged to the city of Oak Ridge under an industrial pretreatment permit. The Y-12 sanitary sewer upgrade project is an example of DOE corrective actions to achieve and maintain the Y-12 sanitary sewer collection system in regulatory compliance with the city of Oak Ridge sanitary sewer use ordinance and pretreatment permit. As part of the upgrade, a new monitoring station was completed in July 1994 and allows for more accurate monitoring of the sanitary sewage discharges by Y-12.

Activities are underway to reduce discharges of pollutants to surface waters of ORR. For example, two dechlorination systems were installed in late 1992 at key Y-12 outfalls on East Fork Poplar Creek to help control discharges of chlorine from noncontact cooling water systems and to help to eliminate chronic fish kills in the upper reaches of the creek. Additional efforts relating to reducing nonpoint-source pollutants to surface streams and cleaning up mercury pollution in the East Fork Poplar Creek are being implemented.

On January 17, 1992, Friends of the Earth, a nonprofit corporation, filed a lawsuit against DOE in Federal District Court in Knoxville, TN. The lawsuit alleged that DOE violated the NPDES permits because discharges of certain quantities of various pollutants into tributaries of the Clinch River exceeded the allowable discharge limits of the NPDES permits. Friends of the Earth filed a motion for summary judgment in October 1992, and DOE filed a cross-motion for denial of summary judgment in January 1993. Both motions are pending before the court. A second lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court by the Friends of the Earth in October 1995, alleging NPDES monitoring and reporting violations. This lawsuit is also pending.

Safe Drinking Water Act. The systems that supply drinking water to ORR are DOE-owned; therefore, ORR must comply with all Federal, state, and local requirements regarding the provision of safe drinking water. Section 1447 of the act mandates such compliance for each Federal agency having jurisdiction over a Federal-owned or Federal-maintained public water system. Y-12 receives water from a DOE-owned water treatment facility located northeast of Y-12. The Y-12 system is designated as a "nontransient, noncommunity" water distribution system and is subject to the Tennessee Regulations for Public Water Systems and Drinking Water Quality. These regulations allow distribution systems that do not perform water treatment to use the records sent to the state by the water-treatment facility from which water is received to demonstrate compliance with requirements.

Clean Air Act. Authority for enforcement of the act is shared between the state, for nonradioactive emission sources, and EPA, for radioactive emission sources. Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance is an integral part of the state air permit program which has issued air permits for construction and operating sources to all three ORR sites. Each site complies with Federal clean air regulations in addition to the State of Tennessee air-permit conditions. Major sources are appropriately permitted, and documentation of compliance is developed. All major emission sources are permitted by the state and are operating in compliance with those permits as of December 31, 1993. Y-12 has 94 active air permits covering 400 air emission points, and currently has about 290 documented exempt minor sources and about 350 exempt minor emission points.

ORR is also in full compliance with the requirements as set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 61, Subpart H (National Emission Standards for Emissions of Radionuclides Other than Radon from DOE Facilities), for sampling significant radionuclide emission points. Continuous emissions monitoring is performed at the K-25 incinerator and at 74 potential radiological exhaust stacks serving uranium-processing areas at Y-12. The stacks are equipped with continuous stack samplers, because these stacks are judged to have the potential to emit uranium emissions that could contribute greater than 0.1 mrem per year effective dose equivalent to an offsite individual. EPA certified that ORR had completed all of the actions required by the May 1992 Federal Facility Compliance Agreement for Clean Air Act (ORR Rad-NESHAP) and was considered to be in compliance with the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations. A subsequent inspection in September 1993 confirmed such compliance.

Y-12 is also subject to an NESHAP rule for machining beryllium and currently monitors four stacks that serve beryllium machining and handling areas to demonstrate compliance with the 10 grams per day emission limit. The total beryllium emitted from Y-12 in 1993 was less than 1 gram.

Toxic Substances Control Act. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes to be disposed of within 1 year from the date the PCBs are removed from service. Because of a lack of available disposal avenues, radioactive wastes contaminated with PCBs are stored at ORR sites for periods exceeding 1 year. Unauthorized uses and storage of PCBs are covered under the equipment-specific agreements with EPA or the Uranium-Enrichment PCB Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement, signed February 20, 1992. This agreement between DOE and EPA provides a vehicle for resolution of PCB issues only at K-25. The K-25 incinerator is the only facility in the Nation permitted to incinerate RCRA, PCB, and radioactive waste. This agreement allows K-25 to store such wastes generated by K-25 for periods exceeding one year.

Radioactive wastes contaminated with PCBs older than 1 year are generated by other ORR facilities, particularly Y-12, and also are stored at K-25. Several compliance issues exist at Y-12, because the Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement does not include PCB storage at Y-12. Therefore, discussions are continuing with EPA towards a new agreement that would include Y-12 and ORNL, as well as K-25. The new agreement is tentatively entitled the Oak Ridge Reservation PCB Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement. Storage concerns addressed under the existing agreement for K-25 would be included in the proposed Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement for the entire ORR. The earliest anticipated date for issuance of the PCB Federal Facility Compliance Agreement is in 1996.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The three ORR sites maintain procedures for the storage and application of pesticides. Individuals responsible for the application of materials regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act are certified through the University of Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Safrotin®, used for the control of roaches, is the only restricted-use pesticide used at Y-12. No violations were identified during the 1993 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act inspection.

A.1.2 Savannah River Site

Site Description. SRS, 19 km (12 mi) south of Aiken, SC, and approximately 26 km (16 mi) southeast of Augusta, GA, occupies 80,130 ha (198,000 acres) of land. Established in 1950, SRS has been involved for more than 40 years in tritium operations and other nuclear material production. Today, the site contains 15 major production, service, research, and development areas, not all of which are in operation at this time. The locations of SRS and its principal facilities are shown in figures A.1.2-1 and A.1.2-2.

The developed areas of the site account for less than 5 percent of the land use and more than 99 percent of the total capital investment. There are more than 3,000 facilities at SRS, including 740 buildings, with approximately 511,000 m2 (5.5 million ft2 ) of floor area.

Major nuclear facilities at SRS include fuel and target fabrication facilities, nuclear material production reactors, chemical separations plants, a uranium fuel processing area, liquid high level waste (HLW) tank farms, a waste vitrification facility, and the Savannah River Technology Center. SRS is in the process of stabilizing and storing various forms of plutonium. This effort, supported by the F-Canyon Plutonium Solutions Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0219) and the ROD (FR 9824), converts this material to plutonium metal. The process in FB-Line began in November 1995 and the conversion process in F-Canyon was completed in April 1996. The metal product will be stored temporarily in one of the F-Area vaults (FB-Line, 235-F or 247-F). Tritium recycling facilities at SRS empty tritium from expired reservoirs, purify it to eliminate the helium decay product, and fill replacement reservoirs with specification tritium for nuclear stockpile weapons. Filled reservoirs are delivered to Pantex for weapons assembly, or directly to DOD as replacements for expired reservoirs. Historically, DOE has produced tritium at SRS, but has not produced any since 1988.

Tritium recycling operations will continue with the replacement tritium facility conducting the majority of these operations. As part of the nonnuclear consolidation, SRS received some of the tritium processing functions formerly performed at the Mound Plant in Miamisburg, OH.

The current missions at SRS are shown in table 3.2.3-1. These activities can be categorized as DP, Office of Environmental Management (EM), nuclear energy, and other activities.

Defense Program Activities. In the past, the SRS complex produced nuclear materials for DP. This complex consists of five reactors (the C-, K-, L-, P-, and R-Reactors) in addition to a fuel and target fabrication plant, two target and spent nuclear fuel chemical separations plants, a tritium-target processing facility, a heavy-water rework facility, and waste management facilities. The K-Reactor (the last operational reactor) was put into cold standby status in 1992 with no planned provision for restart. SRS is still conducting tritium recycling operations in support of stockpile requirements using tritium recovered from retired weapons as the tritium supply source. Based on the record of decision (ROD) for tritium supply and recycling, issued in December 1995, SRS will continue to perform tritium recycling operations and would be the site for accelerator production of tritium if that technology were selected in the future. In addition, SRS would be the site for a tritium extraction facility to support the commercial reactor option of supplying tritium.

Other Department of Energy Activities. EM is pursuing a 30-year plan to achieve full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements; treat, store, and dispose of existing wastes; reduce generation of new wastes; cleanup inactive waste sites; remediate contaminated groundwater; and dispose of surplus facilities.

The Savannah River Technology Center provides technical support to all DOE operations at SRS. In this role, it provides process engineering development to reduce costs, waste generation, and radiation exposure. SRS continues to provide plutonium-238 required to support space programs and has an expanding mission to transfer unique technologies developed at the site to industry. SRS is also an active participant in the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program formulated to develop technologies to mitigate environmental hazards at DOD and DOE sites.

Non-Department of Energy Activities. There are several facilities and operations at SRS that deal mainly with the ecological elements of the site. These are the Savannah River Forest Station, the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Soil Conservation Service.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. SRS had 544 construction and operating permits in 1993 that specified operating levels for each permitted source (WSRC 1994d:32). Completion of construction in progress and continued operation of permitted facilities are essential to overall SRS operations. Therefore, DOE emphasizes compliance with the terms of these permits as well as with applicable Federal and State of South Carolina environmental regulations and DOE orders related to environmental protection. SRS employed over 1,000 people devoted full-time to protecting the environment through environmental activities in 1993 while accomplishing SRS missions (WSRC 1994d:15). The remainder of this section summarizes the status of SRS compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. DOE has numerous NEPA documents affecting SRS proposed actions which are in various stages of completion as SRS complies with the requirements of NEPA and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations. For example, DOE published the Savannah River Site Waste Management Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0217) in July 1995, which recommended the moderate waste treatment configuration. This configuration would provide a balanced mix of technologies that includes extensive treatment of those waste types that have the greatest potential to adversely affect humans or the environment because of their mobility or toxicity if left untreated, or that would remain dangerously radioactive far into the future. It would provide less extensive treatment of wastes that do not pose great threats to humans or the environment, or that will not remain dangerously radioactive far into the future.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. EPA placed SRS on the NPL effective December 21, 1989. DOE, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and EPA signed a Federal Facility Agreement effective August 16, 1993, to coordinate CERCLA cleanups at SRS, as required by Section 120 of CERCLA. Since the initial listing of the NPL in 1989, SRS has conducted both CERCLA and RCRA cleanup activities under the framework established in the draft Federal Facility Agreement. The comprehensive remediation of SRS will continue as directed by the Federal Facility Agreement currently in place.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. Each year SRS completes a section 312 annual Tier II inventory report for all hazardous chemicals present at the site in excess of specified quantities and submits it to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and to local emergency planning organizations in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell Counties, South Carolina. SRS also files an annual toxic release inventory report with EPA based on calculated chemical releases to the environment, which reports aggregate quantities for each regulated chemical that exceeds established threshold amounts. SRS reported eight chemicals to EPA in 1992, with releases totaling 34,820 kilograms (kg) (76,763 pounds [lb]) (WSRC 1994d:19). Changes in facility operating status will lead to changes in chemical inventories and uses of toxic chemicals; the hazardous chemical inventory and toxic release inventory reports will reflect these changes.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The SRS hazardous waste permit was issued in 1987 and modified in 1992. The permit covers storage of wastes at four buildings, treatment at the Consolidated Incineration Facility, and maintenance and groundwater remediation at three closed waste units. Other waste management facilities at SRS are presently operating under interim status. SRS has submitted to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control a permit application covering the facilities' activities, under which they can continue to operate in conformance with regulatory requirements while applications are reviewed by the regulatory agencies and a final permit decision is issued.

The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. This act is an amendment to RCRA. Westinghouse Savannah River Company submitted a mixed waste inventory report January 13, 1993, and DOE published the complex-wide report, US DOE Interim Mixed Waste Inventory Reports, on April 12, 1993. DOE provided this report, and annual and periodic updates since, to state governors and to regulatory agencies in states that host DOE sites, describing its inventory of mixed wastes and treatment capabilities. To meet requirements established by this act, SRS prepared and submitted a Proposed Site Treatment Plan (WSRC-TR-94-0608, May 1995) that sets forth options for treating mixed wastes currently in storage at SRS or that will be generated there over the next 5 years.

Clean Air Act. The air quality control construction permit for the Consolidated Incineration Facility was granted by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control on November 25, 1992. Emergency power diesel generators are covered under this permit. The M-Area Vendor Treatment facility emergency diesel generator is exempt from permitting requirements because of its limited capacity and expected use. A permitting exemption has been granted for the emergency diesel generator at the replacement HLW evaporator. The SRS NESHAP radionuclide program continues to change to incorporate sampling, monitoring, and dose assessment practices that meet or exceed the requirements of 40 CFR 61, Subpart H. SRS is currently in compliance with CAA requirements.

Clean Water Act. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has issued Clean Water Act (CWA) permits for the F- and H-Area Tank Farms, Defense Waste Processing Facility, Z-Area Saltstone Facility, replacement HLW evaporator, F- and H-Area Effluent Treatment facilities, and M-Area Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility. Certain discharges from the outfalls at these facilities have been approved. DOE has submitted an industrial wastewater treatment permit application for the M-Area Vendor Treatment Facility. SRS is currently in compliance with CWA requirements.

Safe Drinking Water Act. SRS continues to work toward upgrading the 13 major treatment/distribution systems through which SRS provides drinking water to its employees. The State of South Carolina recommended that SRS consolidate 11 of the 13 major site drinking water systems into three systems. Work is in progress to implement this consolidation. Westinghouse Savannah River Company obtained a construction permit for the water line extension that will serve the Consolidated Incineration Facility.

Toxic Substances Control Act. Disposal of PCBs from SRS is conducted at EPA-approved disposal facilities within the regulatory timeframe. SRS has some PCBs which were radioactively contaminated during a spill in 1978. The act calls for annual disposal of PCB waste, but there is insufficient capacity for disposal of radioactive PCB waste offsite. These radioactive PCB materials are stored onsite in a facility that meets storage requirements for up to 1 year. SRS continues to seek disposal technologies and facilities that can handle radioactive PCB waste.

A.1.3 Kansas City Plant

Site Description. KCP is situated on approximately 57 ha (141 acres) of the 121-ha (300-acre) Bannister Federal Complex located within incorporated city limits 19 km (12 mi) south of the downtown center of Kansas City, MO. The plant shares the Bannister Federal Complex site with other Federal agencies: the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Archives and Records Center, and the Internal Revenue Service, among others. The locations of the Bannister Federal Complex and its major facilities are shown in figures A.1.3-1 and A.1.3-2.

KCP currently contains approximately 297,000 m2 (3.2 million ft2 ) of floor space with approximately 82 percent located within the large Federal office and industrial building that dominates the site. KCP and the rest of the Bannister Federal Complex are completely developed with limited open space. No residential structures are within the Bannister Federal Complex. Kansas City has zoned the Bannister Federal Complex, including KCP, as heavy industrial.

KCP is a Government-owned, contractor-operated facility that produces and procures nonnuclear electrical, electronic, electromechanical, mechanical, plastic, and nonfissionable metal components for the DOE nuclear weapons program. In 1992, there were 4,473 people employed at KCP. Site employment is expected to decrease to approximately 3,900 by the year 2000 (KCP 1995a:1). KCP's primary missions are shown in table 3.2.4-1.

DP activities comprise the vast majority of operations at KCP. The nuclear weapons-related operations at KCP are production and maintenance of electrical, mechanical, and plastic products. KCP does not process special nuclear materials but does have a health physics program consistent with industrial radiography and electrical manufacturing. The following is a brief description of KCP mission activities.

Squib Valve Assembly. Pyrotechnic devices that provide valving functions for various nuclear weapons systems are manufactured. Their assembly requires handling Class 1.4 explosives in a static-free environment using fixture-assisted assembly techniques.

Hybrid Microcircuit Assembly. Hybrid microcircuit resistor/conductor networks using alumina oxide substrates with thin-film or thick-film technologies for radars, programmers, timers, and fire sets are manufactured. Their assembly includes attaching electrical components to these networks. This product's assembly requires a Class 10,000 clean room with temperature and humidity controls.

Hybrid Microcircuit Assembly for Joint Test Assemblies. Hybrid microcircuits that consist of an insulating substrate, such as alumina, that contains a thin or thick resistor/conductor network interconnected with active (transistors and integrated circuits) and passive (resistors and capacitors) components that are enclosed in a metal or ceramic package are manufactured.

Microminiature Electrical Assembly. Hybrid microcircuits (semi-conductors packaged in ceramic, leadless chip carriers, transistor outline headers, or kovar [alloy of nickel, cobalt, and iron] flatpacks) are constructed. These products perform several electronic functions in weapons systems such as switches, radars, programmers, fire sets, clocks, and telemetry.

Telemetry Assembly. Telemetry assemblies, neutron detectors, and test component firing systems are manufactured. The telemetry assemblies and neutron detectors provide warhead scoring data in flight tests as part of the joint test assembly. The test component firing systems are high energy transfer systems manufactured for use in underground testing at NTS.

Radar Assembly. Radars used in weapons fuzing systems for bombs and warheads are manufactured. Included in this product line are antenna assemblies that can be an integral part of a radar fuze assembly or a separate component used in the fuzing system. Facility requirements include controlled humidity environment, solvent cleaning stations, and electrostatic control.

Timers, Programmers, and Trajectory Sensing Signal Generators. Trajectory sensing signal generators (electronic assemblies that accept environmental data, verify correctness of that data, and produce predetermined and sequenced output functions for the weapon) are manufactured. The trajectory sensing signal generator product is part of the weapon's nuclear safety system. The primary function is to help ensure that accidental detonation caused by abnormal thermal and shock environments does not occur.

Test Equipment Design and Fabrication. Custom designed and fabricated test equipment able to accept products produced internally and by vendors is produced. This function is capable of performing electrical and mechanical design, producing definition drawings, developing computer software, and fabricating the necessary hardware.

Cellular Silicone and Filled Elastomers. Cellular silicone cushions that are used as filler to cushion components and to allow for thermal expansion are produced.

Foam Molding. Structural foam supports using urethane foam materials are produced.

Syntactic Foam Molding and Plastics Machining. Foam molding that is capable of withstanding higher operating temperatures than conventional foam molding is produced. These products are made using high temperature resins and microspheres, which are sintered in a high temperature oven. Facility requirements include an environmentally controlled (temperature and moisture) plastics machining facility, because of the physical requirements of plastic products.

Laminates and Desiccants. Aluminum silicate desiccant powders and resins used to provide a dry environment in sealed nuclear assemblies and fiber-reinforced plastic laminates are produced.

Noncryptographic Coded Switch Assembly. Electronic devices using hybrid microcircuits and magnetic core memory used to permit the controlled use of nuclear weapons upon proper authorization and to prevent unauthorized use are manufactured.

Strong Link Switch Assembly. Complex electromechanical safety devices used in all modern weapons programs are manufactured. Facility requirements include clean rooms for switch assembly and testing.

Fire Set Assembly. High-voltage circuitry firing systems capable of supplying the energy required to initiate a weapon system are manufactured. Energy is derived from low-voltage battery power and is converted by this system to high voltage and stored until an initiating signal is received. Components include capacitors, inductors, hybrid microcircuits, flat cable and flex circuit technologies, and switches.

Composite Structures. Fiber-reinforced molding resins are manufactured.

Stockpile Support. Components and subsystems removed from the stockpile for reuse, systems testing, or component cycle testing are evaluated. No unique processes, materials, or technologies are used for stockpile support.

Category F Permissive Action Link Electronics Assembly. Electronic assemblies that are part of the nuclear surety system are manufactured.

Special Products-Special Electronics Assembly. This is a restricted access area where electronic products with special security requirements are manufactured.

Cryptographic Coded Switch Assembly. A Permissive Action Link Switch Adapter, an electronic device designed to provide an "electrical block" to the arming switch of the weapon, is assembled. The Permissive Action Link Switch Adapter utilizes both thin- and thick-film hybrid microcircuit technology and is packaged in a foam plastic housing.

T-Gear Containing Cryptographic Keying Material. Cryptographic keying material used to code and recode Permissive Action Link Switch Adapter devices in weapons is manufactured. The presence of these codes prevents unauthorized access to weapons.

MK5 Arming, Fuzing, and Firing Set Assembly. Arming, fuzing, and firing assemblies are assembled. This assembly incorporates a radar, a programmer, an accelerometer, a decelerometer, thermal batteries, a fire set, a contact fuze, and a force balance integrating accelerometer.

B83 Weapon Subassembly. Electronic and mechanical structures are assembled and placed in a case structure with environmental protection. Assemblies provide distance, timing, velocity sensing, velocity control, and electrical power for weapon assemblies.

Machining Technology. This activity provides a wide variety of traditional and nontraditional metal- removing processes, including conventional and numerically controlled turning, milling, drilling, boring, and grinding processes.

Other Mechanical Technology. This activity provides support for mechanical product manufacturing including sheet metal hydroforming, fire edge blanking, punch pressing, riveting, laser marking, threaded insert installation, and manual assembly operations.

Plastics Technology. A wide range of polyurethane foam components, epoxy encapsulants, and modified commercial products for the Complex are manufactured.

Electrical/Electronic Fabrication and Assembly Technology. Printed wiring assemblies used in weapon timers, programmers, trajectory sensing devices, and various other electrical and electronic components are fabricated.

Secondary Support Areas. This activity provides support functions that service nearly all product lines, including a broad range of standard industrial processes (e.g., plating, painting, heat treating, and welding), some of which are uniquely tailored to meet special weapon requirements.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. KCP has a monitoring system in place to ensure continuity of operations and protection of the environment. Soil, surface and groundwater, and air media are regularly sampled and analyzed for various potential pollutants as a part of the ongoing environmental monitoring programs. The monitoring system includes over 163 monitoring wells, 5 sampling points at the ultraviolet/ozone system, 3 ambient air monitoring stations, and sampling results from 4 outfalls, 9 surface water sites, and 1 sanitary discharge. The remainder of this section summarizes the status of KCP's compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. There are no other major Federal actions under consideration that require NEPA studies and that would affect the plant.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. The plant prepared and submitted to EPA an annual Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Form (EPA Form R) for 1993 as required under Section 313 of this act.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. DOE and EPA signed a Corrective Action Administrative Order on Consent under Section 3008(h) of RCRA on June 23, 1989. The intent of the order is to provide an agreed-upon method of effecting environmental remediation involving solid waste management units at the plant. While the consent order is with EPA, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources maintains RCRA authority over the KCP groundwater monitoring program. Groundwater monitoring has revealed chlorinated solvent contamination, particularly trichloroethylene, in at least three onsite plumes. The city of Kansas City, MO, regulates the discharge permit for the groundwater treatment unit, which is treating the groundwater plumes to preclude release of the contaminant into surface waters offsite.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. KCP is not regulated under this act for any required remediation. Remediation is presently regulated by the provisions of the RCRA Corrective Action Administrative Order on Consent.

Clean Air Act. Overall plant operations are regulated by an annual Air Operating Permit issued by Kansas City, MO. Results of radionuclide monitoring indicate that no radionuclides are present in quantities exceeding background levels. The plant is also in compliance with air pollution requirements for nonradiological air emissions. The plant is working proactively with the city to better define the requirements necessary to obtain the city's approval before constructing a new or modifying an existing source of air pollution, as well as to streamline reporting needs with respect to plant air emissions.

Clean Water Act. Sanitary and industrial wastewater discharges from the plant go into the Publicly Owned Treatment Works and are regulated by Discharge Permit #74; city ordinances administered by the Kansas City, MO, Water and Pollution Control Department; and EPA Pretreatment Standards for the Metal-Finishing Category (40 CFR 433.17). KCP stormwater effluents are regulated by NPDES Permit #MO 0004863, issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Safe Drinking Water Act. The drinking water system at the plant meets all conditions for exclusion listed in 40 CFR 141.3, which implements this act. Therefore, the plant does not operate a public water system which is covered by this act.

Toxic Substances Control Act. KCP maintains compliance with the requirements of this act.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The plant maintains compliance with this act and related state statutes concerning use of pesticides.

A.1.4 Pantex Plant

Site Description. Pantex is located in the panhandle of Texas, in Carson County. It is about 27 km (17 mi) northeast of downtown Amarillo and 64 km (40 mi) southwest of Pampa. The plant is located on a portion of the former Pantex Army Ordnance Plant. Pantex was constructed in the first half of the 1940s by the U.S. Army for the production of conventional ordnance. At the end of World War II, the plant was deactivated and the property eventually reverted to the War Assets Administration. In 1949, the entire installation was sold to Texas Technological College (now Texas Technological University, commonly called Texas Tech) for 1 dollar. The land was to be used for experimental farming, but was subject to recall under the National Security Clause. Following an extensive survey of World War II ordnance plants, Pantex was chosen in 1951 by the Atomic Energy Commission for expansion of its nuclear weapons assembly facilities. The Army Ordnance Corps reclaimed the site for the Atomic Energy Commission and contracted a civilian contractor to rehabilitate it.

DOE owns approximately 3,683 ha (9,100 acres) at Pantex. Just over 809 ha (2,000 acres) of the DOE-owned property are used for industrial operations at Pantex excluding the Burning Ground, firing sites, and other outlying areas. The Burning Ground and firing sites occupy approximately 198 ha (489 acres). Remaining DOE-owned land serves DOE safety and security purposes. DOE also owns a detached piece of property called Pantex Lake, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of the main plant site. This property, comprising 436 ha (1,077 acres), includes the playa lake wetland itself which occupies approximately 138 ha (340 acres). Currently, no Government industrial operations are conducted at the Pantex Lake property. The location of Pantex is shown in figure A.1.4-1.

As of April 1995, approximately 2,599 ha (6,421 acres) of DOE-owned land were being used by Texas Tech for agricultural purposes through a service agreement. The DOE-owned acreage used for agricultural purposes is variable and subject to periodic changes. Adjacent to the 3,683 ha (9,100 acres) owned by DOE, approximately 2,347 ha (5,800 acres) are leased from Texas Tech. DOE use of these lands is primarily for safety and security buffer areas. DOE also leases a small facility at the Amarillo International Airport for its own transportation use.

Pantex industrial operations are conducted for DOE by a management and operating contractor, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and SNL. Seventy-six km (47 mi) of roads exist within Pantex boundaries. A spur of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, formerly Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, extends through the leased land into the DOE-owned property on the southwest area of the plant site. There are 27 km (17 mi) of railroad tracks within the site boundaries.

Historically, the Pantex site was divided into functional areas commonly called zones. Some maps may still show where the old functional areas were located. The main functional areas are Zone 12, which is the fabrication, assembly/disassembly (A/D), and technical/administrative support area; Zone 11, which is the high explosives (HE) development area; Zone 10, which is an excess property storage site; and Zone 4, which is the weapon/HE magazines and pit storage area. There are other supporting activities in other zones. The locations of Pantex zones are shown in figure A.1.4-2.

All the land within a 5-km (3-mi) radius of the plant site is used for agricultural purposes, either farming or grazing. Approximately 2,000 people live within 8 km (5 mi) of the outside boundary of Pantex. A significant population concentration occurs southwest of the Pantex facility near the Amarillo International Airport and includes the Texas State Technical Institute and the Highland Park Village. Highland Park Village consists of 500 single- and multi-family housing units (duplexes) with an occupancy rate averaging about 90 percent. Approximately 100 students are housed in a Texas State Technical Institute student dormitory.

Plant operation includes direct and support manufacturing operations, management and administrative services, protective services, and maintenance and utilities. Current missions at Pantex are shown in table 3.2.5-1.

Most operations at Pantex are DP activities. The plant's primary role today is the dismantlement, including removal of the fissile material, of retired U.S. nuclear weapons being returned to DOE from DOD. Other activities include certain maintenance and surveillance activities of the remaining nuclear weapons stockpile, modification and assembly of existing nuclear weapons systems, and production of HE components for nuclear weapons. DOE also conducts quality evaluation of weapons, quality assurance testing of weapons components, and research and development (R&D) activities supporting nuclear weapons at the plant. The principal operations performed at Pantex are the dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons; assembly of nuclear weapons from components received from other DOE facilities; fabrication of chemical HE components for nuclear weapons; operation of chemical HE synthesis, and characterization surveillance testing and disposal of chemical HE; and maintenance, modification, repair, and testing of nuclear weapons components. Weapons dismantlement, assembly, and stockpile surveillance activities involve handling significant quantities of sealed nuclear components, (pits, secondaries, tritium reservoirs), as well as a variety of nonradioactive toxic chemicals. Brief descriptions of the above mission activities follow.

New production is defined as the final assembly of a new nuclear weapon to be added to the stockpile. Pantex receives weapons components and other materials from throughout the Complex. The first step in the new production process is mating the HE main charge subassemblies with the special nuclear materials, which takes place within an assembly cell. Assembly bays house the remainder of the assembly process. This is where the nuclear subassembly produced in the assembly cell is built into a complete weapon. After final assembly, weapons assembled at Pantex are shipped either to other facilities within the Complex or to military facilities. Dismantlement of retired weapons is basically a reversal of the assembly process. All parts must then be properly disposed or stored.

The tasks of modification, maintenance, and repair involve disassembly of a stockpiled nuclear weapon so that one or more components can be repaired, replaced, or modified. After replacing the components, the weapon is reassembled and returned to the stockpile.

HE component production includes manufacturing main charge subassemblies and mock components for use in weapon test assemblies, manufacturing small HE components, producing a variety of explosive materials from chemical reactants and commercially produced explosives, and evaluating explosive materials and components through a variety of analytical, mechanical, and explosive tests.

Pantex performs many quality assurance evaluation activities on both new and stockpiled nuclear weapons. These tests involve disassembly of weapons, laboratory testing of various components, and rebuilding weapons for shipment back to the stockpile. Five evaluations are performed at Pantex: new material laboratory testing, new material flight testing, stockpile laboratory testing, stockpile flight testing, and accelerated environmental aging and materials compatibility testing. These evaluations are outlined below:

• New Material Laboratory Testing--disassembly of a randomly selected, newly produced weapon before it is shipped to the stockpile. Various components are subjected to either destructive or nondestructive tests. After testing, the weapon is rebuilt and shipped to the stockpile.
• New Material Flight Testing--similar to new material laboratory testing. Weapons are selected at random before delivery to the stockpile and assembled into a nonnuclear, explosive joint test assembly for flight testing. These assemblies are tested by DOD aboard aircraft and missiles to verify the functioning of components under in-flight conditions. After the test flight, the joint test assembly is returned to Pantex for further examination when possible.
• Stockpile Laboratory Testing--similar to new material laboratory testing, but stockpile laboratory testing is performed on units randomly selected from the stockpile.
• Stockpile Flight Testing--similar to new material laboratory flight testing, but stockpile flight testing is performed on weapons randomly selected from the stockpile.
• Accelerated Environmental Aging and Materials Compatibility--determines the effects of aging on the integrity of weapons systems over time. These tests involve subjecting newly produced units to an artificial aging process or to environmental stresses to determine whether or not they retain their chemical and physical properties, and to ensure that they will react in a predictable manner after an extended period of time.

Also, some testing is performed at the Gas Analysis Laboratory, which evaluates samples taken from accelerated aging units, material compatibility tests, development activities, material certification tests, and production operations.

In addition to the principal efforts associated with weapons A/D, Pantex provides development support and services to the weapons laboratories and to other government entities.

Pantex contains a number of facilities that stage (temporarily store) weapons components that are destined either for the assembly cells or for shipment to other DOE facilities. Staging procedures may involve the leak testing of staging containers, inventories to verify the number and contents of containers, and unpacking and repacking to physically verify and test contents.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. Pantex conducts operations in compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and statutes and with the requirements of the various permits issued to the plant. The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission has state authority for developing and enforcing regulations and standards for air, water, and waste management. EPA has delegated regulatory authority to the State of Texas for air and solid and hazardous waste. As of December 31, 1994, Pantex is in compliance with the major environmental laws and regulations, with no regulatory enforcement actions or lawsuits pending. The remainder of this section summarizes the status of Pantex compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. DOE finalized the EA for the Interim Storage of Plutonium Components and issued a FONSI in January 1994. This EA analyzed the storage of a larger number of pits for a longer interim period than previously stored. In its FONSI, DOE decided to store no more than 12,000 plutonium pits at Pantex. In May 1994, DOE published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a new site-wide environmental impact statement (EIS) for The Continued Operation of the Pantex Plant and Associated Storage of Nuclear Weapon Components. This Site-Wide EIS incorporates several actions that were ongoing at the onset of this EIS. The draft EIS was issued in March 1996.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. On May 31, 1994, EPA placed Pantex on the NPL effective June 30, 1994 (59 FR 27989) as a Superfund site. As a result, Pantex is subject to the provisions of CERCLA enforcement and is required to develop a Federal Facility Agreement. In August 1994, DOE began discussions with EPA and the State of Texas on this agreement to perform response and remediation activities, pursuant to CERCLA and the National Contingency Plan requirements and consistent with corrective actions currently being performed under RCRA. On December 14, 1994, Pantex hosted a meeting of Federal and state trustees who are responsible for assessing damages for injury to, destruction of, and loss of natural resources. Trustees are continuing to participate in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process under section 107 of CERCLA.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. No Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Form (EPA Form R) for 1993 was required under Section 313 of this act, because no reportable substances were released at levels above threshold values. However, in accordance with the Agreement in Principle with the State of Texas that was effective July 31, 1990, DOE provides the state with a chemical and radiological contaminant inventory and assessment of the plant.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Pantex is defined as a large-quantity generator and has both permitted and interim-status storage and treatment facilities. Pantex manages some solid wastes under Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act Hazardous Waste Permit Number HW-50284, which includes a corrective action section. Under interim permit status, Pantex also operates thermal treatment units for processing explosives. Hazardous wastes generated at Pantex include, but are not limited to, solvent-contaminated wastewater and spent organic solvents that are contaminated with explosives. These wastes are either managed onsite by storage and limited treatment or shipped offsite for treatment and disposal at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.

All of the routinely generated radioactive waste from Pantex operations is low-level radioactive waste. This waste is generated in small quantities from weapons A/D and consists primarily of materials contaminated with depleted uranium or tritium. Low-level radioactive waste is temporarily stored onsite until it is shipped to NTS. Pantex manages mixed waste in accordance with the Pantex PlantFederal Facility Compliance Act Compliance Plan, while pursuing commercial treatment capability (see plan below).

The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. This act is an amendment to RCRA. DOE published the Interim Mixed Waste Inventory Report in April 1993, annual updates, and periodic updates since, describing its inventory of mixed wastes and treatment capabilities. Pantex prepared and submitted the Pantex PlantFederal Facility Compliance Act Compliance Plan to provide mixed waste treatment capability for all mixed waste streams in accordance with the Federal Facility Compliance Act. This plan was approved by the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission and adopted through an Agreed Order on September 27, 1995. The Agreed Order, signed by the state on October 2, 1995, requires implementation of this plan.

Clean Water Act. EPA issued Pantex a draft wastewater NPDES permit on December 31, 1994. Actions to finalize the draft permit are progressing. Pantex has a stormwater NPDES permit pending, having resubmitted its permit application on August 24, 1994, and submitted NOI, on September 29, 1994. Pantex also has a wastewater no-discharge permit (Number 02296). On April 1, 1993, the state issued a draft permit based on DOE's May 1992 application to change the permit from a no-discharge to a discharge permit. Such a change requires public hearings and the process is continuing.

Safe Drinking Water Act. The plant water supply meets all required primary and secondary drinking water standards and operational and maintenance regulations. A state inspection on October 4, 1994, confirmed that the system is being operated and maintained in compliance with Texas statutes and regulations.

Clean Air Act. Most Federal requirements are implemented in Texas under the Texas Clean Air Act. Pantex Plant has permits and standard exemptions issued by EPA and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. In 1994, Pantex reviewed activities conducted in all buildings to determine their compliance with 40 CFR 61 Subpart A (General Provisions) and Subpart H (Emissions of Radionuclides Other than Radon from DOE Facilities). All buildings were in compliance. At the Burning Ground explosive weapons components, explosive contaminated materials, and explosive waste are thermally treated. The Burning Ground operates under a written Grant of Authority from the State of Texas for its air emissions and under RCRA interim status for its waste management activities. In 1990, Pantex applied to the state to modify its Permit for Industrial Solid Waste Management Site, to include the Burning Ground. The hearing process on the permit modification is continuing.

Toxic Substances Control Act. Pantex is managing PCBs, asbestos, and chemicals in compliance with applicable regulations. For example, waste materials contaminated with PCBs are shipped offsite to permitted facilities for treatment and disposal. As of December 3, 1994, all equipment and parts used at Pantex that contain PCBs have concentrations of less than 50 parts per million (ppm).

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Compliance with this act and several related state statutes, such as the Texas Pesticide Control Act , allows agricultural production on the arable land surrounding the plant. Pesticides are applied by state-licensed personnel who ensure the health and safety of workers and protect the integrity of the environment from potential adverse impacts of agricultural chemicals applications.

A.1.5 Los Alamos National Laboratory

Site Description. LANL is located in north-central New Mexico adjacent to the town of Los Alamos (see figure A.1.5-1). It is about 96 km (60 mi) north-northeast of Albuquerque and 40 km (25 mi) northwest of Santa Fe. The area is dominated by the Jemez Mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east. These two ranges flank the Rio Grande Valley, which roughly bisects the state from north to south. LANL is located on the Pajarito Plateau, a volcanic shelf on the eastern slope of the Jemez Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 1,900 to 2,400 m (6,230 to 7,870 ft). Erosion has cut the Pajarito Plateau into a number of steeply sloped, deeply eroded drainage canyons and isolated finger-like mesas that fan out from the west to the east. The laboratory occupies approximately 11,300 ha (28,000 acres); 1,400 ha (3,500 acres) lie in Santa Fe County with the remainder in Los Alamos County.

LANL is divided into 74 Technical Areas (TAs) of which 30 are currently active (see figure A.1.5-2). TA-3 is located on South Mesa and is the main or core area where approximately half of the personnel are located. This area serves as the central technical, administrative, and physical support facility for LANL. It also provides space for experimental, theoretical, and computational sciences. From the core area, four roads connect to the other lab areas. The northern-most road crosses the Los Alamos Canyon and connects with the town of Los Alamos, the airport, medical center, and the Tritium System Test Assembly Facility. The road also provides access down the canyon to a nonoperating research reactor and to the facilities for engineering design of weapons components. The East Jemez Road runs east to the Los Alamos Meson physics facility, a general construction support area, a trailer park, a county landfill, and guard facilities, including a firing range.

From TA-3, Pajarito Road runs southeast to White Rock, the only other housing area near LANL. The TAs in this corridor are used predominantly for nuclear materials R&D, fusion and laser R&D, waste management, and other multiuse experimental sciences. The special nuclear materials, radiochemistry, plutonium processing, and waste management facilities are located in this corridor.

From the core area, West Jemez Road runs south along the western boundary of LANL. This West Jemez Corridor sits atop five mesas. TA-16, one of the larger areas, is dedicated to HE research and research, development, and testing (RD&T). Functions at this site include engineering design, prototype manufacturing, processing, and environmental testing of nuclear warhead systems. Ten other TAs located in this corridor are used extensively by the Dynamic Testing Division. The Aboveground Experiments Division and Design Engineering Divisions also have facilities at TAs within this corridor.

Developed land accounts for approximately 5 percent of the LANL area, 580 of 11,300 ha (1,440 of 28,000 acres). Within this developed area lie 2,318 buildings totaling 756,000 m2 (8.14 million ft2 ). The breakout of this space is as follows: 18 percent for offices, 12 percent for laboratories, 8 percent for heavy experimental facilities, 14 percent for storage, 33 percent for various service facilities, and the remainder for all other uses. Approximately 93 percent of the personnel and square footage are located within 38 of the TAs. About 415 buildings have floor space that exceeds 190 m2 (2,000 ft2 ) and they account for 89 percent of the lab's total floor space. Of these buildings, 152 exceed 930 m2 (10,000 ft2 ) and comprise 75 percent of the total space. The average size of the remaining (approximately 1,903) buildings is 60 m2 (650 ft2 ); half of these buildings are either temporary or transitional. Forty-one percent of all the buildings at LANL are permanent. Of the major buildings (larger than 190 m2 ), 73 percent of the total square footage was built prior to 1980.

Current missions at LANL are shown in table 3.2.6-1. A complete description of current facility operations can be found in the Los Alamos National Laboratory Institutional Plan. The major DP facilities located at LANL are shown in table A.1.5-1. In addition to the facilities included in this table, DOE operates various smaller facilities related to the ongoing Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. Many of these have been subject to recent NEPA reviews, but are not included here because they would be considered minor facilities in relation to the entire Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. It is the policy of LANL that operations be performed in a manner that protects the environment and addresses compliance with applicable Federal and state environmental protection regulations. The New Mexico Environment Department has state authority for developing regulations and standards for air, water, and hazardous and mixed waste management.

The remainder of this section summarizes the status of LANL compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. The current LANL Site-Wide EIS was published in 1979. Since the new LANL Site-Wide EIS is under preparation, any EA that proceeds ahead of the Site-Wide EIS was either identified in the NOI (60 FR 25697) of May 12, 1996, or must qualify as an interim action. The Site-Wide Draft EIS is expected to be released to the public in early February 1997 with the Site-Wide Final EIS to be issued in late August 1997.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. LANL is not on EPA's NPL; therefore, cleanup from past operations is covered not by CERCLA, but by other regulations, principally RCRA.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The state was granted authorization by EPA to regulate control of hazardous waste under RCRA on January 25, 1985, and mixed waste on July 25, 1990. LANL is a large-quantity generator under RCRA and operates under both interim status provisions and a New Mexico Environment Department permit. Applications for mixed waste storage and treatment at LANL were submitted to the state prior to 1992 and are under interim status provisions.

Table A.1.5-1.-- Major Defense Program Facilities Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Note: HE - high explosives; R&D - research and development; TA - technical area.

The state conducts annual RCRA audits of generator locations and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities throughout the LANL facilities. On January 28, 1993, the state issued two Compliance Orders listing a total of 24 alleged violations, including violations involving the management of mixed waste, deficiencies related to general waste management requirements, and deficiencies that could adversely affect human health and the environment if not addressed in a timely manner. Negotiations between DOE and the state resulted in a civil penalty of $700,000. All of the deficiencies relating to the general waste management requirements were corrected within 30 days.

The Environmental Restoration Project Office at LANL provides oversight for the closure of several solid waste management units which are subject to the corrective action requirements and closure provisions of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments under RCRA. The state has regulatory authority for closure of these sites. During 1992, LANL and the state were in the process of developing a permit application to initiate the construction of a mixed waste storage and disposal facility for the disposal of mixed waste generated by the site remediation processes. LANL halted all construction efforts for the mixed waste storage and disposal facility in 1995.

LANL operates a controlled air incinerator that was permitted in November 1989 for the treatment of hazardous waste. The facility was placed on standby in 1992 for upgrades. The controlled air incinerator will be closed under RCRA and TSCA by the end of 1996.

The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. This Act is an amendment to RCRA. DOE published the Interim Mixed Waste Inventory Report in April 1993 and has published annual updates and periodic updates since, describing its inventory of mixed wastes and treatment capabilities. The New Mexico Environment Department issued a Compliance Order in October 1995 directing DOE to implement the LANL Site Treatment Plan for Mixed Waste. This order terminates the Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement between DOE and EPA concerning land disposal restricted wastes.

Clean Water Act. The NPDES permit for LANL regulates discharges from 9 wastewater treatment facilities and 130 industrial outfalls. During 1992, compliance for sanitary and industrial discharges was 99.6 percent and 99.0 percent, respectively. Two NOIs for stormwater discharges were submitted on October 1, 1992, for the Lagoon Elimination Project and the Los Alamos Integrated Communication System. An additional NOI was submitted on September 29, 1992, for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities.

Safe Drinking Water Act. LANL maintains compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) standards for its public water systems.

Clean Air Act. The New Mexico State Implementation Plan incorporates requirements of the act including the 1990 CAA Amendments, NESHAP, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and New Source Performance Standards. The state administers these Federal and state requirements through a series of Air Quality Control Regulations. During 1991, two open burn permits were issued to LANL for the burning of scrap wood from experiments and the burning of jet fuel for ordnance testing.

LANL operated 36 continuous emissions monitoring stations in 1992 to sample air discharges for radioactive releases. While no radionuclide concentrations were detected which would pose an environmental or health problem, EPA issued a Notice of Noncompliance on November 23, 1992, following an audit of LANL's NESHAP program in August 1992. The notice stated that LANL emissions exceeded the 10 mrem/yr effective dose equivalent standard during the 1990 reporting period. As a result of two Notices of Noncompliance issued to DOE by EPA Region 6 on November 27, 1991, and November 23, 1992, DOE and EPA entered into negotiations to achieve compliance with NESHAPs. The negotiations resulted in a Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement being signed on June 13, 1996, which requires that compliance with Subpart H be achieved by August 15, 1996.

Toxic Substances Control Act. This act regulates PCB use and storage at LANL. In compliance with TSCA regulations, equipment and materials containing PCBs greater than, or equal to, 50 ppm are removed and shipped offsite to permitted treatment and disposal facilities or disposed of at TA-54, Area G (only applied to solids containing 50 to 499 ppm of PCBs). No deficiencies were noted following an EPA inspection during the summer of 1993.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. In addition to this act, LANL is regulated by the New Mexico Pest Control Act which regulates pesticide use, storage, and certifications. Annual inspections to assess compliance with this act are conducted by the state.

A.1.6 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Site Description. LLNL is located in southern Alameda County, CA, approximately 64 km (40 mi) east of San Francisco. The LLNL complex consists of a main site east of the city of Livermore (Livermore Site), several leased properties near the Livermore Site, and a more remote site (Site 300) in the Altamont Hills, 27 km (17 mi) southeast of the Livermore Site (see figures A.1.6-1 and A.1.6-2).

The Livermore Site occupies a 332-ha (821-acre) area in the southeast portion of the Livermore Valley. The valley is about 26-km (16-mi) long (east-west) and 11- to 16-km (7- to 10-mi) wide (north-south). Hills ranging in elevation from 300 to 600 m (1,000 to 2,000 ft) surround the Livermore Valley. These hills are predominantly open space devoted to agriculture and recreation uses.

Onsite land use includes offices, laboratory buildings, support facilities (e.g., cafeterias, storage areas, maintenance yards, facilities for waste treatment and groundwater treatment, security, and a fire station), roadways, parking areas, and landscaping. A 150 m (500 ft) wide security buffer zone lies along the northern and western borders of the site.

The Livermore Site has approximately 550,000 m2 (5.9 million ft2 ) of facilities that include existing space and areas under construction. This space is distributed among approximately 600 buildings, over 300 are temporary structures. Temporary facilities (trailers, modular buildings, and World War II buildings) constitute 30 percent of the occupied space and house approximately 51 percent of the total laboratory office population. Approximately 53 percent of the permanent facilities are more than 20 years old; 40 percent are more than 30 years old.

East of the laboratory is agricultural property with a few scattered rural residents. A branch of the California Aqueduct, the South Bay Aqueduct, traverses land east of the lab in a north-south direction. To the north lies a light industrial park, a line of the Union Pacific Railroad, and Interstate 580. Residential areas of low to medium density and the city of Livermore extend to the west. Immediately south of the Livermore site is the SNL site at Livermore. Farther south, and southwest, the land is cultivated for vineyards.

Site 300 is an HE test site occupying 2,800 ha (7,000 acres) of largely undeveloped steep ridges and canyons about 29 km (18 mi) southeast of Livermore in the sparsely populated Altamont Hills of the Diablo Range. Elevations vary from a low of 150 m (500 ft) along Corral Hollow Creek on the southern boundary to 520 m (1,700 ft) above mean sea level in the northwest portions of the site. Slopes range from 8 to greater than 45 degrees.

Site 300 consists of two remote firing areas supported by a chemistry processing area and an administrative support area at the site entrance. The site also includes a number of storage magazines. Major buildings include the firing complex, the advanced test accelerator, the dynamic test complex, disassembly complex, and drop tower test areas. Other facilities include police and fire department, badge office, HE storage, warehouse, medical, cafeteria, and other service facilities. There are approximately 31,700 m2 (341,000 ft2 ) of facilities, including four trailers.

While the majority of the land surrounding Site 300 is agricultural (primarily for grazing cattle and sheep), two other defense-related research and testing facilities are in the area. A facility adjacent to Site 300 on the east and a similar facility approximately 1 km (0.6 mi) to the south both conduct HE tests.

South of the western portion of Site 300 is the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area which is for the exclusive use of off-highway vehicles. The nearest urban area is the city of Tracy, approximately 13 km (8 mi) northeast of Site 300. Several rural residences, however, are much closer to the site. Power-generating wind turbines occupy the land northwest of the site.

Current missions at LLNL are shown in table 3.2.7-1. A complete description of current facility operations can be found in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site Institutional Plan. The major DP facilities located at LLNL are shown in .

Environmental Regulatory Setting. It is the policy of LLNL to protect the environment and ensure that operations are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations that have been enacted to protect the environment. With some minor exceptions, the State of California has regulatory authority for air, water, solid waste, hazardous waste, and mixed waste as administered through a variety of state and local agencies. The remainder of this appendix section summarizes the status of LLNL compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. During 1994, two EAs for proposed projects were initiated by LLNL. The Draft Environmental Assessment for the Mixed Waste Management Facility addressed the potential impacts from construction and operations of a facility that will demonstrate potential technologies for treating DOE mixed waste on a pilot scale. Based on the results of this research, certain technologies may be adopted later by DOE for treatment of mixed wastes throughout DOE's facilities. DOE is currently reviewing this Draft EA.

Table A.1.6-1.--Major Defense Program Facilities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Draft EA for the Site 300 Explosives Waste Treatment Facility addressed the potential impacts of constructing and operating up-to-date replacement facilities for treating explosives wastes and explosives-contaminated wastes at Site 300. DOE is currently reviewing this Draft EA.

The California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq.) establishes state policy for protecting environmental quality. The goals of the California Environmental Quality Act are achieved by requiring local and state agencies to assess the potential environmental impacts of proposed actions for which they may have a decisionmaking role. This is done through the preparation of an initial study, which leads to issuance of a negative declaration or a requirement to prepare an Environmental Impact Report. An Environmental Impact Report may also be prepared directly for projects that may have significant environmental impacts. No Initial Study or Environmental Impact Report documents were prepared by the University of California in 1994 on proposed projects for which the university was the decisionmaking or lead agency.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Both the Livermore Site and Site 300 are listed on the EPA's NPL. The Livermore site was placed on the NPL in 1987, and LLNL's groundwater project complies with provisions specified in a 1988 Federal Facility Compliance Agreement entered into by EPA, DOE, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The ROD was issued by EPA in 1992. Remedial investigations and treatment operations are ongoing.

Groundwater investigations began at Site 300 in 1981. The site was placed on the NPL in 1990. In June 1992, DOE negotiated a Federal Facility Agreement with EPA and the state that describes the groundwater and soil investigations to be conducted and specifies the reporting dates. Since June 1992, Site 300 investigations and remedial actions have been conducted under the joint oversight of EPA, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control under the authority of a Federal Facility Agreement.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. In compliance with this act, LLNL implemented a computerized chemical tracking system called ChemTrack. The system allows for improved emergency response planning and complete inventory information, as well as improved overall chemical management.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. RCRA- regulated operations at LLNL's Livermore Site are managed under Interim Status Standards as administered by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. A Part B Permit application has been submitted and describes storage and treatment operations at five facilities located in and near Buildings 233, 419, 514, 612, and 693. An additional new storage and treatment facility known as the Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility would include construction of five new buildings for waste management operations to be located in the vicinity of Building 693. The Decontamination and Waste Treatment Facility would replace the majority of existing waste management facilities located in Areas 612 and 514.

At Site 300, LLNL operates a Part B-permitted container storage unit (Building 883) for management of hazardous waste. This facility permit is currently undergoing renewal. Explosives wastes are burned at an open burn facility near Building 829 under terms of a compliance order until a new thermal treatment unit can be designed, permitted, and constructed at which time the Building 829 facility will close. Part B Permit applications have all been submitted to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for a new explosives storage facility and a new open burn/open detonation facility.

The Department of Toxic Substance Control conducted its annual audit of generator locations throughout the Livermore Site from June 22 to 25, 1993, and on July 14, 1993. Seventeen alleged violations were reported August 6, 1993. Site 300 was inspected February 16 and 17, 1993, and November 15 and 16, 1993. In each case, three violations were noted. Appropriate actions were taken at both sites to correct the violations.

The Building 829 Open Burn Facility thermally treats HE waste. The facility operates in accordance with interim status standard and the terms of a September 1993 compliance order. Design and permitting activities are currently in progress to build a new waste treatment facility at Building 845 to eliminate the need for the Building 829 Open Burn Facility. Another new facility has been proposed for Site 300, and a Part B Permit application has been submitted. The facility is an explosives waste storage facility that augments the storage capability at Building 883 by providing a separate dedicated facility to store explosives waste.

Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. Mixed wastes are generated and managed by LLNL operations in accordance with requirements of the Federal Facility Compliance Act. Existing and proposed management practices have been identified in the proposed site treatment plan submitted in April 1995. DOE is negotiating terms of a compliance agreement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Clean Water Act. This act is administered by the California Resources Board and regional and local agencies. Routine discharges to ground and surface waters resulting from the groundwater investigation and remediation activities at the Livermore Site are subject to permits issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Stormwater associated with industrial activities is discharged under a Wastewater Discharge Permit issued by the Livermore Water Reclamation Plant. Site 300 holds water discharge requirements and NPDES permits issued by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. These pertain to discharges associated with cooling towers and groundwater remediation work. Site 300 permits are also in effect for closed landfills and operation of an explosives rinsewater surface impoundment system.

Safe Drinking Water Act. LLNL maintains compliance with SDWA standards for its public water systems.

Clean Air Act. This act is enforced by the California Air Resources Board and local districts. The Livermore Site complies with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District rules and regulations. Site 300 is subject to rules enforced by the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District. LLNL holds over 200 permits for air pollution sources and control equipment that are renewed on an annual basis.

Radionuclide emissions are regulated under NESHAPs, which is administered by EPA. In April 1994, EPA notified DOE and LLNL that all requirements of the August 1993 Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement had been met and that LLNL had satisfactorily demonstrated compliance.

Toxic Substances Control Act. LLNL regulates PCBs and asbestos in compliance with TSCA regulations. LLNL submits annual PCB reports to EPA. Asbestos wastes are reported in the hazardous waste report.

A.1.7 Sandia National Laboratories

Site Description. SNL is headquartered in Bernalillo County at the foot of the Manzano Mountains adjacent to Albuquerque, NM. At their nearest points, SNL facilities are 4.0 km (2.5 mi) south of Interstate 40 and 10.5 km (6.5 mi) east of downtown Albuquerque. The facilities are surrounded by Kirtland Air Force Base, with co-use agreements on some U.S. Air Force property. An area of the Manzano Mountains east of Kirtland Air Force Base has been withdrawn from the U.S. Forest Service for the exclusive use of the Air Force and DOE. The location of SNL and its principal facilities are shown in figures A.1.7-1 and A.1.7-2.

The laboratory is situated on the 30,562-ha (75,520-acre) Kirtland Air Force Base military reservation. Kirtland Air Force Base is located on two broad mesas bisected by the Tijeras Arroyo, an east/west canyon. These mesas are bounded by the Manzano Mountains (Cibola National Forest) to the east and the Rio Grande to the west. Elevations range from 1,500 m (4,921 ft) at the Rio Grande to 3,255 m (10,680 ft) at Sandia Crest, which is in the Sandia Mountains adjacent to Albuquerque.

Albuquerque, the largest population center in Bernalillo County, and also the closest population center to Kirtland Air Force Base, is located slightly north of the base. The 1990 census figures show an Albuquerque population of 384,736. The Isleta Indian Pueblo, which borders Kirtland Air Force Base on the south, is the next nearest population center with a 1990 census of 2,953. An estimated total population of 578,313 people live within an 80-km (50-mi) radius of Kirtland Air Force Base. This includes permanent residents of Kirtland Air Force Base living in the base housing areas. Current missions at SNL are shown in table 3.2.8-1. A description of facility operations can be found in the Sandia National Laboratories Site Institutional Plan. The major DP facilities located at SNL are shown in table A.1.7-1.

The majority of activities at SNL are DP activities. SNL facilities are located in five technical areas and several additional test areas. There are approximately 560 major buildings totaling over 370,000 m2 (4 million ft2 ) located in these areas. Each area has its own distinctive operations and is described in the following paragraphs.

Table A.1.7-1.-- Major Defense Program Facilities Located at Sandia National Laboratories

Technical Area I has the largest employee population (approximately 5,000) and is dedicated primarily to three activities: the design, research, and development of weapons systems; limited production of weapons system components; and energy programs. Technical Area I includes the main library, offices, laboratories, and shops used by administrative and technical staff; two small accelerators; a foundry; a steam plant; and an emergency diesel generator plant.

Technical Area II is a small area used for explosives testing. Techniques for measuring fractures in geologic strata are developed at this facility. Also located in Technical Area II are an inactive low-level radioactive waste disposal site, a small radioactive material decontamination and storage facility (Building 906), and a storage facility designed to temporarily hold PCB-contaminated materials to be transported to an EPA-licensed disposal facility. The inactive low-level waste (LLW) disposal site has not been used for over 20 years. Most Technical Area II activities have been transferred to the Explosive Components Facility, a new facility intended to replace Technical Area II. This facility will integrate many of the existing Technical Area II activities, as well as some remote testing activities currently performed in other test areas.

Technical Area III is located adjacent to and south of Technical Area V, 8 km (5 mi) south of Technical Area I. It comprises 20 test facilities that include extensive environmental test facilities (such as sled tracks, centrifuges, and a radiant heat facility). Other facilities in Technical Area III include a paper incinerator, an inactive LLW and mixed waste disposal site, and a melting and solidification laboratory. The inactive radioactive waste disposal site in Technical Area III consists of two adjoining fenced areas that occupy 0.6 ha (1.5 acres). One area was used for LLW disposal in seven shallow trenches. The second area was used for disposal of classified LLW in 37 pits. LLW consisted primarily of tritium-contaminated materials. Three additional pits located in the classified waste disposal area were used exclusively for natural and depleted uranium waste disposal. The site is currently used as an interim storage facility for radioactive and mixed wastes.

An inactive hazardous-waste disposal and storage site is also located near the southern boundary of Technical Area III. This facility has not been used for disposal of hazardous wastes since November 7, 1985. It was used as an interim hazardous waste storage area from 1985 to 1988. A closure plan and post-closure permit application were prepared in May 1988. The newer hazardous waste repackaging and storage building, located south of Technical Area I, has been in use since 1988.

Technical Area IV consists of several inertial-confinement fusion research and pulsed-power research facilities. One large accelerator, the Particle-Beam Fusion Accelerator-II, was completed in 1985. A large accelerator facility, the Simulation Technology Laboratory, houses seven pulsed-power accelerators. Several of these accelerators have been transferred from Technical Area V.

Technical Area V houses two research reactors in two reactor facilities, an intense gamma irradiation facility (using cobalt-60 and cesium-137), and a hot cell facility. The two research reactor facilities in Technical Area V are small and quite dissimilar: the Sandia Pulsed Reactor is an unreflected, unmoderated assembly of enriched uranium, and the Annular Core Research Reactor consists of an annular core of 226 fuel elements in an open water tank.

There are also test areas outside the five Technical Areas. These areas are located south of Technical Area III and in canyons on the west side of the Manzano Mountains. Coyote Canyon and Thunder Range are two examples of such areas.

Depleted uranium was used in the past for explosive testing in these remote areas. The test areas were surveyed following each test and contaminated materials were collected and disposed of in accordance with DOE requirements. Environmental monitoring is done as necessary. Operations in these areas are administratively controlled to avoid uranium contamination to public areas beyond the confines of Kirtland Air Force Base.

Electricity is supplied to SNL and much of southeast Albuquerque through the Public Service Company of New Mexico's switching station on Eubank Boulevard. Voltage is stepped down through transformers to 46 kilovolt (kV) for distribution through four feeders. Feeder 1 serves Technical Areas II through V and outlying areas, Feeder 2 serves the Radiant Heat Facility in Technical Area III, and Feeders 3 and 4 supply Technical Area I.

Kirtland Air Force Base is responsible for the overall natural gas system. The distribution system in technical areas I, II, and IV is owned by DOE and operated by SNL. Natural gas is purchased from Kirtland Air Force Base, which buys it commercially. Fuel is stored in Technical Area I for refueling remote-site tanks and for emergency supply to the steam plant. The steam plant in Technical Area I supplies steam both to that area and to Kirtland Air Force Base for space heating, hot water converters, absorption chillers, and processes.

Responsibility for water storage and transmission rests with Kirtland Air Force Base, with SNL handling distribution only to its own facilities. Remote test areas in Coyote Canyon have water trucked to them.

SNL is responsible for the sewage collection system in its technical areas and in Coyote Test Field, while Kirtland Air Force Base is responsible for the base-wide system. SNL contains over 24 km (15 mi) of sewer lines interconnected with Kirtland Air Force Base. Technical Areas I and IV are tied into the Kirtland Air Force Base system, while Technical Areas II, III, and V and Coyote Test Field have septic tanks and sewage lagoons independent of the main system.

Environmental Regulatory Setting. SNL strives to comply with environmental and other requirements established by Federal, state, and local statutes and regulations, executive orders, and DOE orders. The New Mexico Environment Department has state authority for developing regulations and standards for water, and hazardous and mixed waste management. The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board has authority for developing regulations and standards for air. The remainder of this section summarizes the status of SNL compliance with the major environmental regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act. During 1994, SNL NEPA compliance activities focused on developing the SNL NEPA program and baseline information and fulfilling commitments made in the Final Action Plan to Tiger Team. SNL initiated the preparation of 15 EAs during 1994. FONSIs were issued for the neutron generator/switch tube prototyping relocation on April 8, 1994; general-purpose heat source safety verification testing on February 15, 1995; and the construction and occupancy of the Robotic Manufacturing Science and Engineering Laboratory on April 13, 1994.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Based on the Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection conducted in 1988, EPA concluded that none of SNL's inactive waste sites qualified for the EPA's list of high-priority cleanups. Therefore, this act does not govern waste site cleanup, but RCRA does. During 1994, SNL had two reportable quantity chemical releases. Lead was released during a scheduled rocket motor firing and transformer oil leaked from an oil storage system and escaped from the system's secondary containment.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The New Mexico Environment Department was granted authorization to regulate control of hazardous waste under RCRA by EPA on January 25, 1985, and mixed waste on July 25, 1990. SNL, which operates an onsite permitted treatment facility, is defined by RCRA as a large-quantity generator. During 1994, 86,369 kg (190,400 lb) of RCRA-regulated hazardous waste was managed by SNL. On May 12, 1994, DOE transmitted a Class I permit modification of the RCRA storage permit to the New Mexico Environment Department, allowing SNL to receive offsite generated wastes. SNL also operates a Thermal Treatment Facility that was permitted in November 1994 for the treatment of residual explosives.

The New Mexico Environment Department conducts annual RCRA audits of the SNL Hazardous Waste Management Facility and generator locations throughout SNL facilities. On October 7, 1994, the New Mexico Environment Department issued a Compliance Order listing 17 alleged violations, including open containers of hazardous waste, labeling errors, and incomplete training. Five of the violations were dropped following negotiations between SNL and the New Mexico Environment Department, and a civil penalty of $9,240,000 was proposed in January 1995. All of the remaining issues have been corrected.

As identified by the Environmental Restoration Project, potential release sites are being evaluated and corrected. At SNL's inactive Chemical Waste Landfill, concentrations of trichloroethylene slightly above the EPA's drinking water standards were discovered in groundwater 150 m (500 ft) beneath the site. A corrective action plan, entitled The Chemical Waste Landfill Final Closure Plan and Postclosure Permit Application, was approved by the New Mexico Environment Department in May 1993. Sites at which assessment efforts continued during 1994 include the Mixed Waste Landfill, Technical Area II, the Liquid Waste Disposal System, Tijeras Arroyo, and also at the Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii.

The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. In accordance with the Federal Facility Compliance Act enacted in October 1992, SNL submitted a complete inventory of its mixed waste in November 1993 for the Final Mixed Waste Inventory Report. Additionally, SNL submitted the Conceptual Site Treatment Plan (Phase I) for SNL mixed waste issued in October 1993 and the Draft Site Treatment Plan (Phase II) issued in August 1994 to the New Mexico Environment Department. In December 1994, the Proposed Site Treatment Plan (Phase III), including a revised mixed waste inventory through September 1994 and preferred treatment options in accordance with the DOE/AL Mixed Waste Treatment Plan (April 1994), were submitted to the New Mexico Environment Department.

Clean Water Act. SNL submitted an NPDES permit application on October 1, 1992, for its industrial discharge. Two NOIs to discharge for construction of stormwater discharges were submitted on January 24, 1994, for construction of the Technology Support Center, and on September 19, 1994, for construction of the Robotic Manufacturing Science and Engineering Laboratory. SNL has six wastewater discharge permits from the city of Albuquerque.

Safe Drinking Water Act. SNL maintains compliance with SDWA standards for its public water systems.

Clean Air Act. SNL is regulated by the 1990 CAA amendments and by local regulations, including air quality control regulations, which are administered by the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board. In 1994, 15 open burn permits were issued to SNL by the city of Albuquerque. Permits were issued for operations at the Luance Canyon Burn Site, the Thermal Treatment Facility, the Coyote Test Field, and the Fire Extinguisher Training Site. All other existing permits were issued by either the city of Albuquerque or EPA. In early 1995, SNL conducted an inventory of hazardous chemical usage. The inventory included radionuclides, ozone-depleting substances, and chemicals listed in Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, Section 313, Toxic Chemical List.

In January 1994, SNL began an ambient air surveillance program which included one criteria pollutant monitoring station, seven particulate matter monitoring stations, and four VOC monitoring locations. No exceedances or violations were detected in 1994.

Toxic Substances Control Act. SNL regulates PCBs and asbestos in compliance with TSCA regulations. Electrical distribution equipment containing greater than, or equal to, 50 ppm are being removed and shipped offsite to permitted treatment and disposal facilities. A total of 49 items, having PCB concentrations over 50 ppm, remained in service as of December 31, 1994. SNL operates two programs for the management of asbestos. The Facilities Asbestos Program manages the abatement of floor tiles and insulation. The Non-Facilities Asbestos Program handles nonfacilities items that may contain asbestos such as gloves, fume hoods, and ovens.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. EPA-registered pesticides are applied by EPA-certified applicators. Records including pesticide types and quantities and Material Safety Data Sheets are retained by SNL.

A.1.8 Nevada Test Site

Site Description. NTS is located in Nye County, NV, and encompasses approximately 351,000 ha (867,000 acres). It varies in width from 45 to 56 km (28 to 35 mi) east to west and in length from 64 to 88 km (40 to 55 mi) north to south. To the north, east, and west, the rugged, mountainous, and undeveloped Federal-owned land masses of the Nellis Air Force Range provide a buffer zone, varying from 24- to 104-km (15- to 65-mi) wide, between the test areas and public lands. The Bureau of Land Management manages the land that borders the southern and southwestern boundaries. U.S. Highway 95 and the town of Amargosa Valley are also to the south. The southeast corner of NTS is about 104 km (65 mi) northwest of Las Vegas. Locations of NTS and its principal facilities and testing areas are shown in figures A.1.8-1 and A.1.8-2.

NTS is unique in that it is a large open area with tightly controlled access and with adequate infrastructure to handle and run tests with hazardous or radioactive materials. Approximately 25 percent of NTS is undeveloped or provides buffer zones for ongoing programs and projects. Facility expansions are possible within all areas and encroachment from land development is not a concern.

NTS is divided into numbered test areas to simplify the distribution, use, and control of resources. The main entrance and the Desert Rock Airstrip are at the southeast corner of the site (Area 22). Mercury Base Camp is adjacent in Area 23 and provides administrative operations and general support. Offices for DOE, DOD, the Defense Nuclear Agency, LLNL, LANL, SNL, and all of the supporting contractors of these organizations are located in this area. Dormitory, cafeteria, recreation, and transportation facilities are located here.

North of Mercury is Frenchman Flat (Area 5), a historic area because of the atmospheric nuclear tests conducted there. Just north of Frenchman Flat is Area 6. The Control Point One Complex, which provides control over and execution of nuclear detonations at NTS, is located here, as is a new work-camp for construction and craft support. A shallow, usually dry-lake bed, Yucca Lake, is also in this area. Farther north is the broad valley of Yucca Flat, site of many of the more recent nuclear tests (Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10). At the northern edge of this flat at the base of Rainier Mesa is the center of DOD/Defense Nuclear Agency activities (Area 12). The Area 12 Camp, which is closed, provided logistic, service, and administration facilities that, in busier times, supported the northern part of NTS. The Area 12 Camp provided ready access to the Defense Nuclear Agency tunnels mined into the face of Rainier Mesa. In the northwest section of NTS is Pahute Mesa. Pahute Mesa's geology allows its use for testing nuclear devices with larger yields (Areas 19 and 20).

Due to its large size, the perimeter of NTS is not completely fenced; however, roving security guards patrol the test site. Security and hazardous areas are fenced and some areas are protected with armed guards and electronic security measures. Capital assets at NTS include about 1,200 buildings with 8,000 units of installed equipment, approximately 640 km (400