Bioaccumulation monitoring for the BMAP has been conducted in the Clinch River (or Watts Bar Reservoir) since 1987. The Clinch River is downstream of all three DOE facilities in Oak Ridge: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12 Plant, and the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). Bioaccumulation monitoring has been used to address requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued to the three facilities by the TN Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC, or its predecessors).

The Clinch River is a large river and reservoir system (drainage area of 44,000 acres) that is impacted throughout its 140-mile length adversely by industrial, municipal, and agricultural sources. BMAP monitoring has been conducted in the Clinch River/Watts Bar Reservoir below inputs from the DOE facilities in Oak Ridge, as well as at Clinch River sites upstream from those sources (primarily in Melton Hill Reservoir). Upstream Clinch River sites serve as reference sites. Monitoring of fish from the Clinch River clearly show that DOE sources contribute to the contaminant body burdens in fish, but also clearly show that sources upstream of DOE inputs are also important contributors to that burden.

Historical BMAP bioaccumulation data for the Clinch River can be found in the BMAP databases (see Databases/GIS). Additional information on monitoring in the Clinch River can be found at Mixed Contaminants in Large River Systems (Bioindicators), as well as the Clinch River Environmental Restoration Program. The Clinch River Environmental Restoration Program was conducted in the early 1990s, and was designed to address the transport, fate, and distribution of waterborne contaminants from the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and to assess potential risks to human health and the environment associated with these contaminants.

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