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The BMAP monitored the streams and soils around the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), near Piketon, Ohio from 1991 through 1995. The majority of the sampling occurred in Big Run and Little Beaver creeks, but other creeks draining the facility and larger rivers downstream of the facility were also sampled. The PORTS site had separated uranium isotopes using gaseous diffusion from 1954 and was active when our sampling occurred. Various constituents of this process had been released to the environment as a result of construction and support operations. The identification, characterization, and remediation of these releases and impacted areas were the targets of several studies for a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigation (RFI). Later the data gathered for these studies was used in a Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (BERA). |
Concern about the PORTS site was raised by DOE as part of a general order (DOE Order 5400.1) to protect and manage ecological resources of areas under their control. To supply data for this general order and later for the BERA, the BMAP was asked to (1) assess the ecological risk of biota on the reservation surrounding the facility and (2) evaluate and document the current ecological condition of streams and soils so that effectiveness of the future remedial actions can be evaluated.
The PORTS facility is located in south central Ohio in Scioto County. It is surrounded by a 1620 ha reservation that contains 2 major streams and 3 smaller tributaries that all flow to the southwest and eventually into the Scioto River. In addition to the industrial facilities, land use in the watersheds was primarily mowed grass areas and considerable forested areas. Landfills and NPDES discharges affected both of the primary streams. Outside of the reservation, land use is primarily farmland and low density urban.
Results of the studies are provided for each task.
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Last Modified: April 17, 2001