Search   Go!

News

Highlights

Site Specific Problems for Oak Ridge Reservation

East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in Oak Ridge, TN has been posted with a fish consumption advisory as a result of contamination arising from historical losses of mercury at DOE's Y-12 National Security Complex (NSC). Remediation efforts, which began in the 1980s, have reduced waterborne mercury concentrations both within the Y-12 facility and in the EFPC ecosystem, but elevated levels of mercury remain in the soil, sediment, water and biota. The processes that control the fate and transport of mercury near the facility are extremely complex. The hydrological, geochemical, and microbial interactions between the subsurface and surface water systems are not well understood.

In addition to mercury contamination at Y-12, ORR has numerous other intractable environmental problems with industrial contaminants (such as U, Tc, Sr, Cs, and other radionuclides, metals, nitrate, PCBs, VOCs and DNAPL) migrating from a complex subsurface system composed of fractured rock and karst present beneath former burial grounds and disposal cribs. Given the diversity of subsurface contaminants and the complex hydrogeology, an understanding of the various contaminant movement pathways and potential application of innovative technologies and approaches will be critical to effective remediation.

Conceptual model of Mercury transport.