Environmental restoration activities at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pinellas Plant

The Pinellas Plant, located in Largo, Florida, is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) weapons complex. GE Neutron Devices (GEND) has initiated an extremely aggressive, proactive Environmental Restoration (ER) Program at the Pinellas Plant. The ER program was started by AL to investigate environmental concerns associated with past waste management practices and procedures at DOE weapons installations. The Pinellas Plant has been involved with ER activities since the mid 1980's when the DOE's Pinellas Area Office (PAO) entered a voluntary cleanup agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER). The agreement was for the remediation of an adjacent parcel of property previously owned, and used for disposal of drums containing waste solvents and resins. The ER program at the Pinellas Plant has been progressing rapidly since this inception, with ER activities currently initiated and/or planned at all sites where contaminants have been detected above regulatory standards. These activities operate under the State of Florida's 'Corrective Actions For Ground Water Contamination Cases' guidance and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) Corrective Action Rule and the requirements specified in the Hazardous Waste Part B Permit. Remediation issues at the Pinellas Plant are equivalent to those experienced by many private industries; for example, limited volatile organic compound (VOC) and heavy metal contamination of the surficial aquifer system and heavy metal contamination of soils. ER activities in progress are aimed toward; confining, repositioning and remedying areas of heavy metal and VOC contaminants found within the surficial aquifer system; consistency with EPA's draft Corrective Action Rules which state 'the corrective action program will be to expedite cleanup results by requiring (taking) sensible early action to control environmental problems'; protection of a U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) designated national wetland; and to ensure that risk to human health and safety and to the environment posed by the plants past, present and future operations are either eliminated or reduced to acceptable, safe levels. This paper will summarize the progress made and the strategies of the Pinellas Plant ER program as well as implementation of interim remedial actions. (author)