United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Facilities. Environmental monitoring report, calendar year 1977

The DOE Oak Ridge Reservation contains three major operating facilities: the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP), and the Y-12 Plant; all of which are operated by Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division. In addition, two smaller DOE facilities are in the area: the Comparative Animal Research Laboratory, and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. The Environmental Monitoring Program for the Oak Ridge area includes sampling and analysis of air, water from surface streams, creek sediments, biota, and soil for both radioactive and nonradioactive materials. This report presents a summary of the results of the program for calendar year 1977. Surveillance of radioactivity in the Oak Ridge environs indicates that atmospheric concentrations of radioactivity were not significantly different from other areas in East Tennessee. Concentrations of radioactivity in the Clinch River and in fish collected from the river were less than 6 percent of the permissible concentration and intake guides for individuals in the offsite environment. The total body dose to a hypothetical maximum exposed individual at the site boundary was calculated to be 7.2 mrem/yr. Surveillance of nonradioactive materials in the Oak Ridge environs shows that established limits were not exceeded for those materials possibly present in the air as a result of plant operations, with the exception of fluorides which exceeded the limits on several occasions. Several abatement projects to reduce fluoride emissions became fully operational in 1977. The chemical water quality data in surface streams obtained from the water sampling program indicated that average concentrations resulting from plant effluents were in compliance with State stream guidelines with the exception of fluorides which were slightly over the limit