DOE's environmental restoration program for the Clinch River and Watts Bar Reservoir

Operations and waste disposal activities at the Y-12 Plant, the K-25 Site,and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) have introduced a variety of contaminants (radionuclides, metals, and organic compounds) into off-site surface waters since the early 1940s, The Clinch River and Watts Bar Reservoir are located downstream from the ORR. A comprehensive remedial investigation (the Clinch River Remedial Investigation) of off-site surface water contamination at Oak Ridge is now being conducted in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act requirements. The objectives of the Clinch River Remedial Investigation (CRRI) are to: (1) define the nature and extent of off-site surface water contamination, (2) quantify the potential risks to human health and the environment associated with off-site contamination, and (3) identify and preliminarily evaluate potential remediation alternatives. The CRRI is being conducted in three phases: (1) scoping studies, in which preassessment studies based on existing data and limited sampling were conducted to preliminarily estimate the nature and extent of the problem; (2) Phase 1, in which limited sampling and risk analyses are conducted to define specifically the distributions of the contaminants of concern and the environmental and human health risks associated with the contamination. These phases allow a progressive focusing of assessment efforts on specific contaminants, pathways, and sites contributing to risk and on the evaluation of potential remediation alternatives. A brief overview of the Clinch River RI is presented, followed by a description of on going efforts to achieve control of contaminated sediments located in the White Oak Creek Embayment