Attitudes and practices regarding disposal of liquid nuclear waste at Clinton Laboratories in the very early years: A historical analysis

Abstract

Many previously unreferenced documents show that the management and disposal of the liquid nuclear waste generated at Clinton Labs (which became ORNL after 1948) during the 1940s was performed with the highest degree of integrity and professionalism, contradicting today`s perceptions. Even before construction of the laboratories in early 1943, professionals were making plans for the ``safe`` disposal of waste through treatment and dilution at medically prescribed levels into White Oak Creek and the Clinch River; concern for human health permeated all the disposal decisions. Chemical and physical treatment processes were used to remove as much of the activity as possible before release. Environmental and biological monitoring of the surface waters was instituted very early in the disposal history. Information learned at Clinton Labs with regard to waste disposal was transferred to Hanford. By the latter part of the 1940s, the scientists were formulating fairly sophisticated research programs for managing liquid waste and began research on the disposal of low-level solid waste. This historical analysis attempts to place the actions of the 1940s in proper perspective, drawing on the attentiveness and integrity of those who participated 50 years ago. Applying standards of the 1990s to actions in the 1940s must be done skilfully, carefully, and with the realization that those individuals were operating under extremely trying conditions, with minimal knowledge of radionuclide behavior.