Removal site evaluation report for the SRL seepage basins

Abstract

Removal Site Evaluation Reports are prepared in accordance with Section 300.410 and 300.415 of the National Contingency Plan (NCP) and Section X of the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA). The Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Seepage Basins is one of the units that is listed in the Appendix C. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)/Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Units List, of the FFA. The purpose of this investigation is to report information concerning conditions at this unit sufficient to assess the threat (if any) posed to human health and the environment and to determine the need for additional CERCLA action. The scope of the investigation included recent surveys and sampling data, reviews of historical data, and visits to the unit. Through the investigation, unacceptable conditions of radioactive contaminant uptake in on-site vegetation were identified. This has resulted in introduction of contamination into the local ecological food chain and probable contaminant migration through biotic pathways. As a result, the Savannah River Site (SRS) will initiate a time critical removal action to remove and dispose of contaminated vegetation from the SRL Seepage Basins. Potential erosion in affected areas will be inhibited by implementation of the SCDHEC approved Stormwater Management and Sediment Reduction Plan/Pollution Prevention Plan, Permit {number_sign} SCR-100221. This report addresses the removal of the vegetation within the SRL Seepage Basin fence and, if necessary, the vegetation immediately outside the fence. The remediation of the waste unit will be addressed in other CERCLA documentation.