Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Waste Sites (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 3-9
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From page 3... ...
Moreover, the current regulatory framework for waste site remediation appears to encourage a constrained and piecemeal approach that makes it difficult to assure that the broader needs of effective long-term institutional management get the consideration they deserve. This study examines the capabilities and limitations of the scientific, technical, and human and institutional systems that compose the measures that DOE expects to put into place at potentially hazardous, residually contaminated sites.
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From page 4... ...
Developing new facilities and managing today's wastes with the needs of long-term stewardship in mind is an important aspect of the integrative approach embodied in the committee' s framework for long-term institutional management. This study uses the term long-term institutional management to refer to a planning and decision-making approach that strives to achieve an appropriate balance in the way it employs contaminant reduction measures, engineered barriers that isolate residual contaminants from the human environment and retard their migration, and places reliance on institutional controls and other stewardship measures.
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From page 5... ...
It incorporates the measures available to site managers as remediation or stewardship planning moves forward, the factors that influence the site management choices made at particular points in time, and the iterative character of decision making through time as new information emerges or planned site end state goals are adjusted. The committee's metaphor for balancing the three basic elements that waste-site managers have at their disposal contaminant reduction, physical isolation of residual contaminants, and deployment of stewardship activities is a "three-legged stool." These three basic sets of measures are represented by the stool's "legs." The goals or end state they are trying to achieve are represented by the stool's "seat," and the contextual factors listed earlier that constrain their use are represented by the "rungs." Metaphorically, the rugged terrain upon which the stool rests represents the variability of contamination scenarios within and among sites.
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From page 6... ...
According to recent departmental estimates, 109 of the 144 DOE waste sites, including its largest sites (such as the Hanford Site in Washington, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) are unlikely to become available for site-wide unrestricted use (U.S.
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From page 7... ...
Irrespective of the management systems put in place in support of other aspects of long-term stewardship programs, physical barrier systems to keep hazardous wastes in isolation will require their own ongoing support from the institutional management system. Stewardship in its broadest sense includes all of the activities that will be required concerning potentially harmful contamination left on site following the completion of remediation.
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From page 8... ...
The latter includes nearby contaminated sites, nearby lands outside the facility, receptor sites, and similar sites, particularly similar sites within the DOE complex. The status of lands around a contaminated site, including the presence of other contaminated sites nearby, can strongly affect site disposition decisions.
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From page 9... ...
In conclusion, given that unrestricted use will not be possible for many DOE legacy waste sites, and given that decisions that affect sites' futures are often made under conditions of considerable uncertainty, the best decision strategy overall appears to be one that avoids foreclosing future options where sensible, takes contingencies into account wherever possible, and takes seriously the prospects that failures of engineered barriers, institutional controls, and other stewardship measures in the future could have ramifications that a good steward would want to avoid. A forward-looking strategy is essential because today's scientific knowledge and technical and institutional capabilities are insufficient to provide much confidence that sites with residual risks will continue to function as expected for the time periods necessary.
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