U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
75 Hawthorne Street (AIR-6)
San Francisco, CA 94105-3901

LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY

TRITIUM ISSUES

FEDERAL SUPERFUND CONSIDERATIONS

The federal Superfund list is a register of uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a priority for cleanup.

Not necessarily. EPA first looks to the parties responsible for the contamination to clean up the site. In the case of a federal facility, such as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, funding for a cleanup would be appropriated by Congress directly to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Like EPA, DOE and other federal agencies must annually prioritize their worst sites for cleanup funding. Listing as a Superfund site does not guarantee federal cleanup funding.

EPA uses a screening model called the Hazard Ranking System, or HRS, to evaluate the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by different sites. The HRS is intended as a screening mechanism to determine those sites which may need additional comprehensive study, and does not determine if cleanup is possible or even worthwhile. Rather, it provides EPA an inventory of sites which may require cleanup actions.

In 1991, EPA initially evaluated the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for possible inclusion on the federal Superfund list. At that time, EPA determined that the Laboratory did not qualify for the list. In 1997, the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste asked EPA to review additional data regarding tritium contamination, and reassess the National Tritium Labeling Facility located at the Laboratory. EPA considered data on tritium contamination provided by the Committee and the U.S. Department of Energy.

EPA issued its Superfund Evaluation Report in July 1998, with a preliminary finding that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is eligible for the Superfund list. However, EPA has no immediate plans to add the Laboratory to the list because tritium emissions at this facility are well below national public health standards set under the federal Clean Air Act. While the National Tritium Labeling Facility operations have resulted in small tritium levels in nearby ground water, surface water, soil and tree leaves, currently data do not show significant tritium contamination to require cleanup.

EPA is working with the community and government agencies through the Tritium Issues Work Group to perform an independent evaluation of the current monitoring system and collect additional samples to verify independently the data of the Department of Energy. EPA has provided DOE a list of sampling requirements that are needed to complete its Superfund evaluation. The Agency is encouraging DOE and the Tritium Issues Work Group to incorporate this work into the Work Group’s sampling activities. EPA will not make a final Superfund listing decision until this additional sampling is completed and the data reviewed.

For more information, please contact Philip Armstrong U. S. EPA Superfund Division, (415) 744-2349.