Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

The Savannah River Site Environmental Report for 2009 (SRNS-STI-2010-00175) is prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) according to requirements of DOE Order 231.1A, 'Environment, Safety and Health Reporting, ' and DOE Order 5400.5, 'Radiation Protection of the Public and Environment.' The annual SRS Environmental Report has been produced for more than 50 years. Several hundred copies are distributed each year to government officials, universities, public libraries, environmental and civic groups, news media, and interested individuals. The report's purpose is to: (1) present summary environmental data that characterize site environmental management performance; (2) confirm compliance with environmental standards and requirements; and (3) highlight significant programs and efforts. SRS maintained its record of environmental excellence in 2009, as its operations continued to result in minimal impact to the offsite public and the surrounding environment. The site's radioactive and chemical discharges to air and water were well below regulatory standards for environmental and public health protection; its air and water quality met applicable requirements; and the potential radiation dose from its discharges was less than the national dose standards. The largest radiation dose that an offsite, hypothetical, maximally exposed individual could have received from SRS operations during 2009 was estimated to be 0.12 millirem (mrem). (An mrem is a standard unit of measure for radiation exposure.) The 2009 SRS dose is just 0.12 percent of the DOE all-pathway dose standard of 100 mrem per year, and far less than the natural average dose of about 300 mrem per year (according to Report No. 160 of the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements) to people in the United States. This 2009 all-pathway dose of 0.12 mrem was the same as the 2008 dose. Environmental monitoring is conducted extensively within a 2,000-square-mile network extending 25 miles from SRS, with some monitoring performed as far as 100 miles from the site. The area includes neighboring cities, towns, and counties in Georgia and South Carolina. Thousands of samples of air, rainwater, surface water, drinking water, groundwater, food products, wildlife, soil, sediment, and vegetation are collected by SRS and state authorities and analyzed for the presence of radioactive and nonradioactive contaminants. Compliance with environmental regulations and with DOE orders related to environmental protection provides assurance that onsite processes do not impact the public or the environment adversely. Such compliance is documented in this report. SRS had a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) compliance rate of 99.92 percent in 2009, with only four of the 4,989 sample analyses performed exceeding permit limits. The NPDES program protects streams, reservoirs, and other wetlands by limiting the release of nonradiological pollution into surface waters. Discharge limits are set for each facility to ensure that SRS operations do not negatively impact aquatic life or degrade water quality.