The state of Tennessee kicked off a comment period this week about a long-debated low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Oak Ridge Site, which would replace one expected to reach capacity this decade, a citizens’ advisory board heard Wednesday.
The comment period on the planned Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) began Monday and runs through June 7 with a public meeting set for May 17, Dennis Mayton of the DOE Office of Environmental Management told a virtual meeting of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board during a webcast meeting.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) discussed progress on the proposed 2.2 million-cubic-yard landfill — to replace the existing Environmental Management Waste Management Facility that Myton said is more than 80% full — with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm during a congressional hearing in April.
The coming in-person public meeting, hosted by DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, was scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern time on May 17 at the Pollard Technology Conference Center, 210 Badger Ave, Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830.
DOE wants the replacement facility open by 2029 in order to accommodate the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) debris generated from tearing down old structures at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge Laboratory (ORNL), Mayton said in his presentation. Plans for the new landfill have been discussed at public meetings dating back to 2015, he said.
Over 200 old buildings remain to be demolished at Y-12 and ORNL, Mayton said, adding that Oak Ridge contains DOE’s largest inventory of high-risk facilities. Most of what is in the existing on-site landfill came from buildings torn down at Oak Ridge’s East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 gaseous diffusion complex, he said.
The low-level hazardous waste that goes into the on-site landfill accounts for 95% of the waste volume at Oak Ridge, but only 1% of the radionuclides, Mayton said. High-hazard material will continue to be shipped off-site, he added.
The DOE produced a first draft of its record of decision for building the landfill in July 2021 and the second draft, or D2, will probably be out around July of this year, Mayton said.
