The goal of the Environmental Cleanup Program has been and still is to evaluate and take appropriate actions to ensure protection of human health and the environment. The Cleanup Program at Paducah supports site monitoring, environmental response actions, and decommissioning and decontamination (D&D) of inactive facilities.
Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 211-A Performance and Long-term Monitoring Wells Program
As part of the SWMU 211-A Enhanced In-Situ Bioremediation Project, 18 performance monitoring and 9 long-term monitoring wells (MWs) were installed. These wells, in addition to one previously installed MW (MW203), will be sampled and inspected as D&R activities continue.
Water Policy Boundary Monitoring Program
In fiscal year 2022, vinyl chloride was detected above the maximum containment level (MCL) in residential well R40 samples collected by the Kentucky Division of Waste Management Agreement in Principle and by DOE. Multiple sampling events were conducted at R40 in fiscal year 2022 and the pump and tubing were replaced in the well. After the pump and tubing were replaced and additional samples were collected, vinyl chloride was not detected above the MCL. To continue evaluating conditions at the well, R40 will continue to be sampled quarterly for TCE and degradation products. Additionally, in support of the Paducah Site Groundwater Strategy Project, MW20 will be sampled on a quarterly basis.
Over the coming decade, PPPO’s environmental remediation activities will focus heavily on the Paducah Site. This includes significant work to address groundwater contamination. Since off-site groundwater contamination was discovered in 1988, DOE has taken steps to clean up soil and ground water contamination. These actions include removing contaminated soils and treating contaminated ground water. In the late 1990s, two pump and treat systems were installed to mitigate off-site plume contamination. DOE continues to monitor and make improvements to the ground water treatment system. Along with the removal of inactive facilities, DOE also implements an environmental monitoring and management program to secure protection of human health, the environment and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
The annual update of the Paducah Site Management Plan set forth enforceable milestones and enforceable completion dates for cleanup activities. These activities include a series of prioritized cleanup actions, ongoing environmental monitoring analysis to support future cleanup decisions, and eventual D&D of the gaseous diffusion plant. After completion of these cleanup activities in the future, the site will be evaluated and any additional actions will be implemented.