Paducah Annual Site Environmental Reports
The purpose of this Annual Site Environmental Report is to summarize calendar year environmental management activities at the Paducah Site, including effluent monitoring, environmental surveillance, and environmental compliance status and to highlight significant site program efforts. Learn more about the Paducah ASER here.
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.
DOE conducts extensive environmental monitoring to detect and assess any impacts from cleanup operations to ensure public safety. Annual environmental monitoring includes a variety of sampling efforts across different environmental elements including radioactive materials (radionuclides), trichloroethene (a chemical used for cleaning metals), other metals, and general water quality at 15 locations where surface water flows into nearby streams and creeks.
To monitor radiation in the surrounding areas, external radiation was continuously measured at 64 locations, with results reported every three months. Air quality, sediment and surface water samples are also analyzed for radionuclides.
Groundwater at and around the site is extensively monitored with over 200 wells sampled at different times to track corrective actions, the movement of underground contaminants, and overall groundwater quality.
All these samples are cataloged in the Annual Site Environmental Report, a key component of DOE’s effort to keep the public informed about environmental conditions at the Paducah Site.
Water Policy Boundary Monitoring Program
DOE and its contractors at Paducah are committed to enhancing environmental stewardship, reducing and mitigating any impacts that Paducah Site cleanup operations may have on the environment.
DOE implements sound stewardship practices in protecting land, air, water, and other natural or cultural resources. A report of progress in achieving specified Environmental Management System (EMS) goals is submitted annually, indicating that the Paducah Site regularly meets standards for implementing effective EMS.
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.