DOE Press Release on BNL HFBR Environmental Review

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Radsafers,

Many of you have been following the Brookhaven National
Laboratory (BNL) High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) situation
over the past year.  The following DOE announcement lays
out the current plan-of-action regarding an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the HFBR.  This is an interesting
on-going process that was very nicely described by Andy Hull
in the editorial and a separate article in the November 1997
HPS Newsletter.

S.,

MikeG.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 1997

NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michael Holland, 516/344-3552
Jeff Sherwood, 202/586-5806

               ENERGY DEPARTMENT BEGINS FORMAL
              ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF BROOKHAVEN
                           REACTOR

              First Public Meeting on December 10

The Department of Energy today took the first step toward
conducting a formal environmental review of the High Flux Beam
Reactor at the department's Brookhaven National Laboratory by
issuing a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement for public review and comment. The review, which will
take approximately one year to complete, will define the
environmental and public health impacts of various alternatives for
the future of the reactor which is used for advanced research in
solid state physics, nuclear physics, materials technology,
structural biology, medicine and chemistry.

"An environmental impact statement will provide a thorough
assessment of environmental and public health effects of the
different alternatives for the future of the High Flux Beam
Reactor, which has been a valuable U.S. scientific research
facility for many years. Most importantly, this process will
include public meetings and comment periods so that the local
community and anyone who is interested has the opportunity to
express their views on this important decision," said Secretary of
Energy Federico F. Peņa.

An Environmental Impact Statement is a comprehensive evaluation of
environmental impacts of major government programs or projects,
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The Congress, in
its Fiscal Year 1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Act conference report, also directed the department to undertake an
Environmental Impact Statement. The purpose of the Notice of Intent
is to solicit public comment on the proposed scope and content of
the document, and to encourage public involvement. This process
will analyze the following alternatives:

     Permanently shutting down the reactor
     Resuming operations at the reactor
     Resuming operations and upgrading the reactor
     Taking no action and maintaining the reactor in a shutdown and
     defueled condition.

The department will conduct public meetings in the vicinity of
Brookhaven National Laboratory to solicit public comments on the
scope of the Environmental Impact Statement, including the
environmental issues to be addressed. The first meeting will be
held on December 10 from 4-9 p.m. at the Mastic Beach Property
Owners Association, 31 Neighborhood Road, Mastic Beach, NY.
Requests to speak at the meeting should be made to Michael Holland
at the Brookhaven Group at 516/344-3552, telefax 516/344-1377 or by
electronic mail to mholland@bnl.gov.

There will be another public meeting in January. The time and place
will be announced. Opportunities to provide oral and written
comments will continue through January 23, 1998. In addition to
providing guidance for the scope of the Environmental Impact
Statement, these comments will contribute to Secretary Peņa's
decision on a "preferred alternative" for the reactor's future to
be included in the draft Environmental Impact Statement. His
decision will likely be made in the first quarter of 1998.

Key steps in the Environmental Impact Statement are:

     Publication of Notice of Intent in November 1997
     Public comment period ends January 23, 1998
     Public release of draft Environmental Impact Statement in the
       summer of 1998
     An additional public comment period on the draft Environmental
       Impact Statement lasting 45 days
     A final Environmental Impact Statement, expected in November
       1998
     Record of Decision, expected in December 1998.

In December 1996, the reactor was shut down for routine
maintenance. In early January 1997, monitoring indicated that a
plume of tritiated water was contaminating the groundwater south of
the facility. The Department of Energy, in cooperation with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department of
Conservation, and Suffolk County, immediately initiated activities
to identify and eliminate the source of the plume. Data collection
and analysis subsequently identified the High Flux Beam Reactor
spent fuel pool as the likely source of the plume. A groundwater
extraction system was installed in May 1997 to assure that the
contaminated water does not leave the Brookhaven Laboratory site.

Consistent with the conference report accompanying the Fiscal Year
1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, the
Environmental Impact Statement will provide an analysis of the
tritium leak and any other contamination associated with the High
Flux Beam Reactor and the detailed plan for remediation.

The Notice of Intent is available on the World Wide Web at:

	http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/

and will be published in the November 24, 1997 Federal Register.
Copies are also available from the department's Brookhaven Group
at 516/344-3424.

-DOE-

R-97-127