The Energy Department on Tuesday issued its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for tearing down buildings and cleaning up soil and groundwater on its portion of the 2,850-acre Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County, Calif.
The EIS for Area IV and the Northern Buffer Zone is one of the last steps prior to remediating DOE’s former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) at Santa Susana, the agency said in a statement. The Energy Department did research on liquid metal technology and nuclear power for decades at SSFL, and is now responsible for cleanup at the site alongside Boeing and NASA.
The agency would prefer to return the roughly 470-acre area to “open space” status where it could be used for recreation at radiation levels protective of human health and the environment. Such an option is often favored by both the federal agency and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
The Energy Department would tear down 18 buildings and associated facilities it owns at the site, then haul off the resulting waste and debris.
Three facilities at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility (RMHF) and the two facilities comprising the Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) would be closed under DTSC-approved Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facility closure plans. The 1950s-era RMHF buildings have been used to package and temporarily hold radioactive waste. The HWMF operated from the 1970s through 1997 for storage and treatment of non-radiological alkaline metal wastes.
On groundwater remediation, DOE favors a hybrid approach involving both treatment and monitoring.
The Energy Department must still issue a record of decision detailing the cleanup work. The ROD could come any time after a 30-day waiting period.
The Energy Department’s cost for soil remediation, expected to be the biggest part of the expense, could be about $43 million, according to the EIS.
