The Office of Science Role in Environmental Cleanup

1. The Office of ScienceRole in Environmental Cleanup U.S. Department of Energy’sOffice of Science Dr. James F. Decker Principal Deputy Director Office of Science November 5, 2003 Dr. Milton Johnson Chief Operating Officer Office of Science November 5, 2003

2. Office of Science Overview • The Office of Science manages long term, high risk, multidisciplinary science programs to support DOE missions • Manages over 40% of Nation’s research in the physical sciences (e.g. 90% of High Energy & Nuclear Physics, 60% of Catalysis, 25% of Nanoscience, etc.) • Provides sole support to select sub-fields (e.g. nuclear medicine, heavy element chemistry, magnetic fusion, etc.) • Directly supports the research of 15,000 PhDs, PostDocs and Graduate Students. • Constructs and operates large scientific facilities for the U.S. scientific community. • Is the steward of 10 National Laboratories

3. SC Supported Research Institution (Universities, Colleges, Medical Centers) User Facilities Office of Science Laboratories, User Facilities and Supported Research Institutions Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Idaho National Environmental & Engineering Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory National Energy Technology Laboratories Ames Laboratory Argonne National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility General Atomics Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories SC Multiprogram Laboratory SC Program Dedicated Laboratory Other DOE Laboratory

4. Programmatic Goals • Provide science to inform decisions about environmental remediation and stewardship • Advance scientific foundations that enable innovative remediation technologies and methodologies • Synthesize and integrate across disciplines to foster new scientific approaches that match the complexity of the problems

5. Scientific Goals • Provide the scientific foundation for the development of robust tools for in situ characterization and long-term monitoring. • Develop an improved understanding of contaminant fate and transport in subsurface and surface environments. • Provide the scientific foundation to enable in situ remediation of hazardous materials in the environment. • Support basic research leading to safe management, treatment, and disposal of complex radioactive wastes

6. Cleanup at Office of Science Laboratories • Long term remedial actions resulting from EM cleanup • Maintenance of current infrastructure, including excess facilities • Cleanup of environmental issues resulting from on-going activities • Excess facility removals where there is little or no contamination, e.g., old/unuseful facilities, trailers • Currently identifying and evaluating future cleanup activates into long term, including 2010 to 2025 • Includes active facilities that may be shut down in future, excess materials, and contaminated media • Current estimates range over $2 billion throughout 2025

7. Cleanup at Office of Science Laboratories (cont) EM Scope of Work coming to completion at 5 Office of Science Laboratories • Argonne National Laboratory – East, ILL • Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA • Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN • Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, CA Office of Science Continuing Responsibilities • Operating ground water monitoring systems, post closure care of closed landfills, soil/sediment monitoring, etc. • Agreement on completion and turnover of long-term activities formalized for each lab site

8. BACKUP

9. EXAMPLE: Hanford Vadose Zone/Groundwater Integration Project: Targeted science in support of Hanford decision-making and site closure High Level Waste Tank Farms Will leaked contaminants migrate to the groundwater?? (Cs, Sr, U) • Partnership between Integration Project (IP), EMSP, and Hanford Site • Involves 5 National Labs and Universities • Provides direct scientific support to the site on major issues. • Has resulted in huge cost avoidance through understanding of contaminant transport

10. electrolyte increased to 2 mol/L sample placed in K+ electrolyte (0.5 mol/L) Understanding 137Cs+Migration from Hanford’s S-SX Tank Farm EM Need: Predict future migration and risks from 137Cs+ migration from S-SX Tank Farm X-ray microscopy defines where and how Cs+ reacts with the mineral phase A slab diffusion ion exchange model describes 137Cs+ release kinetics to water Contaminated mica particles were removed from sediment cross sectioned and imaged at 2 µm resolution SX-108 sediment was placed in KNO3 electrolyte and the desorption rate measured Impacts:Measurements and models of 137Cs+ desorption kinetics and extent showed that 137Cs+ would not migrate to groundwater in Hanford’s S-SX tank farm in a 10 half-life period, by which time it would no longer be radioactive. EMSL, SREL, Chicago, PSU