SSER 07 layout - digital.library.unt.edu/67531/metadc900298/m2/1/high_re… · Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States

Site Environmental Report

for Calendar Year 2005

Site E

nvironmental R

eport 2005Argonne National Laboratory

ANL-06/02

ANL-06/02

Environment, Safety, and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight Division

A U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by The University of Chicago

Environment, Safety, and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight DivisionArgonne National Laboratory9700 South Cass Avenue, Bldg. 201 Argonne, IL 60439-4832

www.anl.gov

Disclaimer

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States

Government nor any agency thereof, nor The University of Chicago, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express

or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus,

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its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of

document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

About Argonne National Laboratory Argonne is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by The University of Chicago under contract W-31-109-Eng-38. The Laboratory’s main facility is outside Chicago, at 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439. For information about Argonne, see www.anl.gov.

Availability of This ReportThis report is available, at no cost, at http://www.osti.gov/bridge. It is also available on paper to the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, for a processing fee, from:

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phone (865) 576-8401

fax (865) 576-5728

[email protected]



ANL-06/02


by N.W. Golchert and R.G. KolzowEnvironment, Safety, and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight Division, Argonne National Laboratory

September 2006

work sponsored by [name of sponsoring office]Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy

2 Argonne National Laboratory

Biology II students at Downers Grove South High School: In the front row,from left to right, are Kayla Baader, Jenny Bauer, Sunita Rao, Siobhan Glenn,Danbee Paek and Mike Kasnick. In the middle row, left to right, are Mrs.Kathleen Luczynski, Jennifer Medon, Victoria Canaday Howard, KelseyWieties, Jennifer Krouwer and Mr. Scott Howard. In the back row, from left toright, are Cullen Deady, Ashley Brown, Julia Franzen, Mark Laskowski, NikhilHariharan, Kevin Agnew, Peter Mosiman, Ryan Bernardi and ChristinaCavallo.

Victoria Canaday Howardand Mark Laskowski

Biology II isn’t just anotherboring class of science lectures. It’sfull of hands-on activities and real-world assignments like assistingArgonne National Laboratory withits involvement with its surround-ing community.

The Biology II course atDowners Grove South High Schoolallows students to research recentand emerging issues in the biologicalworld around us and to develop ourown answers to biological questions. Students have access to variousscientific instruments and work onprojects individually or in groups. The foundation for our ecologicalunit began with our trip to Treehavenand a visit to Argonne, where welooked at various ecological prin-ciples that apply to this project, the2005 Argonne Summary Site Envi-ronmental Report. This projectallows us to apply the ecologicalconcepts that we have been learningthroughout Biology II. It also allowsus to work with Argonne scientists,giving us a rare chance to learn fromthem first-hand.

This outreach project also helpsthe class to meet and exceed Illinoisscience education standards. The firststandard that must be met is to knowand apply concepts that describe howliving things interact with each otherand with their environment. Alongwith that, we are required to knowand apply concepts that describe theinteractions among science, technol-ogy, and society. Through previousresearch experiments and appliedexperiences within our ecology unit,this project gave us the perfectopportunity to meet the state’s goals.

As a class, when we started thisproject, we weren’t really sure whatwe should expect. All we knew was

that it would be pretty awesome tosay that we have published works forArgonne National Laboratory andthat it would probably be more workthan we were really ready for. It wasa lot of reading and writing, and wecan honestly say we learned quite abit. We obviously acquired informa-tion that none of us knew before, butwe also gained skills that will help usnot only on future projects for thisclass, but in college and later in theworkforce. This project has so manyareas of learning; we couldn’t haveasked for a better experience.

Finally, it was a relief to find thatnot only did this project enhance ourscientific knowledge, but we had alot of fun doing it. Having thisproject as the conclusion of ourecology unit, we can honestly saythat it allowed us freedom andcreativity to explore our newlyacquired knowledge.

This project would not have beenpossible without the help of a few

very important people. We wouldfirst like to thank our teachers Mrs.Kathleen Luczynski and Mr. ScottHoward, who put up with us everyday and guided us endlessly infinishing this book for Argonne. Whenever we had a question orconcern, Mrs. Luczynski and Mr.Howard would be there to answer oraddress it. Every day they would pushus one step closer to completing thismassive project and helped us in anyway possible. Both of them were soinvolved in this project that this book isas much theirs as it is ours. We wouldalso like to thank Dr. Norbert W.Golchert and Mr. David Baurac fromArgonne National Laboratory, whocorrected and edited our writing tomake sure that the information wasaccurate and complete.

Thank you Argonne NationalLaboratory for giving us the opportu-nity to be able to write this book,because it is such a good experiencefor students.

Message from the Students

32005 Summary Site Environmental Report

Table ofcontents

Victoria Canaday Howardand Mark Laskowski

Argonne National Laboratory’smission is to conduct research thathelps solve nation-wide and world-wide scientific and technologicalproblems. For example, Argonneresearches and develops new materi-als and energy technologies, helpspharmaceutical companies developmedical cures for diseases, andaddresses the issue of pollution byresearching and developing technolo-gies that help make vehicles morefuel efficient. Argonne also puts alarge effort into educating futuregenerations of scientists by offeringeducational programs and opportuni-ties for students from pre-schoolthrough university level.

Argonne became the first na-tional laboratory in the United Statesin 1946. Argonne is located on 1,500acres of wooded land in the south-eastern portion of DuPage Countynear Lemont. It is surrounded byWaterfall Glen Forest Preserve.

Argonne’s campus has prairies,wetlands, deciduous forests, andconiferous forests. Sawmill Creekruns south across the Argonne sitetoward the Des Plaines River andeventually flows into it. SawmillCreek serves many different purposesfor Argonne, one of which is to serveas the main drainage system.

Argonne has a large and diverseemployee population; 2,900 employ-ees from 61 different countriesaround the world work at Argonne.Argonne conducts research in manyfields, including chemistry, biology,medical research, physics, computerscience, materials science, and manymore. Every year about 50,000people, including scientists, teachers,and students, visit Argonne.

Argonne is a federally fundedresearch and development facility. Therefore, the United States govern-ment funds most operating costs atArgonne which, annually, adds toabout $475 million. Argonne ismanaged by UChicago Argonne, LLCfor the U.S. Department of Energy’s

What Is Argonne?

Office of Science.Every year officials visit Argonne

to ensure that the laboratory is doingits job properly and isn’t harming theenvironment by, for example, releas-ing too much radioactive materialinto its surrounding environment.When environmental problems arefound, Argonne must provide a planto fix them. Then Argonne has togive regular reports about what hasbeen successfully completed andwhat remains to be done.

Aerial view of the Argonne site. Argonne is a federally funded research anddevelopment facility managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S.Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Message from the Students .. 2 What is Argonne? ............... 3 Current Argonne

Research ................................ 4 Radiation in General .......... 5 Environmental Radiological

Program ................................. 6 Hazardous Waste ............... 7 Air Monitoring .................. 8 Solid Waste Management ... 9 Habitat and Wildlife

Management ........................ 10 Science Education and the

Community .......................... 11

For more information aboutArgonne’s Site EnvironmentalReport, contact NorbertGolchert at (630) 252-3912 [email protected]. For moreinformation about Argonne andits programs, visit thelaboratory’s World Wide Website at www.anl.gov or contactCommunications & PublicAffairs at (630) 252-5575.

Photos by George Joch. Thetext was edited by DavidBaurac. Design and layout byDave Jacqué.


By Tina Cavalloand Siobhan Glenn

Argonne National Laboratory is aplace where scientists and engineerscome together to open up newpossibilities for the future. Argonnehas brought us many importantprojects in the past. It was at Argonnethat researchers confirmed thatBeethoven suffered from lead poison-ing, and it was through the amazingAccess Grid, pioneered at Argonne,

that researchers in theUnited States were ableto aid doctors on theother side of the worldwho were fighting theSARS outbreak. Re-searchers at Argonne arecurrently researching anddeveloping new strategiesin areas as varied asadvanced nuclear reactorsand other energy sources,medicine, and environmen-tal science that will likelyprove to be just as signifi-cant as Argonne’s pastachievements.

Nuclear

Nuclear reactordevelopment has been apriority at Argonne sinceits beginning. Argonne isvery involved with thedevelopment of alternatestrategies for safelytreating and disposing ofnuclear wastes. The first

designs and prototypesof most of the nuclearreactors producingenergy around the worldtoday were originallyconceived and tested byArgonne. While it mayseem intimidating to livenear a nuclear researchsite, the communitysurrounding Argonne isin no danger. The laboratory’sEnvironmental Management Programprovides Argonne’s neighbors withquantitative risk data and has deter-mined that the Argonne site is verysafe.

Energy Sources

As a U.S. Department of Energylaboratory, Argonne has always beeninterested in finding new and moreefficient energy sources. Currentenergy projects include fuel efficientcars, new batteries and fuel cells, andthe conservation of U.S. oil and gasresources. The U.S. Department ofEnergy recently named Argonne thelead laboratory to test and evaluatenew technologies for plug-in hybridvehicles.

Medicine

Pharmaceutical companies useArgonne in their research, including astudy discovering the structure of theHIV virus. Conducted at Argonne’sAdvanced Photon Source, thislandmark research led Abbott Labs todevelop Kaletra®, a leading HIV/AIDS treatment drug.

Argonne’s recently openedCenter for Nanoscale Materialswill attract scientists from aroundthe world to create and studymaterials that measure about one-billionth of a meter across. Thisresearch is expected to lead to newproducts in many fields; one medicalexample is nanoscale biosensors that

monitor blood sugar andinject insulin as needed

directly into a diabetic patient’s body.

Environment

One current environmentalproject is improving the population ofnative plants on Argonne’s 1,500-acrecampus. Scientists at Argonne believethat the re-introduction of nativeplants will reduce maintenance,improve erosion control, reduce airpollution, and increase biodiversity.Other environmental research goalsmet at Argonne include the conver-sion of six acres of vacant land toprairies. These, among many otheraccomplishments, have helped reducethe air emissions that Argonne isresponsible for each year.

Research at Argonne promisesgreat advances in many areas ofscience. The research in environmen-tal, nuclear power, energy, andbiomedicine provide newtechnologies and datato revolutionizethe world ofscience.

Current Argonne Research

Argonne's 2,048-processor Blue Genecomputer computed thetemperature distributionfor turbulent flow around awire-wrapped fuel pin inan advanced recyclingreactor.

Argonne researchershave pioneered a newapproach for makingmagnetic polymers,which may lead to newtechniques for fasterand more versatilecomputer chips

Argonne hasdeveloped a biochip that

may one day become astandard diagnostic tool foridentifying human and veterinaryinfectious diseases.


By Jenny Bauer

All living things giveoff radiation, even you.Radiation in low doses isnot harmful, since your cellsare able to repair andreplace themselves quickly.However, once you startgetting radiation exposuresgreater than 1,000 mrem,the cells are not able toreplace themselves fastenough, and they die or remainpermanently changed. (A “mrem,”or millirem, is one-thousandth of a“rem,” which stands for “RoentgenEquivalent Man,” a unit that relatesthe dose of any radiation exposure toits biological effect.) This kind ofhigh radiation exposure could causeproblems fighting infection, lead tonausea, and make you weaker.

Radiation is energy in the formof waves or particles moving throughspace. The average annual radiationexposure received by any givenperson is about 360 mrem. About 300mrem come from natural radiation,while the rest is from man-maderadiation. Commonly, when radiation

is discussed, what is being talkedabout is ionizing radiation. Ionizingradiation can damage matter, includ-ing living tissue.

When the topic of radiation isbrought up, nuclear power plants ornuclear weapons come to mind.People generally do not think aboutradiation that comes from objectsthey use daily, including smokedetectors, televisions, cell phones,microwaves, and tobacco. These are

Radiation in Generalall examples of man-made

radiation, in contrast tonatural radiation. Natural,also known as backgroundradiation, is the radiationyou obtain from radionu-clides in the ground andair and from cosmicsources.

Radiation and thePublic

The short-term effectsof exposure to largeamounts of radiation are

burns and radiation poison-ing. Radiation poisoning can

cause premature aging or death.Possible long-term effects of radia-tion are cancer and mutations in yourDNA. Children are more sensitivethan adults to radiation because theyare growing more rapidly and havemore cells dividing, which givesradiation a greater opportunity todisrupt the growth process of thecells.

Protection

The three considerations ofradiation protection are time, dis-tance, and shielding. People do notrealize that protecting themselvesfrom radiation, such as solar radia-tion, is as easy as putting on sun-screen, wearing a hat, or avoidingdirect exposure to the sun. Whenspending time near an object thatgives off radiation, limit your timearound the object. This will helplimit the amount of radiation you areexposed to. The further away you arefrom a source of radiation the lessradiation you will get. The EPAmonitors the environment for above-normal levels of natural radiation.

This chart shows that about 82percent of all radiation exposure tothe public comes from naturalsources, like radon in the soil andcosmic rays. Man-made sourcesaccount for the remaining 18 percent.

Argonne scientists and engineerswho work with radioactive materialsare careful to protect themselves andthe public. Here, Argonne chemistLaurel Barnes prepares anexperiment inside a glove box.


Jenny Krouwerand Kelsey Wieties

Radiation at Argonne!? It’s notwhat you think. The radiation emis-sions at Argonne are actually notharmful to people and are periodi-cally monitored. Air, groundwater,and surface water at Argonne arepotential sources of radionuclidesand are under control.

The U.S. Department of EnergyOrder 450.1 requires that Argonnemonitor the environment and conducta surveillance program to determineany releases or movement of radioac-tive materials on the campus. Com-plying with these requirements is animportant part of the Argonne site-wide monitoring program. Allproperty containing radioactive wasteat Argonne is disposed in alicensed and regulated low-levelradioactive disposal site awayfrom the campus.

Measuring Radiation atArgonne

Argonne uses different unitsto measure radiation, dependingon what is being measured. Tomeasure radiation emissions, theunit curie, or Ci, is used. Whenmeasuring the biological risk ofexposure, the unit rem is used. Tomeasure radiation concentrations,Argonne uses pCi/L (pico-Curies perliter)for water, fCi/m3 (femto-Curiesper cubic meter) for air, and pCi/gand fCi/g for bottom sediment. Formeasurements of penetrating radia-tion and population dose, units arereported in units of mrem/yr (mil-lirem per year).

Types of Radiation at Argonne

The three major types of radia-tion found at Argonne are alpha, beta,and external penetrating gammaradiation. External penetrating

gamma radiation is found in radioac-tive waste storage facilities atArgonne. The levels of gammaradiation were measured using analuminum oxide dosimeter at 17 on-site locations and five off-sitelocations. Other monitoring stationsmeasure radioactive particles in theair. Alpha and beta activity that isnaturally present in the air usuallydisappears within four days by aprocess called radioactive decay. Inorder to lower the dose rate, Argonnecleans up contaminated sites when itfinds them.

The annual average radiationmeasurements for Argonne’s on-sitesamples were similar to those of theoff-site samples, which means thatArgonne adds very little to thenatural radiation already in its

environment. Much of the alpha,beta, and gamma-ray emitters in theair have been around for a long time.Incidents like Chernobyl have alsocontributed to an increased amountof radiation around the world.

Sawmill Creek, located atArgonne, flows into the Des PlainesRiver. Extensive measurementsdetermined that the average alphaand beta particles in the river re-mained in the normal range. There-fore, radioactivity in the creek didnot affect radioactivity in the river.One of the groundwater contami-nants on Argonne’s campus ishydrogen-3. The estimated annual

dose of hydrogen-3 to a maximallyexposed individual living nearArgonne was insignificant comparedto the annual safe dose limit.

Radiation Pathways and Doses

Radiation doses found on and offcampus were calculated to see howmuch the public was exposed to theradioactive materials originating fromArgonne. These calculations wereperformed for three main exposurepathways: airborne, water, and direct

radiation from external sources.The highest dose found in the airat the perimeter of Argonne’scampus had a maximum value of0.38 mrem/yr, more than 250times lower than the safe allow-able limit. Most all of the dosesare caused by air immersions ofcarbon-11. In addition, an evalua-tion was conducted to analyzedoses to potential receivers ofairborne radiation. This includes

children at the Argonne Child Devel-opment Center and Darien School on91st Street. The estimated full-timedose at Darien School is about 0.01mrem/yr. However, assuming thatchildren are only present at the schoolfor six hours and five days a week for35 weeks a year, the actual dose theywould be receiving is closer to 0.001mrem/yr, which is 100,000 timeslower than the safe allowable limit.

When it comes to water path-ways, the most significant source isSawmill Creek, which flows acrossthe Argonne campus, through theWaterfall Glen Forest Preserve andempties into the Des Plaines River.

Argonne’s Environmental Radiological Program


It is important to note that SawmillCreek is not used for drinking,swimming, or boating. Even so, thedose rates in Sawmill Creek waterare all well below the safe standardsfor the general population. Anexternal direct radiation pathway isfound at the southern boundary ofArgonne, located near the

laboratory’s waste storage facility.While no one lives in the forestpreserve south of Argonne, peoplecould be exposed to radiation fromArgonne through activities like cross-country skiing, horseback riding, orjogging. An individual who spent 10minutes per week in that area wouldreceive around 0.001 mrem/yr, about100,000 times lower than the safeallowable limit.

To put everything into perspec-tive, after much monitoring, resultsreveal that the radioactive emissionsfrom Argonne are very low and donot cause danger to the health orsafety of the people living near thesite.

Above all, the doses receivedfrom Argonne operations are insig-nificant compared to other sources ofradiation.

Ryan Bernardiand Peter Mosiman

Research and experimentsproduce things other than just factsand results. Sometimes they produceundesirable byproducts like hazard-ous waste. Argonne National Labora-tory complies with all regulations thatensure Argonne’s facilities treat,store, and dispose of hazardouswastes properly to protect the envi-ronment and human health. Theregulations are defined in the ResourceConservation and Recovery Act. Animportant program at Argonne was theArgonne Environmental RemediationProgram, which cleaned up hazardousmaterials from inactive waste sites onthe Argonne campus.

Research activities at Argonneproduce a lot of different wastechemicals. There are 24 hazardouswaste management units on thecampus: 16 container storage units, 1storage tank, 4 treatment units, and 3tank chemical treatment units.Argonne prepares annual reports todocument that these managementunits effectively keep the localcommunity safe from harm. Argonneis required to submit reports on howits hazardous wastes are treated. (Seethe table at right.)

A study that began in September2005 successfully demonstrated amethod to convert a mixed waste to anon-mixed waste that can be disposed

of with fewer restrictions. Mixedwaste contains both toxic and radio-active materials and is difficult todispose of under present environmen-tal law. The September experimentexposed a mixture containing lithium,a hazardous chemical, and low levelsof radionuclides to water. The lithiumreacted with the water to produce anon-hazardous chemical product thatcan be washed out of the mixture,leaving a low-level radioactive wastethat can be disposed of.

Argonne also produces largeamounts of sewage sludge and otherspecial non-hazardous wastes, asdefined by the Illinois EnvironmentalProtection Agency (IEPA). Argonnedisposes of all non-hazardous waste

in regulated off-site landfills. TheIEPA requires that Argonne file areport on waste management activi-ties every year by Feb. 1.

Argonne comes up with an inven-tory of the wastes it produces, andworks through it. If these volatilewastes were to be accidentally re-leased, the resulting air and watercontamination could harm the commu-nity. This is the main reason Argonnetakes pride in properly handling anddisposing of the hazardous wastes itproduces. In addition to genuinelycaring about the well-being of thepeople in the surrounding towns andcities, Argonne is considerate of theenvironment and the surroundingcommunities.

Hazardous Waste

Waste generated and Volume (gal)a Weight (lbs)disposed of or recycledAerosol cans 85 228Brake cleaner fluidb 8 67Coal combustion samples 250 500Compressed gases 21 33Cutting oils with lead and solvents 110 1,016Diesel fuel contaminated debris 30 120Electropolishing solutions 425 3300Lead-contaminated debris 745 3,725Oil-based paint 30 332Used oil - hazardous 165 1,035Mercury-containing lampsb 7,800 7,800Lead-acid batteriesb 750 7,500

a In accordance with RCRA regulation, waste amounts are reported in unitsof gallons, regardless of the physical form of the waste.b Recycled waste.

(Continued)


By Ashley Brownand Julia Franzen

Inhale….exhale. Do you knowwhat’s in the air you’re breathing?Argonne monitors the air on itscampus in order to comply with lawsthat have been created for the benefitand well-being of the public and theenvironment. Air monitoring isperformed at Argonne to ensurecompliance with the laws establishedby local and national environmentalagencies.

Air monitoring

Argonne, in general, is in com-pliance with the laws that apply to it.Argonne’s air monitoring programdetermines if the projects andoperations carried out at Argonne aredone in compliance with the laws setfor the environment and the laws setto run an experimental laboratory.Air monitoring must be done con-tinually to compare air quality overtime and to learn if air quality isincreasing or decreasing and why.

It is necessary to determine boththe positive and negative effectsArgonne has on its surroundingenvironment and the community.Argonne’s experiments and opera-tions are done to further understand-ing, awareness and to improvepeople’s lives. At what cost do thesedevelopments come? Air monitoringis done to ensure that Argonne’sactivities do not harm people or theenvironment.

Environmental ProtectionAgency

Argonne, as with any organiza-tion that has an environmentalcompliance program, must meetEnvironmental Protection Agencyrequirements on air quality. TheNational Ambient Air Quality

Standards (NAAQS) are EPA health-based standards for carbon monoxide,nitrogen dioxide, lead, ozone, particu-late matter and sulfur dioxide.Argonne operations that result in airemissions must be evaluated todetermine their effect on the NAAQSin the Chicago area, to ensure they donot deteriorate the existing air quality.

In the case of ozone and particu-late matter for which the Chicagoarea is designated non-attainmentwith the standards, emissions must beevaluated to ensure that they do notprevent the area from achievingattainment according to state plan-ning. Lack of obtaining proper permitscan result in fines and ultimately haltthe offending activities.

Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act is a federallaw that sets limits for air pollutantsand emissions, as well as operatingcriteria for pollutants. Argonne’s SiteImplementation Plan commits thelaboratory to meet standards for safeand clean air. Each year, Argonneobtains a permit from the IllinoisEnvironmental Protection Agencythat allows open burning. Argonne isconsidered a major source of airpollution because of the emissionsgiven off by its boiler house, whichprovides heat for most of the officeand laboratory buildings on theArgonne campus. Argonne tracksboiler-house emissions for

Air Monitoring


Danbee Peak and Sunita Rao

Did you know?According to EcoFutureTM, the

waste generated each year in theUnited States would fill a convoy of10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 mileslong, more than halfway to the moon.So what is being done to reducewaste? Argonne has a solid wastemanagement system that not onlydisposes of waste properly, but alsoprevents pollution and minimizes theamount of waste generated.

Terms to keep in mind

Non-radiological waste: Wastethat doesn’t include radiologicalchemicals

Solid waste: Waste that is notliquid or radiological; for example,plastic, paper, sewage, sludge, etc.

RCRA: Resource Conservationand Recovery Act.

EMS: Environmental Manage-ment System.

ISMS: Integrated Safety Manage-ment System.

DOE: Department of EnergyIEPA: Illinois Environmental

Protection AgencyArgonne P2 program: Argonne

Pollution Prevention Program

Guidelines Argonne follows

1. Argonne implements a site-wide Pollution Prevention/ WasteMinimization (P2/WM) program inaccordance with DOE Order 450.1and site-specific performance mea-sures.

2. The P2 program tracks thegeneration of waste and recyclablematerial at Argonne and monitorsArgonne’s progress with regard to theprogram’s annual performancemeasures and goals.

3. The IEPA requires Argonneto submit an annual non-hazardousspecial waste report by February 1of the following year. This reportdescribes the activities of the

previous year.4. Argonne must comply with the

RCRA regulations.How does Argonne dispose of

solid waste?Argonne generates a large

volume and variety of non-hazardouswastes. Until 1992, Argonne disposedof its solid waste at a landfill locatedin the northwest corner of the cam-pus. Since 1992, all non-hazardouswaste is disposed of at permittedwaste landfills off campus.

Summary

As you can see, solid wastemanagement is an important job.Argonne has to keep track andmonitor all waste that is beinggenerated on campus. While man-aging all the solid waste, Argonnealso has to make sure that theirprograms are in compliance with allregulations. Managing solid wasteproperly helps the environment tostay clean and healthy.

Solid Waste Management

opacity and sulfur dioxide. Argonne must pay annual fees basedon the amount of pollutants it emitsinto the environment. Carbon monox-ide emissions are regulated but arenot part of the fee.

NESHAP

Argonne’s Title V permit refers torequirements set by the Clean AirAct. Argonne applied for this permit,which includes standards regardingasbestos. In compliance with Title V,National Emission Standards forHazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)and the Occupational Safety andHealth Administration, Argonneremoves asbestos on its campus withspecially trained crews or contractors.In October 2005, one violation of

proper asbestos disposal occurredwhen a roofing contractor cut intopipe covering that had asbestos. Thisreleased the asbestos into the air andviolated regulations that requireasbestos-removal activities to be fullyenclosed.

In addition to emitting smallamounts of radionuclides and asbes-tos, Argonne has sourcesof conventional air pollutants like thesteam plant, the ethanol/gasoline fueldispensing facility, two alkali metalreaction booths, two dust collectionsystems, an engine test facility, dieselgenerators, and pollutants from firetraining activities. Currently all ofthese sources are operated in compli-ance with federal and state regula-tions. Another area of concern is thegas monitoring of landfills at Ar-

gonne. These landfills, which havebeen closed for years, producemethane, but monitoring shows thattheir methane emissions are very lowand are not spreading, which is agood thing!

NESHAP contains specificguidelines for asbestos and radionu-clides. Radionuclides are naturallyoccurring, but they can also beartificially produced and in excesscan create dangers to the environ-ment. Radionuclides at Argonne areproduced by a variety of sources,including hot cell facilities, radioac-tive materials, and particle accelera-tors. While Argonne has a fairnumber of emission points, thelaboratory’s actual radionuclideemissions are very small, comparedto NESHAP standards.

(Continued)


Grass and dragonfly drawings by Mark Laskowski

By Cullen Deadyand Mike Kasnick

Imagine if…You are an organism inhabiting a

backyard full of biologically diversespecies. It doesn’t matter whetheryou are big or small, blue or green,plant or animal. The question youmust ask is how the backyard’sowner manages you, alongwith the other organismsaround you. Then imaginethat you are in a space about2,000 times larger than abackyard. How is this man-agement done?

Argonne NationalLaboratory spends a largeamount of time and effortmonitoring, managing, andimproving the wildlife and habitatson its campus. To fully grasp thisconcept, we must look at Argonneitself, what specific tasks must bedone, why it is monitored, and anyendangered species that inhabitArgonne and the surrounding area.

Land distribution

Argonne occupies a 1,500-acrecampus where dozens of science andoffice buildings share space witheight acres of prairie, 45 acres ofwetland, and 700 undeveloped,mostly forested acres. The prairie ismostly grassland, which includes

grasses such as Big Blue Stem andIndian grass. The wetlands have aprimarily water-based community oforganisms, the main organism beingcattails. Savannah separates thewoodland from the prairie; in thesavannah there are scattered trees,along with prairie grasses. Thecommon trees in the woodlands andthe savannah area are red maple andsugar maple. Adjacent to Argonne,

and surrounding it, is the WaterfallGlen Forest Preserve.

Monitoring

In order to keep the Argonne siteflourishing, many actions are taken.For instance, controlled burns areused to restore native vegetation.They wipe out all invader speciesthat are not adapted to recoveringfrom the burns, leaving only thenative ones to re-grow. Those native

plants that have difficulty re-growingand maintaining a steady populationare replanted. Controlled burning andreplanting are done periodically toensure that the native species remainat Argonne and do not die out.

Another thing that Argonne doesto maintain a healthy environment isto remove radioactive waste, alongwith any other wastes present. Byremoving these wastes, organisms are

surrounded by more nour-ishing abiotic factors, suchas rich soil and water,allowing them to continue togrow. Also, Argonne uses atechnology known asphytoremediation, which usesplants to clean toxic chemi-cals from groundwater.

Argonne is committedto the long-term environ-

mental stewardship of its campus.To support this commitment,Argonne follows the guidance ofthe U.S. Department of Agricultureand all regulations from this organi-zation. Argonne uses an Environ-mental Management System tomake sure all environmental issuesare systematically identified,controlled, and monitored.Argonne’s Environmental Safety andHealth policy states that all

Habitat and Wildlife Management


By Jennifer Medonand Kayla Baader

Ask a Scientist

Argonne’s “Ask a Scientist”program was established in 1991 toassist K-12 students and teacherswith science questions. Any one canlog on to the Web site atnewton.dep.anl.gov/aasquesv.htm,ask a science question, and receive ananswer from a volunteer corps ofinternational experts. Since it wascreated, the scientists have answeredmore than 20,000 questions. The sitenow receives about eight millionvisits a year.

Interactions with local schools

Argonne offers many educationalprograms for Chicago-area K-12schools. These programs include anumber of hands-on science activitiesthat show students how much funscience can be.

Argonne also works withDowners Grove South High Schoolstudents to condense a large, highlyscientific environmental annualreport into this smaller and easier-to-

read summary of the laboratory’sprograms that protect the environ-ment on and around the Argonnecampus.

Rube Goldberg contest

One of the best known conteststhat Argonne annually holds is theRube Goldberg contest, named afterthe Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist,who drew ridiculously complicatedinventions for accomplishing simple,everyday tasks. Students are chal-lenged to bring these inventions tolife, to create machines and inven-tions of much complexity that useordinary objects to perform verysimple and everyday tasks, likepeeling an apple or sharpening apencil, as extravagantly as possible.

Women in Science

The Women in Science programwas founded by the Argonne Na-tional Laboratory Director in June of1990. Its purpose is to recruit, retain,and promote women to diversify andstrengthen the scientific workforce.There is also the Introduce a Girl toEngineering Day and the ScienceCareers in Search of Women confer-

ence, both held annually, to encour-age girls to pursue engineering andscientific careers.

Open house

Argonne holds public openhouses about once every three years.These events offer demonstrations,exhibits, tours, and presentationsabout environment, energy, safety,chemistry, computing, biology,physics, materials science, X-rayscience, transportation, engineering,and nuclear power. In addition to theopen house, tours of Argonne areheld by reservation only; all visitorsmust be at least 16 years old, unlessthey are accompanied by an adult.

Web site

Argonne has much to offeronline. Argonne’s Web site atwww.anl.gov has services withinformation about everything onewould need to know about Argonne,as well as a weather forecast foranywhere in the world. For youngerpeople, there is a small section withgames to help with math skills andfor students to interact with otherstudents and scientists.

experiments, research, and testsmust be done in a safe and environ-mentally sound manner.

Endangered species

Endangered species are feder-ally protected by the EndangeredSpecies Act (ESA) of 1973. Thereare no known endangered speciesthat reside on the Argonne campus,but some may inhabit the WaterfallGlen Forest Preserve that surroundsArgonne.

Endangered species protected atWaterfall Glen include HinesEmerald Dragonfly, Leafy PrairieClover, Indiana Bat, and LakesideDaisy. Some endangered speciesthat occasionally visit the Argonnesite include the Bald Eagle, PipingPlover, and Least Tern. They haveonly been known to show up inwinter and do not breed or nest atArgonne. These animals are closelymonitored.

Argonne is in compliance withthe ESA and has had no previousviolations of the act.

The “white deer” at Argonne are fallowdeer native to Europe and parts of Asia.They are descended from a herd keptby a previous owner of the site.

Science Education and the Community

(Continued)




Site E

nvironmental R

eport 2005Argonne National Laboratory

ANL-06/02

ANL-06/02

Environment, Safety, and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight Division


Environment, Safety, and Health/Quality Assurance Oversight DivisionArgonne National Laboratory9700 South Cass Avenue, Bldg. 201 Argonne, IL 60439-4832

www.anl.gov

Documents

SSER 07 layout - digital.library.unt.edu/67531/metadc900298/m2/1/high_re… · Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States