Biological and chemical assessment of M-Area process discharge to TIM's Branch, June 1985--December 1986

The production facilities of M-Area process uranium, lithium, and aluminum into fuel and target components for nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). These processes produce wastewaters that contain dissolved metals, solvents, and nitric acid. Beginning in July 1985, wastewater was diverted to the M-Area Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility (LETF), which treats the waste via precipitation, filtration, and neutralization. Major constituents of the LETF discharge include nitrate (as NaNO{sub 3}), phosphorus, total suspended solids, and trace amounts of aluminum, lead, nickel, iron, and uranium. In addition to the intermittent LETF discharge, the A-014 outfall also has received a continuous discharge of noncontact cooling water (700 to 2500 gpm) since 1982 and effluent from the M-Area Ground Water Recovery Action (MAGWRA) air stripper (375 gpm) since September 1985. These effluents consist of trace amounts of (trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane) in the MAGWRA effluent. In June 1985, a chemical and biological monitoring program was initiated to determine if M-Area discharges are a significant environmental hazard to Tim's Branch. The main concerns are whether the discharge is toxic to aquatic life and whether high levels of nitrate in the discharge from the M-Area Liquid Effluent Treatment Facility (LETF) will causemore » eutrophication of the aquatic system.« less