IMPROVEDCAPABILITIESFORAREAENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AT OAKRIDGENATIONALLABORATORY

Recentincreasedconcern for environmentalsafety hazardsresultingfrom releases of radioactivityand otherhazardousmaterials have necessitated the installationof improvedmonitoringinstruments and methodsat Oak RidgeNationalLaboratory(ORNL). Over the past severalyears a number of important instrumentprojectshave been initiated to improve plantmonitoringsystems(bothinside the Laboratory and in adjacentEast Tennessee areas)and to enhance operationalcapabilitiesfor detectingreleases of hazardousand/orradioactivematerials. These measures will significantly modernize and increase the numberof monitoringstationsmeasuringactivity levelsin (1)planteffluent gases, (2)planteffluent liquidwastes,and (3)local streams and rivers. Monitoringinstrumentswithin the operatingbuildings of the Laboratoryare beingupgraded,and three instrumentedmeteorological towers are in service to provideinformationfor calculatingdeposition patternsover surroundingareas. Advanced,on-line centraldatacollectionsystem4 supplycontinuous informationfor programmablealarm-levelcircuits,for displayat remote terminalsthroughoutORNL,and for scientificlong-termdata base purposes. When these improvements are completedin about two years, the numberof environmentally derivedsignalswill significantly exceed 750 monitoredvalues.