CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
BACKGROUND
UNITED STATES ENRICHMENT CORPORATION UNEC INC.
Region 5 settles Clean Air
Act case against United States Enrichment Corp. / Piketon, Ohio
IMPACT: On February 11, 1999, a fully executed Consent Agreement Consent Order
("CACO") was filed in the administrative proceeding captioned In the
Matter of United States Enrichment Corporation, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion
Plant, Docket No.CAA-5-99-005. Pursuant to the CACO, the Respondent, the United
States Enrichment Corporation, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant ("USEC")
must pay a civil penalty of $56,000.00.
BACKGROUND: Respondent, USEC is the owner and operator of a Department of Energy
facility in Piketon, Ohio and is therefore subject to 40 C.F.R. 61, Subpart H.
The Respondent failed to submit an annual report to demonstrate compliance with
the NESHAP regulations for radionuclides to both EPA Headquarters and the Region
by June 30, 1998 in violation of the Clean Air Act and 40 C.F.R. Section
61.94(a). The report was submitted on July 17, 1998 to Region V.
The Complaint, which will be filed simultaneously with the CACO, will propose a
civil penalty of $84,000.00 against USEC. Due to USEC’s good faith efforts to
settle this matter and other factors bought to light during negotiations, the
civil penalty for USEC has been mitigated to $56,000.00.
Case Contact: Nidhi K. O’Meara, Multi-Media, Branch II, Section I, (312)
886-0568
http://www.epa.gov/reg5oorc/enfactions/enfactions1999/state-oh.htm#enrich030199
Health Outcome Data
This section identifies the relevant databases; they are evaluated in the Public Health Implications section.
The U.S. EPA's epidemiological database listing U.S. Cancer Mortality Rates and Trends for 1950-1979, was reviewed. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics, Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, compiles mortality data for the entire U.S. population on its WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research) database for the years 1979 to 1991. Assessors took a detailed look at all causes of death for Pike, Ross, and Scioto counties in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Health publishes an annual report of vital statistics.
ATSDR also collected community health outcome data from the following sources:
COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS
Residents living in the vicinity of the PORTS are concerned that their health has been adversely impacted by operations at the plant. During a preliminary visit to the area in September 1992, ATSDR staff members met area residents in a town meeting. Numerous concerns expressed during the site visits and during several public meetings and availability sessions include the following:
1) skin rashes, resembling patches of sunburn;
2) chronic lung disease, requiring the use of oxygen;
3) nodules on heads and backs that looked like cysts or boils;
4) degeneration of connective and skeletal tissue not associated with arthritis or osteoporosis;
5) spotty discolorations on teeth;
6) birth abnormalities, such as webbed hands and ear-folds and
7) excessive numbers of cancers in children and cancers in general.
There was general concern over spills of uranium hexafluoride on site during the 1960s and 1970s. Also, there were concerns about worker exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethylene (TCE), uranium hexafluoride (UF6), asbestos, and hydrogen fluoride (HF).
A more extensive list of collected community concerns from site visits, public meetings, public availability sessions, newspaper articles, letters, phone calls and meetings with residents are addressed in the Community Health Concern Evaluation section...
Source: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/portsmouthgas/pgd_p1.html
Item Number: VIII-B-57
Origin: United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC); Robert Blythe
Category: Non-EGU
States Affected: OH
Requested Modification:
Facility ID 0666000000, Source IDs B001, B002, and B003, SCC 10200204
Requests that these points be removed from the inventory, as they are each rated
at a heat input of 158 mmBtu/hr.
EPA Final Decision:
Modify boiler capacity of each boiler to 158 MMBtu/hr.
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/reports/rtc110.pdf
SUBJ: Five-Year Review for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky (DOE/OR/07-2067&D2)
...On January 30, 1992, PGDP
personnel discovered leachate in a ditch on the southwest side of the landfill.
DOE conducted sampling at five leachate seep locations around the landfill. VOCs
(TCE; 1,1-DCE; 1,1-dichloroethane [1,1-DCA]; and trans-1,2-DCE) and metals (aluminum,iron,
manganese, and zinc) were detected above background levels in the leachate
samples. The
leachate was acidic and the particulate matter in the leachate generally was
orange to yellow in color. The precipitation of dissolved metals from the
leachate was thought to be causing the orange to yellow staining observed at
various points along the creek banks. The condition was deemed to be in
noncompliance with the water quality provisions of 401 Kentucky Administrative
Regulations (KAR) 5: 031, which prohibit discharges that produce
"objectionable color" into waters of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. On
September 15, 1992, the Kentucky Division of Water (KDOW), issued a Notice of
Violation (NOV) to DOE for "unpermitted seepage areas from the C- 746-K
Sanitary Landfill into waters of the...
...DOE signed the WAGs 1 and 7
ROD February 20, 1998, and EPA signed August 10, 1998 (DOE 1998b).
KDEP concurred with the selected remedy June 24, 1998. The remedial action
objectives (RAOs) for this unit
established in the WAGs 1 and 7 ROD are to control the release of COCs from
the unit, limit direct contact by humans, and reduce overall risks to ecological
receptors.
The WAGs 1 and 7 ROD defined and identified the following components of the remedial
action for SWMU 8. Signs will be posted at the entrance to the C-746-K Landfill site and along the creeks, visible at any access point to the landfill, that clearly state the potential risks to human health posed by the leachate seeps and contaminated sediments in the creeks. The signs will be designed to be resistant to the elements.Riprap will be placed along the creek banks at the apparent seep locations along the
unnamed tributary and Bayou Creek to minimize erosion. The riprap will be sized appropriately to reduce the potential to be displaced during high-flow events.A deed notice and restrictions will be placed in the chain of title to the deed of the
property to inform potential buyers and/or users of the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the leachate seeps and the controls implemented at the site to minimize potential exposure. Additionally, the deed restrictions legally will bind the buyer to restricted uses of the property.DOE will continue to monitor four sampling points along Bayou Creek and the unnamed
tributary adjacent: to the landfill. Further interim actions will be implemented if monitoring indicates that additional remedial activity is necessary. These measures will continue until such time as the KDOW implements a discharge permit that allows for monitoring of landfill discharges and protection of the environment afforded by the permit conditions. At that time, criteria set forth in the permit for monitoring will be adhered to and the current monitoring practices will be discontinued.The groundwater monitoring program at the landfill will be modified so that MW303 no
longer will be monitored, and it will be replaced by another well. The new well will be located within the vicinity of MW303 and will be screened to the base of the Terrace Gravel deposits. Initially, samples will be collected from the new MW on a quarterly basis in order to discern seasonal variations in contaminant levels. The new well will be monitored for the parameters established under the environmental surveillance (new MW) program. The parameters analyzed and the frequency sampled will be reevaluated after one year, and any necessary modifications will be documented in the annual update to the Sampling and Analysis Plan Addendum...4.5.2.5 Deed restriction implementation
According to the ROD, a deed notice and a restriction were placed in the chain of title
to the deed of the property to inform potential buyers and/or users of the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the leachate seeps. The notice and restriction were filed August 24, 1998, with the McCracken County Court Clerk.....This Superfund report is 317 pages long.