Original Date: 11/03/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Construction activities at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant have often required the excavation or other management of soil within the facility. Because some of this soil may be contaminated, specific policies were adopted to ensure the proper management of contaminated or potentially contaminated soil at the Plant. A system was established using applicable regulatory requirements and cost effective decisions for determining soil management options.

This plan is based on the concept that each soil generating project must be viewed independently. Generalized practices result in oversimplification of the regulatory conditions and can be determined for the facility as well. Routine containerizing and storage of soil is expensive, can result in misclassification of the soil, and can lead to non-compliance as both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Toxic Substances Control Act have limitations on certain types of storage unless covered by an extension and/or the Federal Facility Compliance Agreement.

A decision tree and analysis has been developed for five types of contamination as well as for soil where no contamination is suspected. For each type of soil contamination the decision tree and analysis identifies and discusses applicable, current regulatory requirements; sampling and analysis requirements; and management and/or disposal options available.

The regulatory requirements associated with contaminated soil are complex and will vary according to site conditions. This Soil Management Plan provides a standardized method for managers to determine the options available for selecting soil management scenarios associated with construction activities.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.