Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1995
Authors: Virginia L. Finley and Marisa A. Wieczorek
The results of the 1995 environmental surveilance and monitoring program for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are presented and discussed. The purpose of this report is to provide the U.S. Department of Energy and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants, if any, that are added to the environment as a result of PPPL's operations.
During Calendar Year 1995, PPPL's Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) continued to conduct fusion experiments. Having set a world record on November 2, 1994, by achieving approximately 10.7 million watts of controlled fusion power during the deuterium-tritium (D-T) plasma experiments, researchers turned their attention to studying plasma science experiments, which included "enhanced reverse shear techniques." More than 600 tritium shots were pulsed into the reactor vessel generating more thant 4 x 1020 neutrons and 1.1 gegajoules of fusion energy.
Groundwater investigations continued under a voluntary agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. PPPL monitored for the presence of non-radiological contaminants, mainly, volatile organic compounds (components of degreasing solvents), chromium (formerly used in cooling towers), and petroleum hydrocarbons (past leaks of releases of diesel fuel from underground storage tanks). Also, PPPL's radiological monitoring program characterized the ambient, background levels of tritium in the environment and from the TFTR stack; the data are presented in this report.
During 1995, PPPL completed its program of underground storage tank removal and installation of smaller, above-ground storage tanks. Also, modifications to the detention basin continued with the installation of oil booms and sensors to monitor for the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons in this basin.