Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 1996
Authors: Virginia L. Finley and Jerry D. Levine
The results of the 1996 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 nonradioactive pollutants, if any, that are added to the environment as a result of PPPL's operations.
During Calendar Year 1996, 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." Since November 1993, more than 700 tritium-fueled experiments were conducted, which generated more thant 4 x 1020 neutrons and 1.4 gegajoules of fusion energy.
In 1996, the overall performance of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory was rated "excellent" by the U.S. Department of Energy in the Laboratory Appraisal report issued in early 1997. The report cited the Laboratory's consistently excellent scientific and technological achievements and its successful management practices, which included high marks for environmental management, employee health and safety, human resources administration, science education, and communications.
Groundwater investigations continued under a voluntary agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. PPPL monitored for the presence of nonradiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of degreasing solvents) 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 1996, PPPL completed the removal of contaminated soil from two locations that were identified through the monitoring program: petroleum hydrocarbons along a drainage swale and chromium adjacent to the cooling tower.