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| CHAPTER 2 |
2.0 ASSESSING STEWARDSHIP DATA NEEDS
To protect human health and the environment during long-term stewardship, many different types of individuals will need to know about the hazards that remain on DOE sites. These individuals include those responsible for maintaining barriers and other protective measures onsite (i. e., the site stewards), those who are using the site or portions thereof for
other purposes (e.g., businesses, Native Americans, and perhaps residents), those who live or work in offsite areas that might be affected by the hazards that remain at the site, and those such as community planners who are responsible for decisions that may affect the surrounding communities. This chapter provides an assessment of the types of information that these individuals will need, all of which constitutes stewardship data.
Information needs will evolve over the long time frame during which stewardship will be required. It is not possible to predict accurately what specific information will be needed 1,000 or even 100 years from now. While we cannot presume to understand the needs of the distant future, we can and should anticipate the types of information that will be needed to protect human health and the environment over the next 20 or 30 years with some degree of accuracy. We also have the obligation to anticipate, as best we can, the information needed for protection in the distant future on the basis of what we know today. If we fail to
address information needs over the next 20 or 30 years, we will not have a sufficient basis for protecting human health and the environment over the longer term.
Section 2.1 identifies the types of future activities requiring stewardship data. Section 2.2 identifies the specific types of data needed to support these activities. Section 2.3 identifies the potential users of this information.
2.1 Future Activities Requiring Stewardship Data
The needs assessment conducted at the focus site and subsequent analyses have identified seven primary types of future activities at DOE sites or in the surrounding communities that may require stewardship data (Table 2-1). All of these activities are directly or indirectly related to protecting human health and the envi-ronment. Primary protective activities include monitoring hazards and maintaining protective barriers, emergency response, and compliance oversight. Other related activities include administrative functions such as
resource management, planning, and economic development activities. Some of these activities are not likely to be conducted by the site stewards, but rather by others using or concerned about the site. However, the information produced by these activities will remain an integral component of long-term stewardship.
The needs assessment conducted at the focus site and subsequent analyses have identified 12 distinct types of data needed to support the above seven categories of future activities. Table 2-2 provides a brief descrip-tion of each type; additional details are provided in Appendix D. These data include specific information about site hazards and their controls (e.g., existing hazards, barriers and other mechanisms for preventing exposures); information about site operations and activities (e.g., onsite operations and infrastructure before and during long-term stewardship); information about the legal and regulatory framework governing site activities (e.g., requirements established in site closure/ transfer agreements); and information about onsite characteristics (e.g., cultural and natural resources onsite). Information in all of these categories could support both the primary protective activities as well as the other related activities identified above.
Table 2-1. Future Activities Related to Long-term Stewardship
Primary Protective Administrative Planning and Development
Activities Activities Activities
ASSESSING STEWARDSHIP DATA NEEDS
| 1. Monitoring hazards and maintaining protective barriers. Long-term stewardship may include operating and maintaining barriers/ control technologies; performing surveillance, monitoring, and reporting associated with onsite hazards; and determining appropriate changes in active/ passive controls based on new information or regulations (e.g., changing cancer potency estimates). This activity includes support of dose reconstruction activities.
2. Emergency response. Activities may involve respond-ing to incidents onsite or off-site, including fire and rescue responses; responding to spills and other chemical releases; and responding to natural disasters such as arthquakes or tornadoes. Emergencies may directly involve radioactive or chemical hazards onsite (e.g., discovery of new contamination) or may involve such hazards indirectly (e.g., a fire may sweep across onsite areas containing radioactive or chemical hazards). 3. Compliance oversight. Oversight activities may include ensuring that standards or early warning "triggers" established in site closure agreements are not exceeded; ensuring that protection of human health and the environment is adequate; and ensuring that monitoring data and other information are being collected and disseminated in accordance with site closure agreements. |
4. Resource management. Includes all activities related to managing natural, mineral,
and land resources onsite or offsite. In addition to the activ-ities to support the primary
long-term stewardship mis-sion, some resources (e.g., endangered species) may require special protection unrelated to the primary long-term stewardship mission.
5. Providing administrative support for long-term stewardship activities. Includes annual budget preparation; status reporting to Congress and others; conducting policy or regulatory analyses; and supporting research and development (e.g., for new technologies to address residual radioactive and chemical hazards). |
6. Site redevelopment. Involves economic redevelopment of sites after cleanup is complete, including reuse of existing facilities or infrastructure; construction of new facilities or infrastructure; and revising land use restrictions as new information about site hazards becomes available.
7. Community planning. Conducted primarily by local governments, these activities may include siting of roads, schools, hospitals, and other important infrastructure; supporting decisions regarding zoning and other land use issues; granting of easements and other "rights of way;" and economic redevelopment activities. |
| CHAPTER 2 |
| Hazards and Controls
A. Information regarding existing hazards. Includes the location, type, condition, likelihood to migrate or otherwise move within the site or to offsite areas, and vulnerability (e.g., to fire, rain, earthquakes) of radioactive, chemical, and physical hazards left onsite after cleanup is complete. This information essentially provides a "baseline" of the state of each onsite hazard at the start of long-term stewardship. B. Past and present releases and accidents. Includes reports and other related data on past and present releases and accidents; radioactive and chemical contaminants or materials released during these events; who or what was known or suspected to be exposed to these contaminants of materials; and any documented or suspected exposure levels. C. Disposition of historical hazards. This information pertains to site hazards that existed in the past but were removed or otherwise mitigated to a point that allows unrestricted future uses, including legal or other supporting documentation to demonstrate that the hazards are no longer present. D. Information regarding existing barriers and other active or passive mechanisms for preventing exposures. Includes the location, type, condition, and vulnerability (e.g., to fire, rain, earthquakes) of barriers and other protective mechanisms for each existing hazard. This information also includes schedules for maintenance or other related actions required to ensure adequate protections remain in place. Operations and Activities E. Process history. Includes current and historical data on activities that occurred onsite, where and when these activities occurred, what infrastructure was used to support these activities, what materials were used, and the products and wastes produced. This information includes a general history of the site; its historical mission(s); its role in the design, testing, production, and dismantlement of U. S. nuclear weapons; and any post-Cold War missions or activities at the site. F. Historical infrastructure. Includes what buildings, facilities, pipelines, and other infrastructure that have existed onsite; where they were located; and for what they were used. It also includes how onsite land areas were used. G. Post-closure/transfer operations and infrastructure. Information pertaining to the operation of the site after closure including policies and procedures, post-closure monitoring data, compliance reports, land use during stewardship, remaining buildings/ facilities, processes, pipelines, infrastructure, and effluent monitoring. Regulatory/ Legal Framework H. Regulatory framework (past and present). Includes any compliance agreements, regulations, site closure agreements, permits, or other legal requirements associated with long-term stewardship activities at the site. I. Requirements specific to transfer/closure and post transfer/closure. Includes any specific monitoring, maintenance, or reporting requirements established as a part of site closure agreements. This information also includes specific reporting schedules established for monitoring or other data. J. Real Estate records. Real property records related to acquisition of the site, easements and other access rights onsite and offsite through public/ private property, mineral rights, and water rights. This information includes legal agreements and associated documentation to allow appropriate access to offsite monitoring stations, pumps, or other active or passive control systems. Site Characteristics/Setting K. Information about cultural and natural resources. Includes the location, type, and condition of onsite natural resources (including minerals, land and water resources, and habitats/species of concern), including resources of particular importance to Native American Tribes. It also includes the vulnerability of these resources to a variety of hazards, including residual radioactive and chemical hazards, other manmade hazards, and natural hazards. L. Geophysical and political information. This information includes site topography, site hydrogeology, geotechnical hazards, physical hazards, site boundaries, political boundaries, agricultural distribution patterns, and public exposure data. |
| ASSESSING STEWARDSHIP DATA NEEDS |
The needs assessment also identified a potential need to provide information to support litigation. While some of the data types identified in Table 2-2 could also support litigation, information specific to litigation needs is outside the scope of stewardship data. Recognizing that DOE maintains special databases related to litigation, and that these databases may include stewardship data, Chapter 6 includes a recommendation to obtain such stewardship data when it is no longer necessary to maintain their confidentiality.
2.3 Matching Data Types to the Needs of Selected Future Users
Several types of persons and entities may need stewardship information in the future. Primary users are local, state, regional, or national entities who are responsible for performing or overseeing stewardship functions at a site and providing administrative support for those activities. Users external to the site include emergency response personnel and community planners. Table 2-3 presents an initial identification of the potential users and links their associated activities and data needs. It is recognized that a cross-walk of responsibilities, data needs, and future individuals or entities is speculative at present, and Table 2-3 is based largely on the judgment of the project team and the individuals who participated in various needs assessment discussions.
| Potential Users | Examples of Potential Activities | Examples of Potential Data Types |
| Site Stewards |
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| Native American Tribes |
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| Local fire departments Regional response teams |
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| Local or state planning agencies |
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| Local, state, or national regulatory agencies |
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| Local, state, or national natural resource management agencies |
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| Local, state, or national public interest groups or non-governmental organizations |
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| CHAPTER 2 |
In addition to these users, a variety of entities may also have considerable interest in stewardship data, including:
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Last Updated 03/16/1999 (mas)