Early implementation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Environmental Restoration Program at Technical Area 54

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program at Technical Area (TA) 54 is currently in the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) phase of an expanded Resource, Conservation, and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action program. Site characterization will focus on filling data gaps in a conceptual model constructed from existing information. An interim remedial measure involving vacuum extraction of a known organic vapor vadose zone plume will be modeled this year and hopefully implemented in fiscal year 1993. Long-term environmental restoration will probably involve vadose zone monitoring to confirm modeling predictions on the performance of existing disposal unit caps. However, it is possible that removal or in-situ treatment of some isolated bad actors'' will be necessary to ensure the long-term success of vapor extraction, or to remove surface hot spots that are unacceptably contributing contaminants to the surface water on air pathways. Public sentiment related to the long-term dedication of TA 54 as a waste disposal facility will have to be factored in early in the process to ensure that the most appropriate data are gathered during site characterization, and to instill confidence, both internally and external to LANL, that the ER Program Office is headed in the right direction at TA 54. 7 refs., 5 figs