Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental Report Summary, 2003

A mission of foremost importance to the Department of Energy and our contractors is to provide our stakeholders with a complete understanding of the consequences of our operations, both past and present. To do this, an extensive annual multimillion-dollar monitoring and surveillance program collects and analyzes tens of thousands of samples from air, surface and groundwater, soil, mud, plants, and animals. The results are published in a detailed Annual Site Environmental Report available to all. We also publish a separate Data Volume for those who wish to see the raw data. Though these documents present all the facts and figures, they are long, technical, and not always easy to read. Thus, I team with a local high school each year and ask students to write an Annual Site Environmental Report Summary specifically for the public. These documents are perhaps the most important reports the Department of Energy produces. Why? First, they lay out the environmental monitoring programs and the consequences of Department of Energy operations in great detail to our legislatures, stakeholders, and the public; second, they represent the efforts of many dedicated environmental scientists who carry out these extensive programs and work hard to protect and enhance the environment; and third, the summary is written for you, the public, our most important stakeholder, with the hope that you find it understandable and of value in gaining an accurate understanding of the Oak Ridge Reservation. All three documents can be found on the web, along with previous years, at http://www.ornl.gov/aser. Working with a new class each year brings new faces, new personalities, and new creative ideas. The students always amaze me with their interest and desire to produce a document the public will utilize and find of value. I personally thank the Karns High School students and their teacher, Ms Evelyn Hammonds, for accepting my challenge in writing this public document and for thinking out of the box as I asked. Thanks also to each contributing art student and Principal Clifford Davis for his support. This class was an especially enjoyable group to work with, and took off at full speed when I threw them the ball. I hope you, our public, find their efforts of value. I believe you will