Esc Demonstration D-Area Oil Seepage Basin - Savannah River Site A Case Study

Between June and September 1995, the Expedited Site Characterization (ESC) process was<br>demonstrated at a 4-acre site which contained buried waste trenches at the U.S. Department of<br>Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. This demonstration project was sponsored<br>by the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s Office of Technology Development, and<br>implemented under the direction of the Ames Laboratory. The two-phased ESC program was<br>successful at accurately characterizing both geologic/hydrogeologic and environmental quality<br>conditions at the site in a compressed timeframe. Information obtained from this program resulted<br>in the identification of a discrete source area within the waste trenches, and quick delineation of the<br>vertical and horizontal extent of groundwater quality impacts with a high degree of resolution.<br>Consequently, the ESC program allowed the identified source area to be removed through the<br>implementation of a focused interim remedial measure in a timely manner, while providing the data<br>needed to conduct a risk assessment and achieve rapid site closure.