Plant improvements dramatically reduce perchlorate discharge

Contact: James E. Rickman, jamesr@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9203 (02-087)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 29, 2002 -- Personnel at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of a new system that removes nearly all perchlorate from wastewater discharges.

The new filtration system was installed last spring. Since then, personnel at the Laboratory's Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility have not detected perchlorate -- a non-radioactive chemical used during the processing of nuclear materials -- in waste water discharged from the plant.

Perchlorate, which migrates easily with water, has been used for decades at Los Alamos. Laboratory hydrologists have detected minute quantities of the chemical in some groundwater samples taken from the Los Alamos area. However, Los Alamos drinking water meets all state and federal drinking water standards.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named perchlorate a contaminant of concern after studies linked the chemical to thyroid disorders and other potential health problems. EPA has not yet defined a drinking water standard for perchlorate, but since 1992, the EPA has recommended safe drinking water levels of perchlorate ranging from 4 to 18 ppb. In response to EPA studies, California lowered its perchlorate standard from 18 parts per billion to four parts per billion.

As part of an on-going commitment to environmental stewardship at Los Alamos, the Laboratory installed special ion-exchange resin vessels at RLWTF this spring. Wastewater formerly discharged from the facility had contained perchlorate concentrations greater than 100 parts per billion. The new system has reduced perchlorate concentrations below the detection limit of four parts per billion.

"We are extremely pleased that we have successfully demonstrated throughout several months of real-world operations the virtual elimination of perchlorate from our liquid waste stream," said Dennis McLain, leader of the Laboratory's Waste Facilities Management group. "This success certainly gives another boost to the Laboratory's overall environmental stewardship strategy."

Personnel with the RLWTF had searched nearly two years for a technology that would reduce perchlorate cost effectively and that could be retrofitted into the existing treatment facility. Facility staff members Steve Hanson and Pete Worland evaluated several potential technologies before deciding upon the ion-exchange resin system.

Personnel installed six of the vessels, each comprising 11 cubic feet of ion-exchange resin, at the facility in early March. The system began treating wastewater on March 26. To date, more than 200,000 gallons of water have passed through the filters, and all water discharged from RLWTF since installation has shown no detectable concentrations of perchlorate. Systems in place at the facility will indicate when the ion-exchange resin vessels have reached the end of their useful life, estimated to be about one year, and will ensure that elevated concentrations of perchlorate are not discharged. Annual cost for the entire ion-exchange system is expected to be about $25,000.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.

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