Oak Ridge cleanup a work in progress

[bananas]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/aug/06/oak-ridge-cleanup-a-work-in-progress/

Oak Ridge cleanup a work in progress
Officials say a lot has been accomplished already, but there's still much left to do

By Frank Munger (Contact)
Monday, August 6, 2007

OAK RIDGE — No one knows exactly when the Oak Ridge cleanup will be completed or what the ultimate price tag will be, but the responsible parties hope to at least have the goals on paper — along with specific timetables for the work — by 2016.

At this point, even that is uncertain.

“There’s a great deal to be decided,” said John Owsley, who oversees the cleanup work for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “It’s extremely difficult because you are making decisions for many future generations.”

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The East Fork Poplar Creek, which originates on Y-12 property and flows through the west side of Oak Ridge, has been posted as a health hazard since November 1982. Numerous cleanup projects have been successful to varying degrees, including soil removal in the creek’s floodplain and a new treatment system that cut the annual mercury discharges in half — from 8 kilograms to 4 kilograms.

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