Groundwater Plumes
Past practices at the PGDP resulted in the spilling of two contaminants: Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Technetium 99 (Tc99) into the groundwater. As of 2000, it has been estimated that enough groundwater has been contaminated to fill 16,000 Olympic size swimming pools. Through 2008, DOE has treated over 2 billion gallons of water through their ongoing pump and treat system. Nevertheless, if all the residual sources of TCE in soils and groundwater inside the PGDP facility were to be removed, it has been estimated that it may take over 100 years for the maximum concentration of TCE in the groundwater plume outside of the plant to dissipate below the EPA minimum contamination levels.
The EPA Limit for TCE is 5ug/L
The EPA limit for Tc-99 is 900 piCu/L
