ML20009H304

Ga Co Environ Info Rept

ML20009H304
Person / Time
Site:	07000734
Issue date:	07/31/1981
From:	GENERAL ATOMICS (FORMERLY GA TECHNOLOGIES, INC./GENER
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ML20009H303	List: ML20009H302 ML20009H304 ML20009H305 ML20009H306
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19430, ENVR-810731, NUDOCS 8108070210
Download: ML20009H304 (17)

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o GENERAL ATOMIC COMPANY ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REPORT l

JULY, 1981 l

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i 8108070210 810724~

PDR ADOCK G7000734 C

PDR

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. TABLE OF CONTENTS l

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1.0.

INTRODUCTION 2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 2.1 Site Location and Layout 2.2 Regional Demography, Land 'and Water. Use; Hydrology 2.3 Meteorology 2.3.1 General influences 2.3.2 Winds 233 Precipitation 2.3.4 dio rms l

~ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 3.0 3.1 Introduction-3.2 Air Releases 3 2.1 Radiological Releases 3 2.2 Nonradiological Releases 3.3 Liquid Releases 3.3 1 Radiological Releases 3.3.2 Nonradiological Releases 3.4 Solid Wastes 35 Summary and Conclusions i

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I l.0 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this environmental information report (EIR) is to support the 1981 SNH 696 license renewal application by updating the information con-l tained in the. Environmental Appraisal Report -(GA-A13033) of February,1975

-The site and vicinity demography.is updated to 1980, and operational experience and data are used to show that the present operation does not have a signifi-cant impact on the environment.

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2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 2.' l SITE LOCATION AND LAYOUT The main site of the licensee at' San Diego-is located at 10955 John. Jay Hopkins Drive approximately 13 miles no' th of downtown San Diego at roughly 32' r

'52' 39" latitude'and i17* 14 longitude.' The site occupies 360 acres.

Component and fuel manufacturing, as well as HTGR fuel production process' development, are located in Sorrento Valley at 11220 Flintk'ot'e Avenue on 60 acres of property contiguous to the' main site.

The site, vacant.at the time of selection in 1956, was chosen on the

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basis of the availability of inexpensive land supported by city utilities-I and a setting in which pure and applied science could be conducted in a f

university-like environment.

The distance from the main site to the single, closest residence is presently about one mile, with any others being close to two miles in the southeast sector. This degree of isolation will pr.obably continue indefinitely due to the nature oi the surrounding terrain and land use zoning. The facilities do not-interfere with recreational activities in the area, nor do they pose a threat to cultural or historical sites.

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2.2 REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHY, LAND AND WATER USE The present population within a one mile radius of the main site is primarily of an industrial and university campus makeup, with an estimated daytime total of up to 14,500 people (about 2200 are the licensee's employees).

The immediate vicinity of the Flintkote Avenue facilities is zoned for industrial activity.

Interstate Highway 5 is located about 1/2 mile to the east of the Component and Fuel Manufacturing building.

The population dis-tribution and nearby industrial and community facilities are shown in Fig. 2.2-1.

The majority of the present-population to the north is in a series of small, unincorporated towns extending to Oceanside, 25 miles north with a population of 76,700.

Escondido, 18 miles northeast of the site, has a population of 62,500.

To the south is the metropolitan area of San Diego.

l The distance and population of surrounding communities is given in Table 2.2-1.

I TABLE 2.2-1 DISTANCE / POPULATION OF SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES Distance (Air Miles)

Community' and Direction Population "

Del Mar 5 miles north 5,017 Los Penasquitos 8 miles northeast 19,000 Rancho Bernardo 13 miles northeast 16,100 Poway 12 miles east 32,100 Mira Mesa 6 miles east 37,500 l

University City 4 miles south 28,900 l

La Jolla 5 miles southwest 27,900 f

Clairemont 6 miles south 82,400 a)Po ulation data current as of the 1980 census.

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No significant fresh water recreation areas exist within the local hydrological area, nor is 'there significant agricultural activity.

Los Penasquitos Creek flows into an area called 'Sorrento Slough, which is part of Torrey Pines State Park and near the licensee's site (about one mile in distance). The slough is a game refuge and an area of tidal mud flats. All plants and animals in the area are protected,and essentially no human use is made of it.

Water for tne site is supplied by the City cf San Diego Municipal System.

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2-3 m

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The plant site lies within the Los Penasquitos Creek drainage basin.

j Surface drainage from the site runs through the Soledad Valley into Los Penasquitos. Creek, which. flows to the northwest and empties into' the Pacific

' Ocean. Water flows into the Soledad-Valley only during occasional heavy rains.

i Floods'do not represent a danger to the site as it.is situated approximately 50-330 ft. above the valley floor..Also, drainage downstream f

from the site to the Pacific Ocean is unrestricted.

Surface water. downstream from the. site cannot be used domestically because of its intermittent flow and dirty condition during periods following rainstorms or heavy runoffs.

According to the California Department of Water Resources, the nearest groundwater would be in Sorrento Valley in an area defined by the drainage flow into the salt water marsh toward the ocean. The depth rf the groundwater is estimated to be less than 25 feet, depending on the area precipitation and drainage f rom the Penasqui tos Valley. The groundwater east of the site

'(primarily Penasquitos Valley) is considered marginal or inferior for irriga-tion purposes.

Salt water intrusion closer to the coast further decreases the utility of the groundwater.

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2.3 ~ METEOROLOGY 2.3.1 General influences The weather and climatology of southern California are dominated by the semipermanent Pacific high-pressure system which is a feature of the planetary circulation and which oscillates back and forth during-the year as the seasons change.

In the summer when the Pacific high-pressure system is at its most northerly position, it blocks traveling storm and high-and low pressure systems, resulting in almost no rain from frontal activity

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during the summer season. The withdrawal of the Pacific high pressure l

l system to its most southerly position in the winter season allows storm systems to travel further south, resulting in winter rains in southern California.

The Pacific high pressure system further influences atmospheric cir-culation by forming a temperature inversion that restricts the mixing layer for pollutants and by causing low-average wind speeds in this -restricted mixing layer. The lower altitude limit of the inversion, called the inversion base, is the upper limit beyond which cloud rise is retarded.

Representative temperature profiles over a period of five months covering summer, fall, and winter show that inversions having bases between 250 and 5000 f t altitude occurred 76% of the time.

Inversion bases occurring between 1000 and 2000 ft are most common in the summer, lowering to 250 to 1000 ft in the fall and increasing to 1500 to 2500 f t or higher in the

winter, l

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2.3.2 Winds i

The prevailing winds are usually westerly, although easterly winds are almost as common during the winter months.

During the day, the westerly winds developing from the Pacific high pressure system are reinforced by the 2-5

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land-sea breeze, resulting in stronger average wind velocities (6.5 to 9 mph) than'from the easterly land breeze (1 to 7.2 mph).

The land breeze is often l

present at night during the cold season, but seldom during the warmer months.

I This wind is shallow, usually a few hundred feet, while the sea breeze is often 1000 ft or more.

Such air flow is effectively channeled by topograph-leal features.

Strong winds are infrequent; the strongest was 51 mph from the southeast in 1944.

The micrometeorology conditions at the site are determined by the terrain rougSness, local topograph, wind regimes (land and sea breezes), and solar

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i heating.

The dilution of airborne contamination due to normal operating i

releases will be determined by the small scale turbulence in the local area in-combination with the wind and mode of release (ground level or elevated).

A two-tower meteorological system is used to determine the micrometeorological conditions at the site. The data from the meteorological system was analyzed to provide the armospheric stability / wind frequency results in Table 2 3-1.

2.3.3 Precipitation The average annual rainfall in the City of San Dit;go is 10.4 in., but relatively wide variations in the monthly and seasonal totals take place.

This is illustrated by the fact that 75% of the annual precipitation occurs from November through March. The monthly averages for the period from 1940 through 1970 are given in Table 2.3-2.

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F F

TABLE 2.3-1 i

GENERAL ATOMIC ATHOSPHERE STABILITY / WIND FREQUENCY STABILITY CLASS f

Wind A

B C

D E

F G

Direction Freq.

W.S.*

Freq.

V.S.

Freq.

W.S.

Freq.

W.S.

Freq.

W.S.

Freq.

W.S.

Freq.

W.S.

N 0

0

.0005 7.6

.002 5.6

.0050 5.9

.0075 4.8

.0067 2.8

.0041 1.8 k

NNE O

O O

O

.0013 6.1

.0063 7.1

.0088 4.2

.0067 2.3

.0052 1.1 NE O

O

.0002 99

.0013 8.9

.0067 7.3

.0085 4.7

.0149 3.3

.0088 1.8 ENE

.0003 11.6

.0006 6.1

.0011 7.5

.0055 4.4

.0085 3.3

'.0160 2.8

.0132 1.5

'l E

.0005 8.1

.0002 10.3

.0028 6.4

.0063 4.4

.0118 29

.0276 2.8

.0181 1.5 f

ESE

.0005 8.2

.0017 79

.0022 6.8

.0077 6.7

.0129 3.3

.0485 3.1

.0228 2.0

.y SE

.0002 8.4

.0017 5.6

.0049 5.5

.0102 6.1

.0121 4.4

.0234 29

.0163 1.8 SSE

.0008 6.2

.0017 4.6

.0067 5.3

.0074 6.1

.0078 4.8

.0111 2.6

.0105 1.9 l

S

.0008 6.3

.0025 5.9

.0047 59

.cl!5 5.5

.0124 4.3

.0154 2.7

.0089 1.9 SSW

.0005 9.5

.0022 6.8

.0057 6.7

.0132 7.1

.0173 5.6

.0135 2,9

.0085 1.7 SW

.0002 7.6

.0057 8.3

.0105 i.2

.0171 6.7

.0154 5.4

.0100 2.6

.0080 1.6 8

WSW

.0006 8.5

.0074 8.5

.0166 79

.0320 7.6

.0204 5.6

.0104 3.4

.0024 17 0

W

.0005 7.9

.0036 8.7

.0143 8.2

.0479 8.3

.0265 6.8

.0082 2.8

.0030

-1.4 WNw

.0002 9.5

.0016 72

.0052 8.6

.0295 8.1

.0337 6.5

.0088 2.9

.0022 1.5 l

NV O

O

.0008 6.6

.0028 6.3

.0171 71

.0193 6.1

.0119 2.8

.0047 1.5 NNV

.0002 3.9

.0008 73

.0027 6.2

.0086 5.9

.0I02 5.0

.0094 3.0

.0061 1.6 Calm 0

0 0

0 0

0

.0003 0

.0014 0

.0035 0

.0246 0

i TOTAL

.0053

.0312

.0843

.2323

.2345

.2461

.,1673 l

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• miles per hour s

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TABLE 2.3-2 AVERAGE PP.ECIPITATION FROM 1940 THROUGH 1970 Period Average Precipitation (in.)

January 2.01 Feoruary 2.15 March-1.37 April 0.79 May 0.15 June 0.05 l-l July 0.01 L

August 0.08 September 0.15 l

October 0.49 l

November 0.90 l

December 2.05 l

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l The maximum precipitation in 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> for each month of the ;: ear during l

a period extending from 1941 to 1970 is given in Table 2 3-3 l

. TABLE 2.3-3 MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION IN 24 HOURS FROM 1941 to 1970 l

l Month Maximum Precipitation (in.)

l January (1943) 2.65 February (194i) 1.71 i

March (1952) 2.40 April (1965) 1.40 May (1957) 0.42 June (1963) 0.27 July (1968) 0.10 August (1951) 0.83 September

(.1963) 0.90 October- (1941) 1.20 November (1944) 2.44 i

December (1945) 3.07 l

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2.3.4 Storms Tornadoes on the Pacific Coast are of low frequency and are not severe.

Small tornadoes and water spouts have been reported.

In the one degree square (117* - 118' longitude,.32* - 33* 1atitude) containing San Diego and its vicinity, only five tornadoes were repor ced between 1916 and 1971.

l There were no reported deaths due to tornadoes in California 9p to 1971.

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3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

3.1 INTRODUCTION

l The potential Impact of the site operations are considered as a result of releases to the environment.

Radiological releases over the last five years were averaged to get representative numbers.

3.2 AIR RELEASES l

3.2.1 Radiological Releases Table 3.1-1 lists the avera yearly release of a: borne radioactivity from the site for the years 1966 through 1980.

The largest sources of activity l

l were tritium (0.5 ci/yr), Argon-41 (0.8 Ci/yr), and Krypton-85 (0.8 ci/yr).

Much of the tritium and Krypton releases were the result of calibration or intrumental analysis activities. The Argon-41 was eleased as the result of Triga Research Reactor operation.

If an individual were c'ontinuously present at the site boundary for one i

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year, the maximt.m 50 year dose commitment for the inhalation route would be

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-5 7x10 rem to the bone, 4x10 rem to the lung, and 1.3x10 rem to the thyroid.

-6 The maxitum whole-body gamma dose would be 5.2x10 rem.

By comparison, the

-3 EPA standard (40 CFR !90) for the uranium fuel cycle is 25xio rem /yr.

Also by comparison, the average yearly dose rate in the United States for the

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-3 various organs is 120x10 rem /yr for the bone and 180x10 rem /yr for the

~3 lung.

The whole-body dose rate is approximately 100x10 rem /yr for the San l

Diego area.

Since there are no individuals living at the site boundary, the actual doses f rom the site operations could be considerably lower than the l

3-1

l TABLE 3.1-1 SAN DIEGO SITE AVERAGE YEARLY RADIONUCLIDE RELEASE, 1976 THROUGH 1980 AIR Radionuclide Ci/Yr H-3 0.5 l

Ar-41 0.8 Co-60

.0017 Kr-85 0.8 l

Nb-95

.008 Ru-103

.0000015 Xe-127

.003 1-131

.001 xe-133

.07 l

Cs-137

.07 Eu-154

.0006 Th-232

.00027 U-235

.0016 U-238

.0002 l

l LIQU:0 i

~0 U-235 2.7x10 Ci/yr

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• Releases of less than 10 Ci/yr are not listed.

l maximum doses calculated. A single residence is approximately 0.75 mile north of the Fuci Fabrication Facility in Sorrento Valley.

l 3 2.2 Nonradiological Releases The nonradiological effluents have not changed significantly from 1975 and, in many cases, have decreased due to reduced operations.

In 1975 the bound-ary concentrations of the various chemicals from the site were several orders l

l of magnitude lower than the applicable standards.

They still do not have any l

significant impact on the environment.

l 3.3 LIQUID RELEASES The operation of the various facilities of the licensee's San Diego site will not result in the discharge of a liquid waste into any local surface or subsurface waters.

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I 3 3.1 Radiological Releases i

1 Table 3.1-1 lists the average amount per year of Uranium-235 that was released to the regional sewer system.

Only 5000 gallons per month are allowed to be released to th= regional sewer system at concentrations no greater than the unrestricted MPC. The 2.7x10' Ci/yr listed in Table 3.1-1 has resulted in liquid concentrations of much less than the applicable MPC.

The release goes into a sewer system treating 100 million gallons of waste per day.

For all practical purposes, the liquid radioactive effluents are incon-sequential.

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A 3 3.2 Nonradiological Releases r

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The licensee discharges the normal amount of sanitary sewage waste for l

2200 people into the regional sewerage system. Under three industrial waste discharge permits granted by the San Diego City Water Utilities Department, the licensee has been permitted to discharge 30,000 gallons per day of research laboratory waste water, 30,000 gallons per day of fume scrubber waste water, and 9,00G gallons per day of neutralized acid waste water into the sewerage sys tem.

3.4 SOLID WASTES No radioactive materials are disposed of in the ground without special permission. Waste material is concentrated, then consigned to a licensed waste disposal contractor for burial at a government-approved site. As a result, there is no environmental impact from solid waste disposal.

3.5

SUMMARY

AND CONCLUSIONS The environmental impact of the IIcensee's operatlons are well within the applicab e standards. The results of the licensee's environmental monitoring program confirm this.

For a description and results of the environ-mental monitoring program, see the demonstration volume of the licensee's renewal application.

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