The Governor's Independent Panel's DRAFT Report

The following is a E-mail copy of the Executive Summary of the GIP's DRAFT report. Comments may be sent to Ken Ayers.

Subject: Draft Executive Summary
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 11:32:18 -0600 (CST)
From: ayerskw@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu (Ken Ayers)
To: jrmichel@icx.net, CherDyer@aol.com, donzi@sprynet.com, brooks50@comcast.net, jramirez@igc.apc.org, mulvenon@juno.com, q53@cosmail3.ctd.ornl.gov, ABPaine@aol.com, Magnu96196@aol.com, lfrank@tennessean.com, duncan_mansfield@ap.org, 73302.1245@CompuServe.com

Per my earlier email:

This draft is for review by members of the panel and has not been approved by the panel. The final document may not be the same as this report.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I Introduction

Governor Don Sundquist appointed an Independent Panel to review the operation of the Department of Energy’s Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) incinerator at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), formerly known as K25 Energy Systems, Inc. Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (LMES) currently manages the site. We were to ensure that the TSCA incinerator is properly and legally operated, monitored and protective of human health and the environment. In addition, the Governor charged the panel with addressing the concerns and issues raised by the public about the TSCA Incinerator. We have interpreted the charge broadly. Moreover, in keeping with the trust placed in us, we have only had meetings and inspections open to the public similar to the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The Panel now consists of eight people of varied disciplines including two appointed by the Governor at the request of the Mayor of Oak Ridge for more balance. One of the original members resigned early in the process because of relocation. Seven of the members live and work in Tennessee and the eighth was born and went to school in Tennessee.

The committee held four meetings in Oak Ridge, where it heard from a wide group of invited, interested citizens, government officials and the operators of the Oak Ridge Complex and the TSCA Incinerator. An “open mike” session for unscheduled speakers was held at every meeting. Part of one of the meetings was held in the evening to facilitate public participation. Also, as part of several meetings, the panel toured the TSCA Incinerator, toured the private SEG Incinerator, and, some members of the panel met with members of the medical profession in Oak Ridge. Some members of the panel, together with representatives of the affected workers, toured parts of the ETTP selected by the workers, and the affected pine tree area within the dominant incinerator effluent plume direction.

In addition to the meetings, we established and advertised a toll-free telephone number, an e-mail address and a mail address where information could be delivered to us including those by anonymous authors. We received a great deal of information through these various venues. We also examined a large number of reports and articles. We are grateful to all who contributed their views and data. Without their cooperation our work could not be as complete as it is. However, the opinions and conclusions are our own.

II Findings

A. A Divided Community We found unanimous agreement among all who spoke to us that there are sick workers at the ETTP and sick residents in its vicinity. Beyond that, there was no unanimity on any topic. In fact, among those who presented their views there was deep polarization on almost everything. These ranged from the views expressed in the advertisement for community meetings about Oak Ridge area industry by the Coalition for a Healthy Environment and Save Our Cumberland Mountains that stated: “WHAT’S UP? - Furans, Dioxins, PCBs, Heavy Metals” … and “What’s coming DOWN on OUR TOWN? Loss of sex drive, memory loss, chronic fatigue, metal poisoning, rheumatic arthritis, lupus, ALS, MS, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, birth defects, immune problems, endocrine malfunctions” to an article in The Tennessean, an “Op-editorial” Nashville Eye piece by Susan Gawarecki, President of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge who wrote: “The Board of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge wishes to inform readers of The Tennessean that they have been misled by this newspaper. The numerous articles published about Oak Ridge environmental issues do not accurately represent the state of health in our community nor the opinions of the vast majority of Oak Ridge residents and workers at the Department of Energy facilities.” and “The Tennessean does a disservice to its readers when it devotes many column inches to unproven allegations while barely acknowledging scientific facts and technical accuracy. Moreover, the newspaper unjustifiably damages the reputation of the Oak Ridge community, one that by all measures has a better quality of life than most other parts of Tennessee.” However, we have no independent sampling of the workers or the residents to see how widespread are the views we heard. B. TSCA Incinerator We focused on the TSCA Incinerator because of the Governor’s charge and of the allegations in The Tennessean that it was the cause of the illnesses. The Tennessean articles were introduced with an icon that read “TOXIC BURN – Fear and Fire in Oak Ridge” and contained such statements as “Last year, the churning, red-hot incinerator consumed 1,500 tons of toxic cold war remnants” (February 16, 1997). To our surprise, the workers who presented information to us did not blame their illnesses on the incinerator, but wanted relief from their illnesses, no matter what the cause. We and our incinerator consultant, William Rickman, found that the facility and operating conditions were in harmony with its permit and had experienced few operating violations. The wastes fed to the TSCA incinerator are thoroughly characterized at the generation point and when received at the incinerator. The amount of wastes actually burned is a small fraction of the volume that the incinerator is designed and permitted to process. If the destruction and removal efficiencies obtained in the trial burns (required to obtain the operating permits) still pertain, the emissions of hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials are but a small fraction of the permitted emissions. One of our members modeled the emissions from the TSCA incinerator stack and found that the calculated concentrations were far below the permitted levels. The maximum annual average concentration estimates, at the site where there are people to be exposed, 640 meters southwest of the incinerator stack, using 1992 meteorological data, range from a maximum of 18.4% of the standard for chromium to 0.00% for most others. In addition, his calculations showed that the plumes and deposition from the TVA Kingston Steam Plant overlapped the predominant effluent plume from the TSCA incinerator and contributed approximately an equal amount of heavy metal pollutants. Comparing these estimates to the highest measured concentrations at the site monitors can validate the estimates. The measured concentrations were a small fraction of the permissible levels and most pollutants measured were not primarily from the TSCA incinerator, as shown by the fact that the estimated concentrations from the TSCA incinerator were only a small fraction of those measured. The incinerator is regulated and monitored by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Tennessee. If the permissible levels of pollutants in the environment are deemed adequate to protect public health, and they must be to conform to the law, then the TSCA incinerator is not a major contributor to the illnesses seen in the Oak Ridge area. C. Transportation of Waste Department of Energy waste from out of state must be transported to the TSCA incinerator because there is no other incinerator in the county licensed to burn such wastes. DOE, to be more efficient, allocates certain functions to certain sites. Consequently, DOE at Oak Ridge ships 12 times as much hazardous substances out of state as it imports, based upon weight. It is recognized, of course, that weight is not a true indication of hazard and risk. Transportation of hazardous substances is regulated and monitored by the United States Department of Transportation and the State of Tennessee. The record of safety for such shipments has been exemplary. This record reflects the same safety record nationwide. These hazardous substances are but a small fraction of the hazardous substances traveling daily on our highways. Calculation of the most extreme events, crash and fire on the highway in a heavily populated area, finds that projected hazard is well below the Environmental Protection Agency Guidelines for risks from hazardous wastes. The transportation of hazardous substances to the Oak Ridge TSCA incinerator and from the Oak Ridge site involves risks well within those accepted on a daily basis in the transportation of other hazardous materials, such as gasoline. D. Out-of-State Wastes Out-of-state DOE wastes burned at the TSCA incinerator are limited to 10% of the capacity of the incinerator. The wastes are subject to even more rigorous inspection than the Oak Ridge wastes. Out-of-state DOE wastes then, are not the cause of the illnesses. E. Workers and Resident Illnesses The areal distribution of sick workers and residents conforms to no pattern, including the predominant TSCA incinerator plume directions. Compounding the problem is the fact that the diseases are not unique to specific chemicals, so that the sources of the causes can be sought. It is not known whether the incidence and types of illnesses are above normal or a statistical aberration. Registries (records) of most of these illnesses are not routinely kept. Even the cancer registry is only 3 years old. The report of the Independent Physicians Group, Drs. Lackey, Bird, and Freeman, is not yet available. None of the other examinations by physicians available to us have been able to pinpoint a cause for the illnesses reported. Earlier studies of workers at Oak Ridge had mixed results. Some reported elevated illnesses, others did not, and many such studies are still underway. We find no specific causes for the illnesses suffered by workers and residents or whether they are more numerous than the norm. The situation may be somewhat analogous to the clean-up of superfund sites, where a disproportionate share of the money has been spent on legal fees, including trying to determine who is responsible. Here the money should be spent on providing relief while seeking causes and not more studies such as ours. F. Availability, Extent and Quality of Medical Care None of the workers nor members of the public who appeared before us were satisfied with the availability, quality and extent of medical care. Problems with refusal of doctors to accept patients, availability of specialists, lack of coverage of “pre-existing illnesses” for continuing workers with changing contractors, lack of medical care for non-workers, and lack of responsiveness (inordinate length of time from examination to results, etc.) were discussed with us. LMES management assured us of cooperation and detailed actions taken to accommodate the needs and requests of the workers, including the appointment of the Independent Physician study now under way (one physician chosen by the company and another by the workers). No one assumed responsibility for non-workers who were ill. G. Environmental Effects The dead pine trees northeast of the TSCA incinerator, along the major emission plume path, appeared to be primarily due to attack by the Southern pine beetle. The quick regrowth of the area indicates that it is unlikely that the damage is due to a chemical pollutant. Extensive damage by the beetle there and on other parts of the reservation was observed. Without having direct observations at the time of the deterioration and the death of the trees, it is not possible to be more definitive. H. Unsafe and Illegal Actions at the ETTP During our worker led site visit we found no unmarked sites with unsafe radiation levels, nor any illegal activities. We did find situations which we would not consider best management practice, e.g., unlocked truck trailers in public areas containing lithium which could prove hazardous, unmarked burial grounds, office spaces with undetermined waste cylinders beneath plywood floors, etc. We investigated all actions or conditions brought to our attention, with sufficient specificity to be able to do so. While we found that some cited conditions do exist, our analysis including examination of records found that they were not as serious as we expected. We shall have more to say about this under “communications.” Other conditions were presented with such generality that we were not able to examine them. I. Communications The exasperation and rage expressed by some of the workers over what they perceived to be a lack of interest in finding a solution to their illnesses pervaded all of our hearings. There is great distrust among these workers of the management of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems Inc., DOE and the local medical community.

III. Conclusions

There are sick workers and residents who are not finding relief from their illnesses. The causes of their illnesses have not been determined – despite numerous attempts over the last five years to do so. Some of the workers and residents believe that the attempts to date have been inadequate. This has lead to mistrust and outrage.

None of the incinerator emissions exceed permissible levels and only one of the measured air pollutant concentrations exceeded standards for a short time (during a nearby construction project). We offer some recommendations to improve the situation. However, we recognize that, in medicine, there is not always a cure to illnesses, nor is it always possible to uncover the causes of the illnesses and the source of the causes.

IV Recommendations

A. Relief to Sick People These people need relief from their illnesses to the extent that it is medically possible and relief from the suspicion that care is being withheld. Unfortunately, we all know people who get sick and the best medical care cannot bring them back to health. However, relief, to the extent possible, should be provided. This may entail problems that are much larger than the Oak Ridge situation, i.e., the delivery of health care in this country. Even if the causes of the illnesses cannot be identified, the symptoms should be treated. Counseling to help the sick people and their families also should be provided. The panel recommends that care should be provided to both workers and non-workers.

B. Epidemic or Not A scientifically valid poll should be conducted to determine if the rate of the illnesses being experienced is within the normal range or not. If not, then the causes of the specific illnesses should be sought. Epidemiology is a blunt sword to find causes. Most of the epidemiologic studies conducted to date at hazardous waste sites have been inconclusive.

C. Operation of the TSCA Incinerator The Panel was not able to establish any direct cause and effect relationship between the operation of the incinerator and the illnesses at Oak Ridge. No emissions were measured or calculated that were more than a fraction of their permissible levels. Therefore, we recommend that the TSCA incinerator continue to be operated, taking into account the recommendations made here and in the body of the report.

D. Communications Lack of information encourages speculation as to the true state of affairs and increases mistrust. Top management at LMES is committed to open and transparent communication. Responsiveness at all levels is essential. Questions about practices should be investigated and answered promptly. We recommend that joint committees, with LMES and the affected workers, such as the one on cyanide intoxication, be used, because they would do much to dispel suspicions

E. Scientific Research All of the above recommendations can be quickly and easily implemented. However, they may not yield the causes of the illnesses. More basic scientific research may be needed to determine why these people are sick. The answers may not be quick in coming. After all these years and billions of dollars spent on the war on cancer, we are still not certain of the basic causes though progress has been made. We may be at the earliest stages of research on why some people are more susceptible to diseases than others.

F. Other Recommendations In the main report we make a series of further recommendations, but they are minor compared to the five outlined above. They include suggestions for more independent verification of analyses, best location for ambient air monitors, continuous stack emission monitors, etc.

Epilogue

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Tennessee. We appreciate the cooperation of all involved-- the workers and residents of Oak Ridge, staff of the U.S. Department of Energy, State Department of Health and Environment, of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, and SEG Corporation. In the time available to us we have attempted to provide an independent evaluation of conditions at the TSCA Incinerator and the health of the workers at ETTP and the nearby residents. We have not solved the problem, but we have attempted to determine the seriousness of it and make some recommendations on how to reduce its impact.