Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Area
Containment and mass reduction interim actions are underway to recover carbon tetrachloride from
both the soil column and the groundwater beneath the Plutonium Finishing Plant. An extensive
inventory of carbon tetrachloride still remains unaccounted for in the vadose zone and groundwater,
which represents a major unknown in moving to a final remedy for carbon tetrachloride. Extensive
characterization efforts have begun to assess the nature and extent of contamination in the soil
and groundwater. These coordinated investigations, along with science & technology
investigations to better understand the process controlling the migration of carbon tetrachloride
in the subsurface environment, provide the best opportunity to develop a remedy to protect human
health and the environment.
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Preventing further degradation of the unconfined aquifer beneath the 200 West Area from
the migration of carbon tetrachloride represents a major challenge and depends greatly
on the nature of the source control actions and the nature and extent of contamination.
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Even after years of pump-and-treat operations and soil-vapor extraction to recover carbon
tetrachloride in the soil column, little change in groundwater concentrations of carbon
tetrachloride have been detected. Future beneficial use of groundwater contaminated with
carbon tetrachloride beneath 200 West Area is not a realistic goal for the final remedy.
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