LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY:
LIVERMORE SITE CHARACTERISTICS

Nature and Extent of Contamination

Initial hazardous materials releases occurred at the Livermore Site in the mid- to late-1940s when the site was the Livermore Naval Air Station. There is also evidence that localized spills, unlined landfills, and leaking tanks and impoundments contributed volatile organic compounds (VOCs), fuel hydrocarbons, metals, and tritium to the ground water and unsaturated sediments in the post-Navy era. It is currently estimated that about 3 billion gallons of ground water to a depth of about 200 feet is contaminated.

These past operations resulted in the Livermore Site being placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Priorities List (NPL) in 1987 and as such is subject to the requirements of CERCLA. Cleanup is performed under the terms of a Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) (1988) and overseen by the U.S. EPA, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

The CERCLA Record of Decision documented the following compounds in ground water beneath the site at concentrations above drinking water standards:

• VOCs-trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), 1,1-dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE), chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethylene (1,2-DCE), 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA), 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), trichlorofluoromethane (Freon 11), and carbon tetrachloride.
  
  
• FHCs-benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and ethylene dibromide.
  
  
• Metals-chromium.
  
  
• Radionuclides-tritium.