Soil sampling and analysis plan for the Bear Creek Valley floodplain at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

This Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) for the Bear Creek Valley (BCV) Floodplain presents the approach and rationale for characterizing potentially contaminated soils and sediments of the Bear Creek floodplain and the impact of any contaminants on the floodplain ecosystem. It is an addendum to a previously issued document, the Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Bear Creek (Y02-S600) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ES/ER-19&D2), which presents background information pertaining to this floodplain investigation. The strategy presented in the SAP is to divide the investigation into three component parts: a large-scale characterization of the floodplain; a fine-scale characterization of the floodplain beginning with a known contaminated location; and a stream sediment characterization. During the large-scale and the fine-scale characterizations, soil and biota samples (i.e., small mammals, earthworms, and vegetation) will be collected in order to characterize the nature and extent of floodplain soil contamination and the impact of this contamination on floodplain biota. The fine-scale characterization will begin with an investigation of a site corresponding to the location noted in the Remedial Investigation Work Plan (ES/ER-19&D2) as an area where uranium and PCBs are concentrated in discrete strata. During this fine-scale characterization, a 1 m deep soil profile excavation will be dug into the creek berm, and individual soil strata in the excavation will be screened for alpha radiation, PCBs, and VOCs. After the laboratory analysis results are received, biota samples will be collected in the vicinity of those locations