brookhaven national laboratory (usdoe)

53 BELL AVE

The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) site is a research and development facility covering 5,265 acres in Upton, at the center of Long Island. The Army used the site as Camp Upton during World Wars I and II. Since 1947, BNL has been operated by contractors first to the Atomic Energy Commission and now to the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), the site owners. Since March 1998, Brookhaven Science Associates has operated BNL for the USDOE. BNL conducts basic and applied research in high energy nuclear and solid state physics, fundamental material and structure properties and the interaction of matter, nuclear medicine, biomedical and environmental sciences, and selected energy technologies. To conduct this research BNL designs, builds, and runs installations for scientific research, such as particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Most of its main facilities comprise an area of approximately 900 acres near the center of the site. Outlying facilities cover about 550 acres and include the hazardous waste management facility (HWMF), agricultural research fields, landfill areas, and a sewage treatment plant. The remainder of the facility is largely wooded. BNL lies over groundwater that is designated as a sole source aquifer. BNL, the Suffolk County Water Authority, and private well users draw drinking water within 3 miles of the facility. Recently, about 1600 users of private wells south of BNL have been connected to public water. The headwaters of the Peconic River are on BNL property in a freshwater wetland upgradient of the known areas of concern. Surface water within 3 miles downstream of the site is used for recreation. Site Facts: The USDOE, the EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) have negotiated an Interagency Agreement to investigate and clean up environmental problems at BNL. It became effective in May 1992.