East Fork Poplar Creek

East Fork Poplar Creek originates from a spring beneath the Y-12 plant at the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and is initially confined to a man-made channel which flows through the Y-12 plant along Bear Creek Valley. The creek flows north from the Y-12 plant off site through a gap in Pine Ridge and flows through the residential, commercial, recreational, and open-land sections of the city of Oak Ridge for about 12 miles. The creek converges with Poplar Creek near the K-25 facility, which flows to the Clinch River.

Starting in the early 1950s, East Fork Poplar Creek was contaminated by releases of mercury and other hazardous substances from the Y-12 plant which contaminated the water and in-stream sediments, and periodic flooding contaminated floodplain soils along the creek. Furthermore, residents used the sediment to enrich private gardens, and the city of Oak Ridge used creek sediment as fill material on sewer belt lines.

In 1983, state of Tennessee publicly disclosed that sediment and soil in the EFPC floodplain were contaminated with mercury. That same year, the Oak Ridge Task Force initiated remediation of public and private lands within the city of Oak Ridge.  In 1996 and 1997, DOE excavated and removed of mercury-contaminated floodplain soils with greater than 400 ppm of mercury from two locations in the East Fork Poplar Creek floodplain. Post remediation monitoring (mercury input, stream stability, and fish sampling) has been conducted to ensure the excavation’s effectiveness

Health Consultations

ATSDR conducted the following two health consultations to address the public health issues of concern to the community bordering East Fork Poplar Creek:

• Y-12 Weapons Plant Chemical Releases Into East Fork Poplar Creek Health Consultation, April 1993
  This health consultation found that certain locations along the East Fork Poplar Creek floodplain were contaminated with levels of mercury of public health concern and that fish from the creek contained levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls that would cause a moderately increased health risk to persons consuming fish frequently over long periods of time. However, the creek has not been normally used as a source of fish.
• Summary - Y-12 Weapons Plant Chemical Releases Into East Fork Poplar Creek Health Consultation, April 1993 [PDF, 97 KB]
  This document is a summary of the Y-12 Weapons Plant Chemical Releases Into East Fork Poplar Creek Health Consultation.
• Proposed Mercury Clean-Up Levels Health Consultations, January 1995 and 1996
  ATSDR conducted two health consultations to respond to concerns by community members and the city of Oak Ridge about the safety of the DOE's proposed mercury clean-up levels of 180 ppm and 400 ppm. The January 1996 health consultation concluded that the clean-up level of 400 mg/kg mercury for the East Fork Poplar Creek flood plain soil were protective of human health and posed no threat to adults or children.
• Summary - Proposed Mercury Clean-Up Levels Health Consultation, January 1996
  This document is a summary of the Proposed Mercury Clean-Up Levels Health Consultation.

Science Panel Meeting on Bioavailability of Inorganic Mercury

To evaluate the mercury clean-up levels for East Fork Poplar Creek flood plain soil, ATSDR convened a science panel of internationally known experts on metal bioavailability and experts from ATSDR, CDC, EPA, and the National Institute for Environmental Health Science.

ATSDR used the findings of the science panel in evaluating the mercury clean-up levels for East Fork Poplar Creek.

• Bioavailability of Inorganic Mercury in Soil, ATSDR Science Panel Meeting, August 1995