Department of Health
John J. Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, Commissioner

Background

The Oak Ridge Health Agreement Studies were a nine-year, $14 million effort to evaluate historical contaminant releases from the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation and the health problems these releases may have created among nearby residents. The studies, directed by the Tennessee Department of Health and funded by DOE, provided independent assessments of contaminant releases from the three Oak Ridge facilities (X-10, Y-12 and K-25). In some cases, Health Studies scientists showed that releases from Oak Ridge operations were substantially higher than had been previously acknowledged by the federal government.

The studies also included an independent assessment of health risks faced by communities in the area. In particular, the project included "dose reconstruction" studies focusing on four areas:

• Releases of radioactive iodine-131 from Oak Ridge National Laboratory between 1944 and 1956 (then known as X-10);
• Releases of mercury from the Y-12 Plant, particularly in the 1950s;
• Releases of PCBs from facilities throughout the Oak Ridge Reservation;
• Releases of radioactive substances from waste disposal areas at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (X-10) via White Oak Creek to the Clinch River.

In addition, less rigorous "screening studies" were included, focusing on more than a dozen other radioactive and otherwise hazardous substances used on the Oak Ridge reservation. The most thorough of these screening studies focused on the release of uranium, especially from the Y-12 Plant to the nearby Scarboro community.

This report was produced by and for the Oak Ridge Health Agreement Steering Panel. It is 92 pages long and presents background information and study results in a format that is easily understood by non-technical readers. It also includes many historical photographs from the Oak Ridge facilities and the Oak Ridge community, as well as several charts to help put the study information into context.

Our online files are in Adobe® Acrobat® PDF format unless otherwise noted. The files require Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ which is available free from Adobe Systems, Inc. Click here to obtain a copy.

Click on the following to view: 

• Final Report of the Oak Ridge Health Agreement Steering Panel (.pdf document 10MB)
• Final Project Summary Report(.pdf document 3MB)
• Final Report for Iodine 131 Releases (.pdf document 21MB)
• Final Report for Iodine 131 Releases (.pdf document 11MB)
• Final Report for PCB Releases (.pdf document 20MB)
• Final Mercury Releases (.pdf document 14MB)
• Final Mercury Releases, Appendices (.pdf document 7MB)
• Final Uranium Releases Report. (.pdf document 27MB)
• Final Report for Screening Evaluation (.pdf document 5MB)
• Final Report for Radionuclides Releases from White Oak Creek (.pdf document 14MB)
• Final Report for Radionuclides Releases from White Oak Creek, Appendices (.pdf document 2MB)

DOE Public Reading Room
(865) 241-4780

Documents released by the Oak Ridge Health Studies are kept at the Public Reading Room. Reading Room hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except holidays.