The Background Soil Characterization Project was developed for the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) to determine background concentrations of naturally occurring constituents that could potentially impact human health and to assess associated health risks. This information is accessible in a comprehensive three-volume report (PDFs are not available).

• Final Report on the Background Soil Characterization Project at the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Volume 1 - Results of Field Sampling Program, October 1993, DOE/OR/01-1175/V1
• Final Report on the Background Soil Characterization Project at the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Volume 2 - Data, October 1993, DOE/OR/01-1175/V2
• Final Report on the Background Soil Characterization Project at the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Volume 3 - Project Plan, October 1993, DOE/OR/01-1175/V3

In addition to the above report, Table 1 summarizes the findings from a 2003 study of soil background values for East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). The values can be found in Soil Background Supplemental Data Set for the East Tennessee Technology Park, DOE/OR/01-2105&D1, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, September 2003.

Table 1: ETTP Soil Background Values
Analyte	N	Min	Max	Mean	95% UCL1	95th Percentile2	Selected Soil Background Value
Metals (mg/kg)
Aluminum	12	8800	40,300	19,625		40,300	40,300.00
Antimony	12	0.43	1.5	0.844	1.52		1.52
Arsenic	12	0.77	15	6.481	14.95		14.95
Barium	12	23	133	76.808	124.93		124.93
Beryllium	12	0.24	2.2	0.889		2.2	2.20
Cadmium							0.22U*
Calcium	12	80	2400	656.083		2400	2400.00
Chromium	12	12	48.5	26.075	44.88		44.88
Cobalt	12	4.8	42	14		42	42.00
Copper	12	3.9	23	11.425	22.48		22.48
Cyanide							0.6U*
Iron	12	16,000	58,600	33,600		58,600	58,600.00
Lead	12	5	45	16.417	37.91		37.91
Lithium	4	26.1	42.3	33.075	48.94		48.94
Magnesium	12	360	3,300	1,839.17		3,300	3,300.00
Manganese	12	78	2,200	706.833		2,200	2,200.00
Mercury	12	0.017	0.17	0.081		0.17	0.17
Nickel	12	7.9	28.4	15.908	26.07		26.07
Potassium	12	300	4,710	2,136.67	5,074.69		5,074.69
Selenium	12	0.54	1.4	0.913	1.47		1.47
Silicon	4	710	913	793.25	1,001.04		1,001.04
Silver							0.6U*
Sodium	12	18	497	172.667		497	497.00
Strontium	4	5.6	63.1	23.35	87.05		87.05
Sulfate	12	16	334	72.583		334	334.00
Thallium							0.4U*
Vanadium	12	23	74.4	38.8	65.47		65.47
Zinc	12	14	89.7	41.558		89.7	89.70
Radionuclides (pCi/g)
Potassium-40	4	17.4	26.1	23.025	32.12		32.12
Radium-226	12	0.134	1.19	0.647	1.25		1.25
Thorium-228	12	0.524	1.59	1.203	1.86		1.86
Thorium-230	11	0.736	1.16	0.971	1.2		1.20
Thorium-232	12	0.561	1.77	1.192	1.95		1.95
Uranium-238	31	0.652	1.69	1.036	1.47		1.47

¹ The Kolmogorov-Smirnoff and Anderson-Darling tests were performed to determine if the data set for each analyte had a normal distribution. If the data set had a normal distribution, the 95 percent Upper Confidence Level (UCL) was calculated.
² For data sets that did not have normal distribution, a non-parametric tolerance interval (95 percentile) was calculated.
* Undetected in background soil. Value preceding the U is the detection limit.

Table 2 summarizes the findings from United Cleanup Oak Ridge's (UCOR) 2015 study of groundwater background concentrations in the Oak Ridge Reservation. The values can be found in Preliminary Determiniation of Background Groundwater Concentrations for the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Table 2: ORR Unfiltered Groundwater Background Concentrations
Analyte	Frequency of Detection	Min1	Mean	Max	Dist.2	UCL903	UCL954	UTL95/955
Metals (mg/L)
Aluminum	33/51	0.001	0.17	4.25	X*	0.447	0.572	---
Antimony	3/52	6.0E-05	0.035	1.8	X*	0.161	0.218	---
Arsenic	8/56	4.1E-04	0.001	0.004	X*	0.002	0.002	---
Barium	47/52	0.001	0.068	0.245	X*	0.093	0.104	---
Beryllium	1/40	5.5E-05	4.5E-04	0.01	X	0.001	0.002	---
Boron	27/50	0.023	0.169	0.705	X*	0.232	0.26	---
Cadmium	1/52	1.1E-04	2.6E-04	0.001	X	3.3E-04	3.6E-04	---
Calcium	58/59	0.018	43.8	329	X*	61.4	69.4	329
Chromium	23/56	3.0E-04	0.002	0.005	X*	0.002	0.003	---
Cobalt	11/37	2.0E-05	3.9E-04	0.005	X*	7.3E-04	8.8E-04	---
Copper	33/38	1.7E-04	0.007	0.03	L*	0.01	0.011	0.065
Iron	46/53	0.001	0.631	11.6	L*	0.857	1.05	4.15
Lead	48/65	5.0E-05	0.002	0.012	L*	0.002	0.002	0.009
Lithium	48/51	9.5E-05	0.014	0.06	X*	0.021	0.025	---
Magnesium	58/59	0.012	11.2	30.4	X*	14.8	16.4	30.4
Manganese	33/44	1.1E-04	0.026	0.28	L*	0.058	0.076	0.35
Mercury	0/40	1.5E-05	4.2E-05	2.1E-04	O	---	---	---
Molybdenum	1/8	2.0E-05	0.002	0.002	X	0.002	0.003	---
Nickel	41/51	1.3E-04	0.002	0.006	X*	0.002	0.002	---
Niobium	2/3	1.4E-05	1.8E-05	3.7E-04	L*	2.3E-05	2.7E-05	---
Phosphorous	10/12	0.005	0.034	0.09	N*	0.045	0.049	0.106
Potassium	59/59	0.055	2.03	8.3	X	2.63	2.9	8.3
Selenium	5/53	4.8E-04	0.002	0.003	X*	0.003	0.003	---
Silica	31/31	0.1	12.3	39.5	X	16.1	17.8	---
Silver	6/38	1.6E-08	4.3E-04	0.035	X*	0.002	0.002	---
Sodium	69/69	0.5	31.5	241	X	50.2	58.6	241
Strontium	50/51	2.4E-04	0.183	0.785	G*	0.222	0.234	0.777
Thallium	31/52	1.5E-05	3.7E-04	0.002	X*	5.5E-04	6.3E-04	---
Uranium	36/51	5.0E-06	4.1E-04	0.01	X*	8.5E-04	0.001	---
Vanadium	11/41	5.0E-06	0.001	0.005	X*	0.002	0.002	---
Zinc	57/59	3.8E-04	0.082	2.87	X*	0.228	0.294	2.87
Anions (mg/L)
Chloride	65/70	0.948	7.32	72.5	X*	11.2	13.0	72.5
Fluoride	52/56	0.025	0.398	3.48	G*	0.495	0.528	1.67
Nitrate	19/23	0.001	0.699	2.4	X*	1.16	1.37	---
Nitrate/Nitrite	50/60	0.004	0.548	3	X*	0.794	0.906	3
Nitrite	1/33	0.001	0.002	0.01	X	0.003	0.004	---
Nitrogen, NO3 & NO2	1/1	0.075	0.075	0.075	D	---	---	---
Sulfate	69/70	1.25	12.3	119	L*	14.0	14.8	49.0
Sulfide	0/1	0.5	0.5	0.5	O	---	---	---
Physical Properties
Calcium Hardness (mg/L)	4/4	1.75	69.9	172	N	131	157	452
Conductivity (μmhos/cm)	52/52	2.4	417	985	X	500	538	---
Dissolved Residue (mg/L)	24/24	67	230	604	L	262	273	566
Hardness, total as CaCO3 (mg/L)	1/1	218	218	218	D	---	---	---
Suspended Residue (mg/L)	10/10	2	26.4	200	G	69.4	97.6	274
Total Hardness (mg/L)	48/49	1.9	150	301	X*	187	203	---
pH	51/51	6.35	7.83	9.64	X	8.11	8.24	---
Radionuclides (pCi/L)
Actinium-228	2/2	12.3	13.9	15.5	D	---	---	---
Alpha activity	31/73	-3.1	1.26	9.9	X	1.98	2.3	9.9
Americium-241	0/5	0.017	0.097	0.26	N	0.165	0.191	0.512
Beta activity	43/73	0	2.6	22.0	L	3.1	3.26	9.89
Bismuth-212	2/2	34.2	56.1	78	D	---	---	---
Bismuth-214	66/66	10.6	82.1	312	L	96.6	101	287
Carbon-14	1/8	-7	-1.53	8.4	N	0.792	1.58	13.2
Curium-243/244	1/5	-0.02	0.093	0.22	N	0.168	0.197	0.552
Gamma Radionuclides	0/1	9	9	9	O	---	---	---
Lead-212	7/7	8.7	14.4	29	L	19.7	22.5	60.7
Lead-214	65/65	13.5	75.0	294	L	85.2	89.0	244
Neptunium-237	0/5	0.02	0.033	0.05	N	0.042	0.046	0.091
Plutonium-238	0/5	-0.022	0.005	0.028	N	0.02	0.026	0.094
Plutonium-239/240	0/5	-0.064	-0.002	0.032	N	0.024	0.034	0.156
Potassium-40	2/2	62	62	62	D	---	---	---
Radium-226	5/7	-1.2	0.52	2.33	N	1.11	1.32	4.23
Radium-228	3/4	0.055	2.05	7.56	L	5.29	6.99	---
Strontium-89	13/67	-0.76	0.233	10	X	0.875	1.17	10
Strontium-90	24/67	-0.68	0.127	2	L	0.376	0.41	1.74
Technetium-99	20/49	-0.55	0.35	1.6	L	0.767	0.799	2.2
Thallium-208	1/1	3.3	3.3	3.3	D	---	---	---
Thorium-228	0/3	0.05	0.067	0.09	N	0.089	0.102	0.226
Thorium-230	3/3	0.34	0.36	0.4	X	0.42	0.447	---
Thorium-232	1/3	0.041	0.08	0.12	N	0.123	0.147	0.383
Tritium	32/69	-170	60.3	310	X	93.9	109	310
Uranium-234	28/34	0.04	0.258	0.94	L	0.332	0.358	1.1
Uranium-235	3/34	-0.037	0.038	0.106	N	0.045	0.047	0.105
Uranium-238	14/34	-0.052	0.093	0.35	L	0.129	0.139	0.428
Wet Chemistry (mg/L)
Acidity	3/5	0.35	4.08	10	N*	6.96	8.08	15.2
Acidity as CaCO3	1/1	11	11	11	D	---	---	---
Alkalinity	62/62	49	207	559	L	227	234	494
Alkalinity as CaCO3	8/8	155	204	257	N	223	230	328
Ammonia	3/4	0.017	0.057	0.07	N*	0.071	0.077	0.121
Cyanide	0/1	0.015	0.015	0.015	O	---	---	---
Dissolved Solids	41/41	41	222	491	L	249	257	534

¹ The minimum is either the minimum of the detected value or one half of the minimum non-detect detection limit.
² Dist. = distribution. Distribution flags are defined as:

D = UCL90 and UCL95 were not calculated with fewer than three samples.
G = gamma. UCL90 and UCL95 were calculated using either the adjusted or unadjusted gamma.
L = lognormal. UCL90 and UCL95 were calculated using Land's statistic, Chebyshev minimum variance unbiased estimator, or nonparametric Chebyshev inequality method.
N = normal. UCL90 and UCL95 were calculated using t statistic.
O = no detected results to calculate some summary statistics.
X = neither normal, lognormal, nor gamma. UCL90 and UCL95 were calculated using a nonparametric bootstrap or the nonparametric Chebyshev inequality method.
* Kaplan-Meier estimates of the mean, median, and standard deviation are shown for inorganics with at least one non-detect and two distinct detected results.

³ UCL90 = upper confidence limit on the mean concentration with 90% confidence using both detects and non-detects
⁴ UCL95 = upper confidence limit on the mean concentration with 95% confidence using both detects and non-detects
⁵ UTL95/95 = upper tolerance limit on the maximum concentration with 95% confidence and 95% coverage using both detects and non-detects
--- = Not applicable, not available or insufficient data to calculate the statistic

Table 3 compares the groundwater background concentrations determined by United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR)'s 2015 study to groundwater quality data published by the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Table 3: Comparison of background concentrations to published groundwater quality data
Analyte	USGS 2011		USGS 2010		USGS 2008		USGS 1997		UCOR 2015
	Percentile Concentrations										UTL
	50th (median)	90th	50th (median)	90th	50th (median)	90th	50th (median)	90th	50th (median)	90th	95/95
Inorganics and physical properties (mg/L)
Alkalinity (as CaCO3)	---	---	158	295	156	325	122	253	212.5	257	328.1
Aluminum	0.0033	0.016	< 0.001	0.0058	0.00189	0.00528	---	---	0.0094	0.19	---
Ammonia (as N)	---	---	0.01	0.5	0.02	0.33	0.03	0.15	0.06	0.07	0.121
Antimony	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	---	---	6.4E-04	8.3E-04	---
Arsenic	0.00041	0.005	< 0.001	0.0094	0.0092	0.00753	---	---	9.0E-04	0.0013	---
Barium	0.047	0.24	0.0467	0.1641	0.05	0.219	---	---	0.05	0.14	---
Beryllium	< 0.001	< 0.001	ND	ND	< 0.001	< 0.001	---	---	< 0.001	< 0.001	---
Bicarbonate	---	---	---	---	---	---	150	310	---	---	---
Boron	0.026	0.16	0.0514	0.3609	0.024	0.218	---	---	0.14	0.355	---
Bromide	---	---	0.07	0.3	0.04	0.2	---	---	---	---	---
Cadmium	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	---	---	< 0.001	< 0.001	---
Calcium	---	---	50.5	98	43	95.3	42	108	42.6	74	328.8
Carbonate	---	---	---	---	---	---	149		---	---	---
Chloride	---	---	16.5	100.7	8.6	62.8	6	33	3.4	15.9	72.45
Chromium	0.0012	0.005	< 0.001	0.0043	0.0081	0.004	---	---	0.0012	0.0024	---
Cobalt	0.00016	0.0013	< 0.001	< 0.001	0.00011	0.00052	---	---	2.8E-04	< 0.006	---
Copper	0.001	0.0011	0.0012	0.0055	0.00107	0.0123	---	---	0.0043	0.0175	0.065
Fluoride	---	---	0.2	1	0.2	1.1	0.2	0.4	0.13	1.065	1.67
Hardness (as CaCO3)	---	---	182.3	350.8	162	370	149	359	218	218	---
Iron	0.0011	2.1	< 0.010	0.7142	0.00853	1.11	0.1	2.2	0.064	1.46	4.15
Lead	0.00012	0.0012	< 0.001	0.0018	8.0E-05	0.00109	---	---	8.0E-04	0.0037	0.009
Lithium	0.0028	0.011	0.0048	0.0789	0.00587	0.0438	---	---	0.0041	0.044	---
Magnesium	---	---	10.7	33.4	11	36	10	33	9.65	26.1	30.35
Manganese	0.013	0.37	0.0016	0.0971	0.00206	0.172	0.04	0.76	0.0021	0.079	0.35
Molybdenum	0.00054	0.005	0.0011	0.0067	0.00092	0.006	---	---	< 0.004	< 0.004	---
Nickel	0.001	0.0045	< 0.001	0.0041	0.0007	0.003	---	---	0.0011	0.005	---
Nitrate, as N	---	---	0.7	5.3	0.55	5.79	3.1	14	---	---	---
pH	---	---	7.3	7.9	7.3	7.9	7.3	7.9	7.7	8.935	---
Phosphorus (dissolved, as P)	---	---	0.01	0.1	0.01	0.11	0.02	0.07	---	---	---
Phosphorus (total)	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	0.03	0.08	0.106
Potassium	---	---	2.4	8	1.7	6.6	1.1	7.3	1.65	4.05	8.3
Selenium	< 0.001	0.0011	< 0.001	0.0019	0.00059	0.00302	---	---	0.0015	< 0.0035	---
Silver	< 0.001	< 0.001	ND	ND	< 0.001	< 0.001	---	---	3.0E-05	< 0.005	---
Sodium	---	---	21	91.9	11	78.7	5.8	27	5.3	110	241
Specific conductance (μS/cm)	---	---	471	964	417	945	380	817	388	594	---
Strontium	0.16	0.89	0.3845	1.8113	0.207	2.24	---	---	0.11	0.465	0.777
Sulfate	---	---	21.8	133.5	14.4	94	20	78	7	27	49
Thallium	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	< 0.001	---	---	2.8E-04	6.8E-04	---
Total Dissolved solids	---	---	293.4	615	254	590	226	499	198	375.5	534.3
Uranium	0.00017	0.0045	< 0.001	0.0069	0.00039	0.00803	---	---	2.3E-04	6.9E-04	---
Vanadium	0.0004	0.01	0.0025	0.0219	0.00129	0.0204	---	---	6.2E-04	< 0.005	---
Zinc	0.0041	0.056	0.0037	0.0224	0.00857	0.0999	---	---	0.014	0.11	2.87
Radionuclides (pCi/L)
Gross alpha	---	---	1.8	12	< 3	8.7	---	---	< 1	< 3	9.9
Gross beta	---	---	4.8	11.4	< 4	10.8	---	---	1.8	4.4	9.89
Radium-226	---	---	0.83	7.53	---	---	---	---	0.355	2.33	4.23
Radium-228	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	0.29	7.56	---
Radon-222	430	2,100	326	1,156	434	2,150	---	---	---	---	---

--- = Not applicable, not available, or insufficient data to calculate the statistic

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