The site will implement these policies until such time as DOE relinquishes stewardship of the Buffer Zone. The issues surrounding prescribed burns are intensely complicated ones. There is high potential for contaminant resuspension with increases in erosive forces, the result of any such burn. Plant uptake of radionuclides and VOCs needs to be better understood before any decisions are made. These two issues are tempered by the need of ecological communities to regenerate.
Weed control is another very complicated issue.
Due to the extreme sensitivity and rarity of several of the plant communities onsite, the encroachment of noxious weeds may cause irreparable harm and may cause the extinction of those communities from the site. Aerial application of herbicides and the use of prescribed burns have been considered as two methods of weed control. The use of either of these two options could potentially cause more harm than the weeds might cause. This is another issue that requires extensive discussions with public input and education. There may be an alternative to these options that would quickly resolve this issue.