Alternative cover design. Final report

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:10134729

The special study on Alternative Cover Designs is one of several studies initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in response to the proposed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) groundwater standards. The objective of this study is to investigate the possibility of minimizing the infiltration of precipitation through stabilized tailings piles by altering the standard design of covers currently used on the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. Prior. to the issuance of the proposed standards, UMTRA Project piles had common design elements to meet the required criteria, the most important of which were for radon diffusion, long-term stability, erosion protection, and groundwater protection. The standard pile covers consisted of three distinct layers. From top to bottom they were: rock for erosion protection; a sand bedding layer; and the radon barrier, usually consisting of a clayey sand material, which also functioned to limit infiltration into the tailings. The piles generally had topslopes from 2 to 4 percent and sideslopes of 20 percent.

• Research Organization: USDOE Albuquerque Operations Office, NM (United States). Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project Office
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-82AL14086
• OSTI ID: 10134729
• Report Number(s): DOE/UMTRA-400647-0000; ON: DE93008961; IN: JEGH/JEG/0289-0048
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Nov 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
MILL TAILINGS
STABILIZATION
COVERINGS
DESIGN
PROGRESS REPORT
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ROCKS
SAND
CLAYS
NUMERICAL DATA
054000
052002
053002
HEALTH AND SAFETY
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS