Radionuclide distributions around a low-level radioactive waste disposal pond and ditch system at the Hanford Site

Conference · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6275984

Last, G V

Chemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site has generated large volumes of low-level radioactive liquid effluents. The majority of these effluents have been used strictly for cooling or other support functions and have been discharged to ditches and ponds. The 216-U-10 (U) Pond and 216-Z-19 (Z-19) Ditch are two such disposal facilities and were selected as representative examples of an integrated system of ditches, ponds, and overflow facilities collectively referred to as the U Pond disposal system. The U Pond system has been used since 1943 and has received a large variety of radioisotopes from several sources. The long-term use of U Pond and the Z-19 Ditch has resulted in the localized accumulation of transuranic and fission-product inventories due to sorption and filtration of particulates onto the uppermost sediments. The various radionuclides have different distributions due to their individual discharge sources and behaviors in this type of a disposal system. Cesium-137 is the most widely distributed radionuclide and was used as an index radionuclide to define the maximum extent of contamination. Its 400 pCi/g isopleth indicates surface contamination of approximately 19 hectares at U Pond and the 216-U-11 Overflow Basin. This contamination is localized in the top ten centimeters (cm) of soil and decreases rapidly with depth. The Z-19 Ditch and its backfilled predecessors, the 216-Z-11 (Z-11) and 216-A-11 (Z-1) Ditches, received Plutonium-238/239/240 and Americium-241 discharges from the 234-5Z and 231-Z facilities and retained more than 90% of the plutonium inventory discharged to the U Pond system. Based upon the results of this study, the U Pond system has been found to be an effective waste management facility for disposing of large volumes of low-level liquid wastes.

• Research Organization: Rockwell International Corp., Richland, WA (USA). Rockwell Hanford Operations
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-77RL01030
• OSTI ID: 6275984
• Report Number(s): RHO-HS-SA-19-P; CONF-830205-27; ON: DE83010930
• Resource Relation: Conference: Waste management conference, Tucson, AZ, USA, 27 Feb 1983; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
• 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
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
HANFORD RESERVATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SOILS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
AMERICIUM 241
CESIUM 137
FISSION PRODUCTS
GEOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
LIQUID WASTES
PLUTONIUM 238
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PONDS
SEDIMENTS
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510301 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)