skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Demonstration of an infiltration evaluation methodology

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6983261
; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
  2. Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan (Israel). Inst. of Soils and Water

An Infiltration Evaluation Methodology (IEM) was developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to provide a consistent, well formulated approach for evaluating drainage through engineered covers at low-level radioactive waste (LLW) sites. The methodology is designed to help evaluate the ability of proposed waste site covers to minimize drainage for LLW site license applications and for sites associated with the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) program. The objective of this methodology is to estimate the drainage through an engineered burial site cover system. The drainage estimate can be used as an input to a broader performance assessment methodology currently under development by the NRC. The methodology is designed to simulate, at the field scale, significant factors and hydrologic conditions which determine or influence estimates of infiltration, long-term moisture content profiles, and drainage from engineered covers and barriers. The IEM developed under this study acknowledges the uncertainty inherent in soil properties and quantifies the influence of such uncertainty on the estimates of drainage in engineered cover systems at waste disposal sites. 6 refs., 1 fig.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/NE
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
6983261
Report Number(s):
PNL-SA-17602; CONF-900794-2; ON: DE90016292; TRN: 90-028991
Resource Relation:
Conference: ASCE conference on environmental engineering, Washington, DC (USA), 9-11 Jul 1990
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English