Geohydrology of the unsaturated zone at the burial site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada
Low-level radioactive solid waste has been buried in trenches at a site near Beatty, NV, since 1962. In 1976, as part of a national program, the US Geological Survey began a study of the geohydrology of the waste burial site to provide a basis for estimating the potential for radionuclide migration in the unsaturated zone beneath the waste burial trenches. The waste burial facility is in the northern Amargosa Desert about 170 kilometers (km) northwest of Las Vegas, NV. The site is underlain by poorly stratified deposits of gravelly or silty sand and sandy gravel, and thick beds of clayey sediments. A numerical analysis demonstrated that a potential exists for deep percolation despite high annual evaporation demands, and provided predictions of the time of year and the antecedent conditions that enhance the probability of deep percolation. Soil moisture profiles obtained monthly over an 18-month period demonstrate that deep percolation does occur. Calculation of downward moisture movement through the waste trench backfill material, on the basis of simplified assumptions, suggests that moisture could have penetrated as much as 6 m below land surface from 1963, when the oldest trenches were closed, to 1980, but that the moisture requirement for such penetration far exceeded the amount of moisture actually available. Steady-state downward movement of moisture at depths greater than 10 m and beneath the waste burial trenches would be on the order of 4 cu m/1,000 yr, assuming a steady flux rate of 0.1 microcentimeter/day. 37 refs., 32 figs., 17 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 5923888
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: USGS Water-Supply Paper 2312
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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GROUND WATER
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
NEVADA
GEOLOGY
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDROLOGY
MOISTURE
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WATER POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FEDERAL REGION IX
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
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MASS TRANSFER
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NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
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WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
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540330* - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)