Mineralogical characterization of West Chestnut Ridge soils

Technical Report · Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6261135· OSTI ID:6261135

Lee, S. Y.; Kopp, O. C.; Lietzke, D. A.

The morphological, physicochemical, and mineralogical properties of the soils and residua from the proposed site of the Central Waste Disposal Facility were characterized. The proposed site is underlain by cherty dolostones, limestones, and shales of the Knox Group covered by a thick residuum. Three diagnostic horizons from four soil profiles and six samples from residuum cores were selected for mineralogical analysis. The coarse fractions (gravel and sand) of the samples included different types of chert, iron-manganese oxide nodules, and quartz. The samples were high in clay content (except those from the A and E horizons) and low in pH and base saturation. The clay fractions were composed of varying amounts of kaolinite, mica, vermiculite, aluminum hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite, amorphous iron and aluminum oxides, gibbsite, and quartz. Aluminum hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite is the major component in surface horizons, but kaolinite becomes dominant in subsurface horizons of the soils. Degradation of kaolinite and formation of aluminum hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite and iron and aluminum oxides are pronounced chemical weathering processes in the surface soils. The aluminum hydroxy interlayering of vermiculite reduces cation exchange and selective sorption capacities of soils. In the residua, micaceous minerals free of aluminum hydroxy interlayering, kaolinite, and amorphous iron and aluminum oxides are major components in the clay fraction. The sorption ratios of /sup 137/Cs, /sup 90/Sr, /sup 60/Co, and the uranium isotopes expected to be in the radioactive wastes should be very high for the clays having such mineralogical composition. The low acid-buffering capacity (base saturation) of the residua suggest that the fragile chemical and mineralogical equilibria can be easily broken if an extreme chemical condition is imposed on the residua.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6261135
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-9361; ON: DE85004768
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 2418
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CLAYS
MINERALOGY
ORNL
SOILS
SAND
MORPHOLOGY
SILT
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
DATA
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUMERICAL DATA
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTES
580300* - Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics- (-1989)
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510500 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)