Field lysimeter studies for performance evaluation of grouted Hanford defense wastes
The Grout Waste Test Facility (GWTF) consisted of four large field lysimeters designed to test the leaching and migration rates of grout-solidified low-level radioactive wastes generated by Hanford Site operations. Each lysimeter was an 8-m-deep by 2-media closed-bottom caisson that was placed in the ground such that the uppermost rim remained just above grade. Two of these lysimeters were used; the other two remained empty. The two lysimeters that were used (A-1 and B-1) were backfilled with a two-layer soil profile representative of the proposed grout disposal site. The proposed grout disposal site (termed the Grout Treatment Facility Landfill) is located immediately east of the Hanford Site`s 200 East Area. This soil profile consisted of a coarse sand into which the grout waste forms were placed and covered by 4 m of a very fine sand. The A-1 lysimeter was backfilled in March 1985, with a grout-solidified phosphate/sulfate liquid waste from N Reactor decontamination and ion exchange resin regeneration. The B-1 lysimeter was backfilled in September 1985 and received a grout-solidified simulated cladding removal waste representative of waste generated from fuel reprocessing operations at the head end of the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) plant. Routine monitoring and leachate collection activities were conducted for over three years, terminating in January 1989. Drainage was collected sporadically between January 1989 and December 1992. Decontamination and decommissioning of these lysimeters during the summer of 1994, confirmed the presence of a 15 to 20-cm-long hairline crack in one of the bottom plate welds. This report discusses the design and construction of the GWTF, presents the routine data collected from this facility through January 1989 and subsequent data collected sporadically between 1989 and 1993, and provides a brief discussion concerning preliminary interpretation of the results.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 10117405
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-10166; ON: DE95007633; TRN: 95:001840
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Feb 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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