Comparison of methods for developing contaminant-particle size distributions for suspended sediment
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Relationships between contaminant concentration and particle size distribution are required for modeling the transport of contaminated sediment. Standard methods, including the pipette and bottom withdrawal techniques, are unsatisfactory because of the lack of homogeneous separations of each size fraction, which results in uncertainty in the contaminant-particle size relation. In addition, the size fractions produced with these techniques do not contain enough mass for accurate contaminant analyses. To avoid these problems, an alternative method using a settling column and withdrawal times based on Stokes Law has been developed. Tests have been conducted using sediment samples contaminated with Cs-137 from a waste area at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The samples were separated into sand, coarse and fine silt, and clay-sized particles. The results for particle size distribution and associated contaminant concentrations were evaluated for the settling column, pipette, and bottom withdrawal methods. The settling column method provides homogeneous size fractions, larger aliquots of sediment for contaminant analysis, and is quicker in some cases and less complicated to perform than the other two methods.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10189533
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9411138-1; ON: DE95001349; TRN: 94:022649
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 30. American Water Resources Association (AWRA) annual conference on water quality,Chicago, IL (United States),6-10 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Interpolation of bottom bathymetry and potential erosion in a large Tennessee reservoir system using GRASS
Sediment and radionuclide transport in rivers: radionuclide transport modeling for Cattaraugus and Buttermilk Creeks, New York
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
SEDIMENTS
PARTICLE SIZE
CONTAMINATION
CESIUM 137
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
ORNL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SAND
SILT
CLAYS
052002
540230
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT