Preliminary assessment of tree mortality near F- and H-area seepage basins
A preliminary assessment was conducted to evaluate factors that may have been responsible for the vegetation damage that has occurred in groundwater seeps downslope from the F- and H-area seepage basins. The factors that were considered included altered hydrology, toxicity from hazardous chemical constituents associated with seepage basin operation, and toxicity from non-hazardous constituents associated with basin operation. It was concluded that the observed damage was not likely to have resulted from altered hydrologic conditions or hazardous constituents associated with basin operation. Insufficient information is currently available to determine definitively which of the non-hazardous constituents, alone or in concert, were responsible for the observed vegetation damage. The most likely explanation, however, is that elevated Na, pH, and conductivity is outcropping seep water are responsible for tree mortality. All three of these factors will return to ambient levels over a period of several years when basin operation ceases. Faster remediation can be achieved using lime at the seep line.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 5169108
- Report Number(s):
- DPST-88-260; ON: DE88009570
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
TREES
MORTALITY
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
GROUND WATER
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROLOGY
LIMING
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
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BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
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