Subsurface disposal of liquid low-level radioactive wastes at Oak Ridge, Tennessee
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) subsurface injection has been used to dispose of low-level liquid nuclear waste for the last two decades. The process consists of mixing liquid waste with cement and other additives to form a slurry that is injected under pressure through a cased well into a low-permeability shale at a depth of 300 m (1000 ft). The slurry spreads from the injection well along bedding plane fractures and forms solid grout sheets of up to 200 m (660 ft) in radius. Using this process, ORNL has disposed of over 1.5 x 10/sup 6/ Ci of activity; the principal nuclides are /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs. In 1982, a new injection facility was put into operation. Each injection, which lasts some two days, results in the emplacement of approximately 750,000 l (180,000 gal) of slurry. Disposal cost per liter is approximately $0.30, including capital costs of the facility. This subsurface disposal process is fundamentally different from other operations. Wastes are injected into a low-permeability aquitard, and the process is designed to isolate nuclides, preventing dispersion in groundwaters. The porosity into which wastes are injected is created by hydraulically fracturing the host formation along bedding planes. The site is in the structurally complex Valley and Ridge Province. The stratigraphy consists of lower Paleozoic rocks. Investigations are under way to determine the long-term hydrologic isolation of the injection zone and the geochemical impact of saline groundwater on nuclide mobility. Injections are monitored by gamma-ray logging of cased observation wells to determine grout sheet orientation after an injection. Recent monitoring work has involved the use of tiltmeters, surface uplift surveys, and seismic arrays. 26 refs., 7 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5557794
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8609117-1; ON: DE86013396; TRN: 86-025896
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 19. congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, 8 Sep 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
CESIUM 137
GAMMA LOGGING
GROUND WATER
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
MONITORING
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
REGULATIONS
SEISMIC ARRAYS
SEISMIC NOISE
SEISMIC SURVEYS
STRONTIUM 90
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COMMINUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FRACTURING
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NOISE
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVITY LOGGING
RADIOISOTOPES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURVEYS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
WELL LOGGING
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage