Comparison of field-measured radon diffusion coefficients with laboratory-measured coefficients

Technical Report · Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6171469· OSTI ID:6171469

Lepel, E A; Silker, W B; Thomas, V W; Kalkwarf, D R

Experiments were conducted to compare radon diffusion coefficients determined for 0.1-m depths of soils by a steady-state method in the laboratory and diffusion coefficients evaluated from radon fluxes through several-fold greater depths of the same soils covering uranium-mill tailings. The coefficients referred to diffusion in the total pore volume of the soils and are equivalent to values for the quantity, D/P, in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Uranium Milling prepared by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Two soils were tested: a well-graded sand and an inorganic clay of low plasticity. For the flux evaluations, radon was collected by adsorption on charcoal following passive diffusion from the soil surface and also from air recirculating through an aluminum tent over the soil surface. An analysis of variance in the flux evaluations showed no significant difference between these two collection methods. Radon diffusion coefficients evaluated from field data were statistically indistinguishable, at the 95% confidence level, from those measured in the laboratory; however, the low precision of the field data prevented a sensitive validation of the laboratory measurements. From the field data, the coefficients were calculated to be 0.03 +- 0.03 cm/sup 2//s for the sand cover and 0.0036 +- 0.0004 cm/sup 2//s for the clay cover. The low precision in the coefficients evaluated from field data was attributed to high variation in radon flux with time and surface location at the field site.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6171469
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-2769; PNL-4414; ON: DE83012313
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CLAYS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADON
DIFFUSION
SAND
SOILS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FIELD TESTS
MILL TAILINGS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLUIDS
GASES
MASS TRANSFER
NONMETALS
RARE GASES
SOLID WASTES
TAILINGS
TESTING
WASTES
053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
510301 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)