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Title: Bounding flow and transport analysis of proposed 105A mock-up tank tracer test

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10182946· OSTI ID:10182946

The purpose of this bounding analysis was to determine bounding estimates of salt concentrations in the aquifer below the salt-tracer plume test at the 105A mockup-tank site near the inactive Semi-Works Plant in the 200 East Area. The objective was to calculate the bounding salt concentrations and compare them to the appropriate maximum contamination level (MCL) allowed by state law, which for sodium chloride is 415 mg/l as a secondary standard. The tracer test is part of the Electrical-Resistance Tomography (ERT) demonstration, which will provide an effective method of detecting tank leaks if it is shown to be successful. The basic idea of ERT method is that the electrical resistance in the soils will change enough to be detected when water with salts infiltrate the soils, even if a high-conductance metal tank is just above the leak. The 105A mockup tank did not have an impermeable bottom and was open at the top until the time of the test. It was assumed, at the time of the tracer test or shortly afterwards, that an impermeable bottom (concrete) would be placed at the bottom of the tank, but still remain open at the top. Hence, in this analysis, no artificial recharge is produced due to water running off a tank top, since no top is assumed. The conceptual model is discussed in Section 2.0 with the mathematical and numerical models briefly discussed in Section 3.0. The main results are given in Section 4.0 with the conclusions drawn in Section 5.0. These calculations were made before the tracer test. A similar set of calculations will be performed after the tracer test assuming more details concerning leak location and soil properties are available. The tracer test could be used to validate or confirm the modeling methodology/capability of plumes in the vadose zone at the Hanford site.

Research Organization:
Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-87RL10930
OSTI ID:
10182946
Report Number(s):
WHC-SD-WM-TI-646; ON: DE94019009; BR: 35AF11201/35AF11202; TRN: 94:020155
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Aug 1994
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English