Potential effect of natural gas wells on alluvial groundwater contamination at the Kansas City Plant

Technical Report · Sat May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10155456· OSTI ID:10155456

Pickering, D A; Laase, A D ^[1]; Locke, D A ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
2. Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education, TN (United States)

This report is the result of a request for further information about several abandoned natural gas wells at the US Department of Energy`s Kansas City Plant (KCP). The request was prompted by an old map showing several, possibly eight, natural gas wells located under or near what is now the southeast corner of the Main Manufacturing Building at KCP. Volatile organic compound contamination in the alluvial aquifer surrounding the gas wells might possibly contaminate the bedrock aquifer if the gas wells still exist as conduits. Several circumstances exist that make it doubtful that contamination is entering the bedrock aquifers: (1) because regional groundwater flow in the bedrock beneath the KCP is expected to be vertically upward, contaminants found in the alluvial aquifer should not migrate down the old wells; (2) because of the low hydraulic conductivity of the bedrock units, contaminant transport would be extremely slow if the contaminants were migrating down the wells; and (3) casing, apparently set through the alluvium in all of the wells, would have deteriorated and may have collapsed; if the casing collapsed, the silty clays in the alluvium would also collapse and seal the well. No definitive information has been discovered about the exact location of the wells. No further search for or consideration of the old gas wells is recommended.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 10155456
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM--12226; ON: DE93013455
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220
540250
ABANDONED WELLS
AQUIFERS
CHEMICALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
CONTAMINATION
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT
HYDRODYNAMICS
HYDROLOGY
KANSAS CITY PLANT
NATURAL GAS WELLS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SITE RESOURCE AND USE STUDIES
VOLATILE MATTER