2011 Groundwater Monitoring and Inspection Report Gnome-Coach Site, New Mexico

Technical Report · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1110218· OSTI ID:1110218

Gnome-Coach was the site of a 3-kiloton underground nuclear test in 1961. Surface and subsurface contamination resulted from the underground nuclear testing, post-test drilling, and groundwater tracer test performed at the site. The State of New Mexico is currently proceeding with a conditional certificate of completion for the surface. As for the subsurface, monitoring activities that include hydraulic head monitoring and groundwater sampling of the wells onsite are conducted as part of the annual site inspection. These activities were conducted on January 19, 2011. The site roads, monitoring well heads, and the monument at surface ground zero were observed as being in good condition at the time of the site inspection. An evaluation of the hydraulic head data obtained from the site indicates that water levels in wells USGS-4 and USGS-8 appear to respond to the on/off cycling of the dedicated pump in well USGS-1 and that water levels in wells LRL-7 and DD-1 increased during this annual monitoring period. Analytical results obtained from the sampling indicate that concentrations of tritium, strontium-90, and cesium-137 were consistent with concentrations from historical sampling events.

• Research Organization: USDOE Office of Legacy Management
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Legacy Management (LM)
• DOE Contract Number: AM01-07LM00060
• OSTI ID: 1110218
• Report Number(s): LMS/GNO--S08479
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY