Paleo-channel deposits of natural uranium at a Former Air Force Landfill
- Cabrera Services, Inc., Baltimore, MD (United States)
The US Air Force has sought to understand the provenance of radionuclides that were detected in monitor wells surrounding a closed solid-waste landfill at the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. Groundwater concentrations of gross alpha, gross beta, and total uranium were thought to exceed regulatory standards. Down-gradient concentrations of these parameters exceeded up-gradient concentrations, suggesting that the landfill is leaching uranium to groundwater. Alternate hypotheses for the occurrence of the uranium included that either equipment containing refined uranium had been discarded or that uranium ore may have been disposed in the landfill, or that the uranium is naturally-occurring. Our study has concluded that the elevated radionuclide concentrations stem from naturally-occurring uranium in the regional watershed which has been preferentially deposited in paleo-channel sediments beneath the site. This study shows that a simple comparison of up-gradient versus down-gradient groundwater samples can be an inadequate method for determining whether heterogeneous geo-systems have been contaminated. It is important to understand the geologic depositional system, plus local geochemistry and how these factors impact contaminant transport. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21290783
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-07166; TRN: US10V0108038194
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'07: 2007 Waste Management Symposium - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 24 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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