Integrating Intrusive and Non-intrusive Characterization Methods To Achieve A Conceptual Site Model For The SLDA FUSRAP
- Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL (United States)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Buffalo District, Buffalo, NY (United States)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Pittsburgh District, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is addressing radiological contamination following Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements at the Shallow Land Disposal Area (SLDA) site, which is a radiologically contaminated property that is part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The SLDA is an 18-hectare (44- acre) site in Parks Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, about 37 kilometers (23 miles) east-northeast of Pittsburgh. According to historical record, radioactive wastes were disposed of at the SLDA in a series of trenches by the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Company (NUMEC) in the 1960's. The wastes originated from the nearby Apollo nuclear fuel fabrication facility, which began operations under NUMEC in the late 1950's and fabricated enriched uranium into naval reactor fuel elements. It is believed that the waste materials were buried in a series of pits constructed adjacent to one another in accordance with an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) regulation that has since been rescinded. A CERCLA remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) process was completed for the SLDA site, and the results of the human health risk assessment indicated that the radiologically contaminated wastes could pose a risk to human health in the future. There are no historical records that provide the exact location of these pits. However, based on geophysical survey results conducted in the 1980's, these pits were defined by geophysical anomalies and were depicted on historical site drawings as trenches. At the SLDA site, a combination of investigative methods and tools was used in the RI/FS and site characterization activities. The SLDA site provides an excellent example of how historical documents and data, historical aerial photo analysis, physical sampling, and non-intrusive geophysical and gamma walkover surveys were used in combination to reduce the uncertainty in the location of the trenches. The data and information from these sources were used to refine the conceptual site model, complete the RI/FS, and support the ongoing remedial design and action, which will achieve site closure acceptable to all stakeholders. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21326102
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-10-WM-08265; TRN: US10V0502067467
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'08: Waste Management Symposium 2008 - HLW, TRU, LLW/ILW, Mixed, Hazardous Wastes and Environmental Management - Phoenix Rising: Moving Forward in Waste Management, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2008; Other Information: Country of input: France; 8 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CLOSURES
CONTAMINATION
ENRICHED URANIUM
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HEALTH HAZARDS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PITTSBURGH
PUBLIC HEALTH
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REGULATIONS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
US CORPS OF ENGINEERS
US SUPERFUND