STATUS REPORT ON EVALUATION OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL AT ORNL. PART I
The criteria employed in selecting a site for disposal of solid wastes, the methods used in evaluating a site, and preliminnary analysis of a new burial trench design are discussed. Auger wells were drilled to determine the character of the residual cover, the depth of the water table, and the chemical and radionuclide composition of the ground water. A descriptive geologic map, and depth-to-water and water-table contour maps were prepared. Deeper wells were drilled to determine the occurrence and circulation of ground water at greater depth in the burial area. Pressure tests of the deep wells showed that the most permeable zones or fractures occur withinn the first 100 ft. Hydrographs for the deep wells showed a maximum water-level fluctuation of 14 ft and a minimum fluctuation of 1.5 ft over a period of approximately 8 months. An estimate of the requirements of land usage from records of solid waste burial dating back to 1957 revealed that an additional 2.0 x 10/sup 6/ ft) of solld waste will be buried at ORNL through 1964. Using depth-to-water maps and restricting the depth of burial to 1 ft above the highest water level, it was determined that approximately 21 x lO/sup 6/ ft3/sup /of volume is available for disposal of solld waste. To improve operations and monitoring, a new trench design was recommended. The bottom of the trench, covered with 6 in. of gravel, sloped to an asphalt-lined sump at one end in which a 6-in. perforated casing was installed. Any liquid entering the trench flows primarily through the gravel underdrain to the collecting sump, whence samples can be withdrawn and analyzed. In the two trenches that were completed waste containers were placed upright in one and were simply dumped in the other. Beta, gamma, and alpha activities were detected in water samples taken from the sumps. Monitoring data indicate that damage to the containers does not cause an increase in the activity leached. The additional cost of the sump, well, gravel underdrain, and asphalt cover was 02 per ft/ sup 3/ of trench space. The cost of protecting the drum by careful placement in the trench was 07 per ft/sup 3/ of trench space. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-012641
- OSTI ID:
- 4076079
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-3035
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-61
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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