History of disposal of radioactive wastes into the ground at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5120611· OSTI ID:5120611

Coobs, J. H.; Gissel, J. R.

Since the beginning of operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1943, shallow land burial has been used for the disposal of solid low-level radioactive waste. These wastes have originated from nearly every operating facility, and from 1955 to 1963, ORNL's solid waste storage areas were designated by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as the Southern Regional Burial Ground. During this period, about one million cubic feet of solid waste from various off-site installations were buried in solid waste storage areas (SWSAs) 4 and 5. Six SWSAs have been used since land burial operations began at ORNL in early 1944. ORNL has generated liquid radioactive waste since the separation of plutonium began in 1944. The majority of these wastes are classified as process (low-level) waste and are derived from evaporator condensate and cooling water from process vessels, and from building drains and surface drainage from contaminated areas. Process wastes are monitored at sampling stations located strategicially throughout the plant, and for nearly 15 years (1944 to 1957) they were discharged directly into White Oak Creek without being treated chemically to remove radionuclides. A smaller quantity of intermediate-level wastes (ILW) originate from the radiochemical separation process and from test reactors. The collection, treatment, and methods of disposal of ILW from the years 1943 to 1981 are described. Over this period of time there was a great deal of variation in the amounts and types of radioactive liquid wastes generated.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5120611
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-10269; ON: DE87002286
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
GROUND DISPOSAL
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORNL
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SOLID WASTES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES