Determination of the areal distribution of /sup 90/Sr in groundwater via single-use boreholes

Technical Report · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5194194· OSTI ID:5194194

Spalding, B. P.; Munro, I. L.

Shallow groundwater samples were collected at 3- to 5-m intervals along the perimeters of the southern and eastern boundaries of solid waste storage areas (SWSAs) 4 and 5 at ORNL. Samples were taken by way of single-use boreholes established with a foot-operated soil corer. This detailed perimeter survey should facilitate the optimal placement of permanent monitoring wells on the SWSA perimeters. Samples were analyzed for hardness, electrical conductivity, pH, and /sup 90/Sr. The determination of /sup 90/Sr was routinely performed by the detection of Cerenkov radiation and showed an excellent correlation (r/sup 2/ = 0.996, n = 42) with the standard radiochemical procedure. A major peak of /sup 90/Sr ground contamination (1 to 4 kBq/L) was observed along a 100-m reach of the SWSA 4 perimeter in the south central region. Three peaks of /sup 90/Sr contamination were detected along the perimeter of SWSA 5. Intermittent sampling over three years of a permanent monitoring well (5 to 428) in SWSA 5 indicated that /sup 90/Sr concentrations fluctuated from 1.2 to 20 kBq/L and were correlated with groundwater hardness. Groundwaters of both SWSAs were shown to be of a Ca(HCO/sub 3/)/sub 2/ type; SWSA 4 groundwaters tended to be slightly supersaturated and SWSA 5 groundwaters slightly undersaturated with respect to CaCO/sub 3/. The primary tributary draining the central region of SWSA 5 exhibited an average /sup 90/Sr concentration of 72 Bq/L under low-flow conditions, whereas a smaller tributary, originating from a groundwater seep on the southwestern perimeter, exhibited an average /sup 90/Sr concentration of 7.7 kBq/L. 23 references, 23 figures, 6 tables.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5194194
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-8991; ON: DE84009468
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

053000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
520301 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Water-- (1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BOREHOLES
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
CAVITIES
CHERENKOV RADIATION
CONTAMINATION
DATA
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ORNL
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PH VALUE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SAMPLING
SOLID WASTES
STORAGE
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES