Groundwater monitoring in the Savannah River Plant low-level waste burial ground: a summary and interpretation of the analytical data
This document describes chemical mechanisms that may affect trace-level radionuclide migration through acidic sandy clay soils in a humid environment, and summarizes the extensive chemical and radiochemical analyses of the groundwater directly below the SRP Low-Level Waste (LLW) Burial Ground (643-G). Anomalies were identified in the chemistry of individual wells which appear to be related to small amounts of fission product activity that have reached the water table. The chemical properties which were statistically related to trace-level transport of Cs-137 and Sr-90 were iron, potassium, sodium and calcium. Concentrations on the order of 100 ppM appear sufficient to affect nuclide migration. Several complexation mechanisms for plutonium migration were investigated, but most of these were shown to be incapable of mobilizing more than trace quantities of plutonium. The parameters of greatest importance were oxidation-reduction potential, pH, dissolved organic carbon, phosphate and carbonate. Of these, organic and phosphate complexation had the greatest potential for mobilizing plutonium in the SRP groundwater. In the absence of such complexants, plutonium would be essentially immobile in the soil/water system of the SRP burial ground. 50 references, 8 figures, 2 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Plant
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 5380596
- Report Number(s):
- DPST-83-209; ON: DE84005273
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Microfiche only, copy does not permit paper copy reproduction
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
CESIUM 137
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
GROUND WATER
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS
PLUTONIUM
SOILS
STRONTIUM 90
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DATA
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
METALS
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
520301 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Water- (1987)
400103 - Radiometric & Radiochemical Procedures- (-1987)
510301 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)