Erosion control technology: a user's guide to the use of the Universal Soil Loss Equation at waste burial facilities

Technical Report · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5557821

Nyhan, J W; Lane, L J

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) enables the operators of shallow land burial sites to predict the average rate of soil erosion for each feasible alternative combination of plant cover and land management practices in association with a specified soil type, rainfall pattern, and topography. The equation groups the numerous parameters that influence erosion rate under six major factors, whose site-specific values can be expressed numerically. Over a half century of erosion research in the agricultural community has supplied information from which approximate USLE factor values can be obtained for shallow land burial sites throughout the United States. Tables and charts presented in this report make this information readily available for field use. Extensions and limitations of the USLE to shallow land burial systems in the West are discussed, followed by a detailed description of the erosion plot research performed by the nuclear waste management community at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Example applications of the USLE at shallow land burial sites are described, and recommendations for applications of these erosion control technologies are discussed.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5557821
• Report Number(s): LA-10262-M; ON: DE86012765
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CONTROL
EROSION
GROUND COVER
GROUND DISPOSAL
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SOILS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES