Experience in the disposal of radioactive wastes to the ground

Technical Report · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:5827147

Brown, R E; Pearce, D W; de Laguna, W; Struxness, E G; Horton, Jr, J H; Patterson, C M

Up to 12 years of practical experience in controlled waste disposal at the Hanford Works, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Savannah River Plant have provided a wealth of data on the feasibility of disposal of radioactive liquid waste at shallow depths in the ground. The disposal problems at the three sites are quite dissimilar since the environments are markedly different. The geologic and hydrologic conditions at the three sites indicated early in their history that at least small volumes of low activity level wastes could be discharged to the ground but that disposal of intermediate level materials demanded more detailed knowledge of the geology, microhydrology and soil chemistry. Determination of the waste behavior in the ground based upon laboratory research, field tests and the extensive use of monitoring wells provided the data permitting the safe disposal of many billions of liters of low to intermediate level waste at Hanford. At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Savannah River Plant, similar earth sciences studies and field work have shown the inadvisability of ground disposal of high level radioactive liquids. Experience in the use of cribs, trenches, seepage pits, and swamps at Hanford and Savannah is discussed.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., Richland, WA (USA). Hanford Atomic Products Operation; Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA); Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
• OSTI ID: 5827147
• Report Number(s): A/CONF.15/P-1767
• 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
GEOLOGY
HAPO
HYDROLOGY
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORNL
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES