Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program: 1988 report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6016805
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. I. T. Corp., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
  2. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (USA). Waste Isolation Div.
  3. Geoscience Consultants, Ltd., (USA)
  4. Irwin (W.W.) Environmental Science, (USA)
  5. RE

The data presented in this report are the result of Brine Sampling and Evaluation Program (BSEP) activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during 1988. These activities, which are a continuation and update of studies that began in 1982 as part of the Site Validation Program, were formalized as the BSEP in 1985 to document and investigate the origins, hydraulic characteristics, extent, and composition of brine occurrences in the Permian Salado Formation, and seepage of that brine into the excavations at the WIPP. Previous BSEP reports (Deal and Case, 1987; Deal and others, 1987) described the results of ongoing activities that monitor brine inflow into boreholes in the facility, moisture content of the Salado Formation, brine geochemistry, and brine weeps and crusts. The information provided in this report updates past work and describes progress made during the calendar year 1988. During 1988, BSEP activities focused on four major areas to describe and quantify brine activity: (1) monitoring of brine inflow parameters, e.g., measuring brines recovered from holes drilled upward from the underground drifts (upholes), downward from the underground drifts (downholes), and near-horizontal holes; (2) characterizing the brine, e.g., the geochemistry of the brine and the presence of bacteria and their possible interactions with experiments and operations; (3) characterizing formation properties associated with the occurrence of brine; e.g., determining the water content of various geologic units, examining these units in boreholes using a video camera system, and measuring their resistivity (conductivity); and (4) modeling to examine the interaction of salt deformation near the workings and brine seepage through the deforming salt. 77 refs., 48 figs., 32 tabs.

Research Organization:
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (USA). Waste Isolation Div.
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-86AL31950
OSTI ID:
6016805
Report Number(s):
DOE/WIPP-89-015; ON: DE91008821
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English