Radiological Characterization of Skyshine from a Retired, Low-Level, Radioactive Liquid Effluent Disposal Facility at Hanford
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (USA)
The 1301-N Liquid Waste Disposal facility, located on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State, received N Reactor low-level radioactive liquid process effluent from 1962 to 1985. This facility was retired in 1985 although N Reactor operated until 1987. During normal operation, sediments in the trench sections of the disposal facility became contaminated from the liquid effluent. Radiation emanating from the top of the trench sections was not significant because the sediments were normally under several meters of water, which provided the necessary shielding. During operation, liquid effluent was present in the trench sections: the rate of percolation into the ground was offset by the rate of discharge of liquid effluent into the trench. Following retirement of the facility in 1985, the liquid normally present in the trench sections of the disposal facility percolated into the ground leaving the residual radioactively contam inated sediments unshielded along the bottom and sides of the trench sections. The radioactive constituents of the contaminated sediments include the gamma emitting isotopes Co-60 and Cs-137. Because of the lack of water covering, some of the gamma photons that were emitted upward above the trench sections were scattered downward due to Compton interaction of these photons with atmospheric constituents. These downward-scattered gamma rays are present at the nearby Columbia River shoreline and increase the exposure rate above the ambient background rate. This phenomenon is known as "skyshine." A radiological characterization was required to provide guidance for determining the effectiveness of interim stabilization alternatives that would not adversely affect future Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (1) site closure activities, (e.g., filling in trench sections with spoils from excavation activities). A noninvasive radiological characterization of this disposal facility and the affected area of the Columbia River shoreline was conducted in 1989 and 1990. This characterization confirmed that skyshine is the cause of the elevated shoreline exposure rates and provided a model that could be used to rate the effectiveness of alternative interim stabilization measures.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-87RL10930
- OSTI ID:
- 6099012
- Report Number(s):
- WHC-SA-0989; CONF-910270-35; ON: DE91009421
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management '91, Tucson, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 1991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
COLUMBIA RIVER
RADIOMETRIC SURVEYS
DOSE RATES
I CODES
M CODES
N-REACTOR
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
CESIUM 137
COBALT 60
COMPTON EFFECT
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
GAMMA RADIATION
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
HANFORD RESERVATION
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIATION PROTECTION
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESOURCE RECOVERY ACTS
SHIELDING
STABILIZATION
STRONTIUM 90
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COBALT ISOTOPES
COMPUTER CODES
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
INTERACTIONS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LAWS
LWGR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION REACTORS
POWER REACTORS
PRODUCTION REACTORS
RADIATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
RIVERS
SCATTERING
SPECTROSCOPY
STREAMS
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOT
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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