Influence of hydrologic factors on leaching of solidified low-level waste forms at an arid site field-scale lysimeter facility

Conference · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6134523

Jones, T L; Skaggs, R L

Most of the precipitation at the Hanford Site arrives as winter snow; this contributes to a strong seasonal pattern in water storage and drainage observed in the lysimeters. This seasonal pattern in storage corresponds to an annual range in the volumetric soil water content of 11% in late winter to 7% in the late summer and early fall. Annual changes in drainage rates cause pore water velocities to vary annually by nearly two orders of magnitude. Rapid snowmelt and frozen soils in February 1985 caused runoff water from areas adjacent to the lysimeter facility to flood three of the lysimeters. This resulted in a temporary increase in soil water storage, and an additional 5 to 10 cm of drainage for these three lysimeters. Measurable quantities of tritium and cobalt-60 are being collected in lysimeter drainage water. Approximately 30% of the original tritium inventory has been leached from both lysimeters containing samples of this waste form. Cobalt-60 is consistently being leached from five lysimeters representing three of the five waste forms. Total cobalt-60 collected from each of the five lysimeters varies, but in each case is less than 0.1% of the original cobalt inventory of the waste sample. Comparisons of cobalt release among flooded and non-flooded lysimeters show no significant difference caused by the extra drainage.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6134523
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-14908; CONF-870511-1; ON: DE87011993
• 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
510300 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520300 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
COBALT 60
COBALT ISOTOPES
DISASTERS
DISSOLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLOODS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LEACHING
LIGHT NUCLEI
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LYSIMETERS
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SNOW
SOLIDIFICATION
TRITIUM
VARIATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES