Geohydrology and ground-water quality beneath the 300 Area, Hanford Site, Washington
Ground water enters the 300 Area from the northwest, west, and southwest. However, throughout most of the 300 Area, the flow is to the east and southeast. Ground water flows to the northeast only in the southern portion of the 300 Area. Variations in level of the Columbia River affected the ground-water system by altering the level and shape of the 300 Area watertable. Large quantities of process waste water, when warmed during summer months by solar radiation or cooled during winter months by ambient air temperature, influenced the temperature of the ground water. Leaking pipes and the intentional discharge of waste water (or withdrawal of ground water) affected the ground-water system in the 300 Area. Water quality tests of Hanford ground water in and adjacent to the 300 Area showed that in the area of the Process Water Trenches and Sanitary Leaching Trenches, calcium, magnesium, sodium, bicarbonate, and sulfate ions are more dilute, and nitrate and chloride ions are more concentrated than in surrounding areas. Fluoride, uranium, and beta emitters are more concentrated in ground water along the bank of the Columbia River in the central and southern portions of the 300 Area and near the 340 Building. Test wells and routine ground-water sampling are adequate to point out contamination. The variable Thickness Transient (VTT) Model of ground-water flow in the unconfined aquifer underlying the 300 Area has been set up, calibrated, and verified. The Multicomponent Mass Transfer (MMT) Model of distribution of contaminants in the saturated regime under the 300 Area has been set up, calibrated, and tested.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-06-1830
- OSTI ID:
- 6135014
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-2949; TRN: 79-019567
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
RADIOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE GROUND-WATER BENEATH THE HANFORD PROJECT JANUARY-DECEMBER 1978
Supplemental groundwater remediation technologies to protect the Columbia River at Hanford, WA
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GROUND WATER
CONTAMINATION
HYDROLOGY
HANFORD RESERVATION
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COLUMBIA RIVER
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
LEAKS
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE WATER
WATER CHEMISTRY
DATA
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
LIQUID WASTES
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RIVERS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
580100* - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)
520100 - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (-1989)