Radionuclide migration pathways analysis for the Oak Ridge Central Waste Disposal Facility on the West Chestnut Ridge site

Technical Report · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6259302· OSTI ID:6259302

Pin, F. G.; Witherspoon, J. P.; Lee, D. W.; Cannon, J. B.; Ketelle, R. H.

A dose-to-man pathways analysis is performed for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Central Waste Disposal Facility on the West Chestnut Ridge Site. Both shallow land burial (trench) and aboveground (tumulus) disposal methods are considered. The waste volumes, characteristics, and radionuclide concentrations are those of waste streams anticipated from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 Plant, and the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The site capacity for the waste streams is determined on the basis of the pathways analysis. The exposure pathways examined include (1) migration and transport of leachate from the waste disposal units to the Clinch River (via the groundwater medium for trench disposal and Ish Creek for tumulus disposal) and (2) those potentially associated with inadvertent intrusion following a 100-year period of institutional control: an individual resides on the site, inhales suspended particles of contaminated dust, ingests vegetables grown on the plot, consumes contaminated water from either an on-site well or from a nearby surface stream, and receives direct exposure from the contaminated soil. It is found that either disposal method would provide effective containment and isolation for the anticipated waste inventory. However, the proposed trench disposal method would provide more effective containment than tumuli because of sorption of some radionuclides in the soil. Persons outside the site boundary would receive radiation doses well below regulatory limits if they were to ingest water from the Clinch River. An inadvertent intruder could receive doses that approach regulatory limits; however, the likelihood of such intrusions and subsequent exposures is remote. 33 references, 31 figures, 28 tables.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6259302
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-9231; ON: DE85001499
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
510302 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains-- (-1987)
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANIMALS
DATA
DOSES
DRINKING WATER
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOOD CHAINS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INGESTION
INHALATION
INTAKE
INTRUSION
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MAMMALS
MAN
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUMERICAL DATA
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRIMATES
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER