Review of environmental surveillance data around low-level waste disposal areas at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Conference · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:6323731

Oakes, T. W.; Shank, K. E.

White Oak Creek and Melton Branch tributary surface streams flow through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) reservation and receive treated low-level radioactive liquid waste which originates from various Laboratory operations. The streams receive additional low-level liquid waste generated by seepage of radioactive materials from solid-waste burial grounds, hydrofracture sites, and intermediate-level liquid-waste sites. Over the years, various liquid-waste treatment and disposal processes have been employed at ORNL; some of these processes have included: settling basins, impoundment, storage tanks, evaporation, ground disposal in trenches and pits, and hydrofracture. Burial of solid radioactive waste was initiated in the early 1940's, and there are six burial grounds at ORNL with two currently in use. Monitoring at White Oak Dam, the last liquid control point for the Laboratory, was started in the late 1940's and is continuing. Presently, a network of five environmental monitoring stations is in operation to monitor the radionuclide content of surface waters in the White Oak watershed. In this paper, the solid waste burial grounds will be described in detail, and the environmental data tabulated over the past 29 years will be presented. The various monitoring systems used during the years will also be reviewed. The liquid effluent discharge trends at ORNL from the radioactive waste operations will be discussed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 6323731
• Report Number(s): CONF-790209--5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MONITORING
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RUTHENIUM 106
RUTHENIUM ISOTOPES
SAMPLING
SEDIMENTS
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
TRITIUM
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES