Basic data report for drillhole ERDA 9 (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP)

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6508736· OSTI ID:6508736

ERDA 9 was drilled in eastern Eddy County, New Mexico, to investigate and test salt beds for the disposal of nuclear wastes. The hole was placed near the SE corner of section 20, T22S,R31E. It was drilled between April 28 and June 4, 1976, to a depth of 2889 ft (measured from a kelly bushing altitude of 3,420.4 ft MSL). The borehole encountered, from top to bottom, Holocene deposits (including artificial fill) of 22 ft, the Pleistocene Mescalero Caliche (5 ft) and Gatuna Formation (27 ft), 9 ft of the Triassic Santa Rosa Sandstone, and 487 ft of the Dewey Lake Red Beds, 290 ft of the Rustler Formation, 1976 ft of the Salado Formation and 53 ft of the Castile Formation, all of Permian age. Cuttings were collected at 5-ft intervals for the land surface to a depth of 1090 ft, and consecutive cores were taken to a depth of 2876.6 ft. A suite of wireline geophysical logs was run the full length of the borehole to measure distribution of radioactive elements and hydrogen, and variations in rock density and elastic velocity. On the basis of the borehole findings and related hydrological and geophysical programs, the site was judged suitable to pursue the extensive geological characterization program which followed. The core from ERDA 9 provided a suite of samples extensively tested for rock mechanics, physical properties, and mineralogy. Drill-stem tests in ERDA 9 indicated no significant fluids or permeability in the Salado beds of interest. The WIPP is a demonstration facility for the disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste from defense programs. The WIPP will also provide a research facility to investigate the interactions between bedded salt and high level wastes.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA); Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6508736
• Report Number(s): SAND-79-0270; ON: DE83006393
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
58 GEOSCIENCES
580100 -- Geology & Hydrology-- (-1989)
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
BOREHOLES
CAVITIES
DATA
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION VI
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
HYDROLOGY
INFORMATION
LITHOLOGY
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUMERICAL DATA
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SURVEYS
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE-ROCK INTERACTIONS
WASTES