Ground-water hydrology and subsurface migration of radioisotopes at a low-level solid radioactive-waste disposal site, West Valley, New York
Burial trenches for disposal of solid radioactive waste at West Valley, N.Y. are excavated in till that has very low hydraulic conductivity (about 5 x 10/sup -8/ centimeters per second). Fractures and root tubes with chemically oxidized and(or) reduced soil in their walls extend 3 to 4.5 meters below natural land surface. Preliminary simulations of pressure heads with a digital model suggest that hydraulic conductivity is an order of magnitude greater in the fractured till near land surface than at greater depth. Hydraulic gradients are predominantly downward, even beneath small valleys. The upper part of a body of underlying lacustrine silt is unsaturated; in the lower, saturated part, slow lateral flow may occur. In the older trenches, water began to build up in 1971, overflowed briefly in 1975, and was pumped out in 1975--76. Water levels rose abruptly during major rainstorms in mid-1975, indicating rapid infiltration through cracks in the cover material. The new trenches have maintained low, stable water levels, perhaps because of thicker, more compact cover and less waste settlement; pressure heads near these trenches are low, locally approaching zero, perhaps because of slight infiltration and limited near-surface storage. Peak tritium concentrations in test-hole cores (generally 10/sup -5/ to 10/sup -3/ microcuries per milliliter) were found within 3 meters of land surface and are attributed to surface contamination. Concentrations declined rapidly with depth within the fractured till; secondary peaks found at about 9 meters in three holes are attributed to lateral migration from trenches. Other radioisotopes were detected only near land surface. Samples from the walls of shallow fractures revealed no accumulation of radioisotopes.
- Research Organization:
- Geological Survey, Washington, DC (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6527067
- Report Number(s):
- USGS-OFR-77-566; TRN: 79-002740
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GROUND WATER
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
DRILL CORES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
NEW YORK
SOLIDS
TRITIUM
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MID-ATLANTIC REGION
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects
520301 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Water- (1987)