Hydrological conditions at the 800 Area at Argonne National Laboratory

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6535524· OSTI ID:6535524

Patton, T L; Pearl, R H; Tsai, S Y

This study examined the hydrological conditions of the glacial till underlying the 800 Area sanitary landfill at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) near Lemont, Illinois. The study's purpose was to review and summarize hydrological data collected by ANL's Environment, Safety, and Health Department and to characterize, on the basis of these data, the groundwater movement and migration of potential contaminants in the area. Recommendations for further study have been made based on the findings of this review. The 800 Area landfill is located on the western edge of ANL, just south of Westgate Road. It has been in operation since 1966 and has been used for the disposal of sanitary, general refuse. From 1969 through 1978, however, substantial quantities of liquid organic and inorganic wastes were disposed of in a French drain'' at the northeast corner of the landfill. The 800 Area landfill is underlain by a silty clay glacial till. Dolomite bedrock underlies the till at an average depth of about 45.6 m. Trace levels of organic contaminants and radionuclides have been detected in groundwater samples from wells completed in the till. Fractures in the clay as well as sand and gravel lenses present in the till could permit these contaminants to migrate downward to the dolomite aquifer. When this report was prepared, no chemical quality analysis have been made on groundwater samples from the dolomite. The study found that existing information about subsurface characteristics at the site is inadequate to identify potential pathways for contaminant migration. Recommended actions include installation of five new well clusters and one background well, thorough record-keeping, sample collection and analysis during borehole drilling, slug testing to measure hydraulic conductivity, topographic mapping, continued monitoring of groundwater levels and quality, and monitoring of the unsaturated zone. 17 refs., 13 figs., 4 tabs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA). Environmental Assessment and Information Sciences Div.
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6535524
• Report Number(s): ANL/EAIS/TM-29; ON: DE91000100
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540330 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
ANL
CONTAMINATION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
GEOLOGY
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
MANAGEMENT
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
MONITORS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATION MONITORING
RECOMMENDATIONS
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SOLUTES
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER
WATER POLLUTION MONITORS
WATER QUALITY
WATER WELLS
WELLS