Water movement in the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

Book · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6705995

Dennehy, K F; McMahon, P B

The unsaturated zone consists of a few centimeters to > 1 m of surface sand underlain by up to 15 m of clayey sand. Tracer tests using sodium chloride were conducted at each monitoring site. Data collection at the monitoring sites began in January 1982 and continued until early May 1984. Tensiometer data show that the unsaturated materials had their highest percent saturations in the winter and spring. Saturations in the backfill sand varied from 20 to 100%. During 1984, the rise and fall of ponded water in an experimental trench was continuously monitored with a digital recorder. A cross-sectional finite element model of variably saturated flow was used to test the conceptual model of water movement in the unsaturated zone and to illustrate the effect of trench design on water movement into the experimental trenches. Monitoring and model results show that precipitation on trenches infiltrated the trench cap and moved vertically into the trench backfill material. 26 refs., 32 figs., 3 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6705995
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540230 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540330* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FEDERAL REGION IV
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRACER TECHNIQUES
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
USA
VARIATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES