Project test plan for runoff and erosion on fine-soil barrier surfaces and rock-covered side slopes

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6760098· OSTI ID:6760098

Walters, W H; Hoover, K A; Cadwell, L L

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and Westinghouse Hanford Company are working together to develop protective barriers to isolate near-surface radioactive waste. The purpose of the barriers is to protect defense wastes at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site from infiltration of precipitation, biointrusion, and surficial erosion for up to 10,000 years without the need for long-term monitoring, maintenance, or institutional control. The barriers will be constructed of layered earth and rock material designed to direct surface and groundwater pathways away from the buried waste. To address soil erosion as it applies to barrier design and long-term stability, a task designed to study this problem has been included in the Protective Barriers Program at PNL. The barrier soil-erosion task will investigate the ability of the soil cover and side slopes to resist the erosional and destabilizing processes from externally applied water. The study will include identification and field testing of the dominant processes contributing to erosion and barrier failure. The effects of rock mulches, vegetation cover on the top fine-grained soil surface, as well as the stability of rock armoring on the side slopes, will be evaluated. Some of the testing will include the effects of animal intrusion on barrier erosion, and these will be coordinated with other animal intrusion studies. 6 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6760098
• Report Number(s): PNL-6791; ON: DE90013375
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
EROSION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GROUND COVER
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
GROUND DISPOSAL
SOILS
FIELD TESTS
HANFORD RESERVATION
PLANTS
ROCKS
RUNOFF
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
TESTING
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
540250 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (1990-)