Mechanisms of contaminant migration from grouted waste

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6808352

Magnuson, S O ^[1]; Yu, A D ^[2]

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1. EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
2. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)

Low-level radioactive decontaminated salt solution is generated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) from the In-Tank Precipitation process. The solution is mixed with cement, slag, and fly ash, to form a grout, termed Saltstone'', that will be disposed in concrete vaults at the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) [1]. Of the contaminants in the Saltstone, the greatest concern to SRS is the potential release of nitrate to the groundwater because of the high initial nitrate concentration (0.25 g/cm[sup 3]) in the Saltstone and the low Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 44 mg/L. The SDF is designed to allow a slow, controlled release over thousands of years. This paper addresses a modeling study of nitrate migration from intact non-degraded concrete vaults in the unsaturated zone for the Radiological Performance Assessment (PA) of the SRS Saltstone Disposal Facility [3]. The PA addresses the performance requirements mandated by DOE Order 5820.2A [4].

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570; AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 6808352
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-92605; CONF-921137--11; ON: DE93005192
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053003 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects-- Chemical & Thermal Effluents-- (1992-)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
DIFFUSION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SOILS
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER