Contaminant Transport Through Subsurface Material from the DOE Hanford Reservation
Accelerated migration of contaminants in the vadose zone has been observed beneath tank farms at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Reservation. This paper focuses on the geochemical processes controlling the fate and transport of contaminants in the sediments beneath the Hanford tank farms. Laboratory scale batch sorption experiments and saturated transport experiments were conducted using reactive tracers U(VI), Sr, Cs, Co and Cr(VI) to investigate geochemical processes controlling the rates and mechanisms of sorption to Hanford subsurface material. Results indicate that the rate of sorption is influenced by changes in solution chemistry such as ionic strength, pH and presence of competing cations. Sediment characteristics such as mineralogy, iron content and cation/anion exchange capacity coupled with the dynamics of flow impact the number of sites available for sorption. Investigative approaches using a combination of batch and transport experiments will contribute to the conceptual and Hanford vadose zone.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN; Stanford University, Stanford, CA; Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC) (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 826418
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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