Inventory of site-derived {sup 36}Cl in the Snake River plain aquifier, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho
Radioactive waste management practices at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in Idaho have introduced {sup 36}Cl (T{sub 1/2} = 301,000 yr) into the Snake River Plain aquifer underlying the site. The {sup 36}Cl is believed to originate from neutron activation of stable {sup 35}Cl in nuclear fuels (principally) and in reactor cooling/process water. Wastewater releases of {sup 3}H at the INEL have been documented by the site operators for the period 1952 to 1988. During this time, approximately 1.2 PBq of {sup 3}H (30,000 Ci) were introduced to the subsurface through disposal wells and seepage ponds. By sampling a number of monitoring and production wells downgradient from points of introduction, {sup 3}H movement and dispersion in the groundwater have been documented by the U.S. Geological Survey. The present report uses these historical {sup 3}H release and monitoring data to choose hydrologic parameters (matrix porosity and plume penetration depth) that produce concordance between the {sup 3}H release estimates and the inventory calculated from measurements of {sup 3}H in the subsurface. These parameters are then applied to {sup 36}Cl isopleths to generate an estimated {sup 36}Cl inventory in the subsurface. Using assumptions about irradiation times, neutron fluxes, and total fuel processed, as little as 23 g of stable chloride impurity in fuel elements would be adequate to produce the amount of {sup 36}Cl estimated to be in the groundwaters underlying the site. The highest atom concentration of {sup 36}Cl measured onsite (222x10{sup 10} atoms 1{sup -1}) corresponds to an activity level of {approximately}4 pCi 1{sup -1} and represents 0.2 percent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s (EPA) drinking water standard for this radionuclide (2000 pCi 1{sup -1}).
- Research Organization:
- Department of Energy, New York, NY (United States). Environmental Measurements Lab.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 88596
- Report Number(s):
- EML--567; ON: DE95014966; NC: NONE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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