Estimate of Gaseous 14Carbon Concentrations Emanating from the Intermediate-Level Vault Disposal Facility
{sup 14}Carbon-bearing resin waste will be disposed in the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Intermediate Level Vaults (ILV) located in E-Area on the Savannah River Site (SRS). This waste will be buried in a cementitious environment in the vadose zone, i.e., the subsurface zone above the aquifer. As the resin ages, and equilibrates with slowly infiltrating water, it is expected that the {sup 14}C will partition to the solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. The objective of this task was to estimate the concentration of gaseous {sup 14}C in the waste pore space that is in contact with the resin leachate. The approach used to estimate this value was built largely around data generated from lysimeter studies that were conducted for 9 years. These lysimeters contained the same type of used resins (mixed-bed deionizer resins used in the purification of the heavy water moderator of SRS reactors) as are being disposed in the ILV. During the 9 year period, pore water {sup 14}C leaching concentrations were monitored to provide an excellent estimate of the long-term behavior of {sup 14}C release rates from the resins. Thermodynamic calculations were conducted to calculate {sup 14}CO{sub 2(g)} concentrations. These calculations included the {sup 14}C pore water data from the lysimeter study, and data from a field study that was a natural analogue to a long-term cementitious environment (Khoury et al. 1992). The calculations predicted an extremely low {sup 14}CO{sub 2(g)} concentration of 1.9 x 10{sup -7} Ci/m{sup 3} {sup 14}CO{sub 2(g)} in the air spaces above the resin leachate. This low concentrations is not surprising in light of both laboratory and field observations that concrete acts as a strong sorbent of CO{sub 2(g)}. This calculated {sup 14}CO{sub 2(g)} concentration will now be included in future risk calculations.
- Research Organization:
- SRS
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 890184
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-TR-2005-00222
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
DISPOSAL OF REACTOR DEIONIZER VESSELS HIGHLY CONTAMINATED WITH 14 CARBON IN THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL VAULT FACILITY AT SRS
Special Analysis: Atmospheric Dose Resulting from the Release of C14 from Reactor Moderator Deionizers in a Disposal Environment
Disposal of De-ionizer Vessels Highly Contaminated with {sup 14}Carbon at SRS
Conference
·
Mon May 21 00:00:00 EDT 2007
·
OSTI ID:908025
Special Analysis: Atmospheric Dose Resulting from the Release of C14 from Reactor Moderator Deionizers in a Disposal Environment
Technical Report
·
Thu Aug 18 00:00:00 EDT 2005
·
OSTI ID:881433
Disposal of De-ionizer Vessels Highly Contaminated with {sup 14}Carbon at SRS
Conference
·
Mon Jan 14 23:00:00 EST 2008
·
OSTI ID:21144163