Development testing of grouting and liner technology for humid sites Page: 2 of 17
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INTRODUCTION
Shallow land burial as a disposal method for low-level radioactive
wastes has been simple, cost-effective and practical for many years.
In most cases the method involves digging a trench, emplacing the
untreated waste, and covering with native soil. in humid environments,
however, radionuclides have not always remained secure from the
biosphere, as a result of water seeping into the trenches, soaking the
waste, and mobilizing the radionuclides. Examples of radionuclide
migration from trenches are at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Maxey
Flats, and West Valley (Dana et al., 1980; Jacobs, et al., 1980).
Although disposal in an arid climate is technically preferable,
transportation costs and socio-political considerations prevent
disposal of all low level radioactive waste at arid sites. Hence,
improved methods of disposal are required at humid sites if
radionuclide migration is to be minimized and costly remedial actions
such as exhumation, repackaging, and reburial are to be avoided
(Cutshall, 1980). To develop the necessary technology for disposal in
humid areas the Engineered Test Facility (ETF) was implemented at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory in solid waste storage area (SWSA) 6. Its
major goal is to provide pilot-scale field data for evaluating the
effectiveness of trench treatments in retarding radionuclide movement
in humid areas. ETF will also aid in identifying the types and amounts
of data necessary for adequate site characterization.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
The design of the experiment requires nine trenches, three of which are
used as controls, three are lined with a membrane, and three are
grouted (Fig. 1). The trenches are on three meter centers and are
nominally 3 m x 3 m x 3 m. Although they are small compared to
standard operational trenches, they are never the less, in scale with
the 0.3 ha site. Each treatment is assigned to a set of trenches based
on a Latin Square design which eliminates any bias that might be
introduced by trenches of differing depths. Thus each treatment
occupies a row and a column that are unique, for example on the
diagonal. A different chemical tracer is designated for each trench so
when leakage begins the trench can be identified. Once all the
trenches are filled and closed, four wells will be placed around each
trench for monitoring the tracer movement.
For baseline studies prior to excavation ten 10-meter deep wells in a
horseshoe configuration were drilled along with two 15 meter wells to
the east and west of the horseshoe (ETF 11 and 12 in Fig. l). The
wells were used primarily for collecting groundwater data, but five of
the wells were cored for geologic information. Two flumes and a rain
gauge were also installed to measure surface hydrologic conditions.
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Vaughan, N.D. Development testing of grouting and liner technology for humid sites, article, January 1, 1981; Tennessee. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1110975/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.