Hydrology of the Melton Valley Radioactive-Waste Burial Grounds at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee
Abstract
Burial grounds 4, 5, and 6 were used sequentially from 1951 to the present for the disposal of solid, low-level radioactive waste by burial in shallow trenches and auger holes. Abundant rainfall, a generally thin unsaturated zone, geologic media of inherently low permeability, and the operational practices employed have contributed to partial saturation of the buried waste, leaching of radionuclides, and transport of dissolved matter from the burial areas. Two primary methods of transport from these sites are by dissolution in circulating ground water, and the overflow of fluids in trenches and subsequent flow across land surface. The waste-disposal areas are underlain by the Conasauga Group (Cambrian age), a complex sequence of mudstone, siltstone, and limestone interbeds grading from one lithotype to the other, both laterally and vertically. Compressional forces that caused regional thrust faulting also caused much internal deformation of the beds. Folds, bedding-plane faults, and joints are widespread. Small solution openings have developed in some areas where the structurally-related openings have provided ingress to ground water.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA461817
Entities
People
- D. A. Webster
- M. W. Bradley