Burial Ground 4 was opened in February 1951 and closed to routine burial operations in July 1959. The average rate of burial during this period was about 2 1/2 acres per year. Approximately 50% of the buried waste at the site originated at ORNLJ while the remainder was contributed by more than fifty off-site agencies. The site is underlain by the Conasauga shale of Cambrian age. At the burial ground the formation consists mostly of maroon and gray shales interbedded with a few thin limestone lenses. Water-level measurements indicate that the buried waste is in contact with ground water during most periods of the year. Activity was detected in water samples from a number of wells located in areas of low topography where ground water contact with the waste is greatest. Radionuclides were also found in seeps and streams within the area.

No abstract

Operating experience with the 500,000 gal/day waste treatment plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that plant efficiency exceeds the design specifications of 50 per cent removal of gross radionuclides. An average of 85-90 per cent of the SrgO and C P 7 are removed. However, the full potential of the treatment plant can be realized only by modifying the process or by adding to the facility.A number of laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the effect of primary coagulants, of coagulant aids, and the use of natural minerals, on the removal of strontium and cesium. By optimizing the combination of lime, soda ash and clay, removal of strontium and cesium was increased to 96 per cent and 92 per cent, respectively. Both supplemental phosphate addition to lime-soda softening and aluminum phosphate coagulation removed 98 per cent of the strontium. Coagulant acids reduced the turbidity in treated waste and resulted in improved efficiency. Vermiculite (grade BO-4), one of the most promising of the minerals investigated, exhibited distribution coefficients for strontium and cesium in excess of 5000 for a solution typical of the effluent from the waste treatment plant. Process changes and possible addition to the plant were evaluated by direct application to the operating plant or by pilotscale tests.

No abstract

The ability of soil to remove and retain the bulk of the fission product cations from aqueous solution is used as the basis for disposal of large volumes of intermediate level wastes. An experimental system consisting of three 1 million gal disposal pits has been developed at ORNL and through December 1956, received a total of 5.6 million gal of waste containing 58,000 c of C P 7 , 15,000 c of R d o 6 and lesser amount of Sras, Srgo, Co60, Sb125 and the rare earths. Sodium ion and nitrate ion account for the largest part of the chemical constituents.The geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the reservation served as a guide in the selection of small areas for detailed study. The information obtained from field studies of a specific area and laboratory investigations of the interaction of waste and typical soil were used to estimate the operating characteristics of a disposal pit.After the pit was in operation, the underground movement of the chemical constituents and radionuclides in the waste was followed by sampling and radiologging observation wells and sampling at stream gauging points in the pit area. These results have confirmed the preoperating estimate of the direction and path of waste movement and the seepage of anion materials such as Rulo6 and NO; . through the soil.