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Research about Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
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Hydrologic conditions at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, 1982 to 1985
Aqueous chemical and radioactive wastes discharged since 1952 to unlined ponds and wells at the INEL (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) have affected water quality in perched groundwater zones and in the Snake River Plain Aquifer. Routine waste water disposal was changed from deep injection wells to ponds at the ICPP (Idaho Chemical Processing Plant) in 1984. During 1982-85, tritium concentrations increased in perched groundwater zones under disposal ponds, but cobalt-60 concentrations decreased. In 1985, perched groundwater under TRA disposal ponds contained up to 1,770 ± 30 pCi/mL (picocuries/milliliter) of tritium and 0.36 ± 0.05 pCi/mL of cobalt-60. During 1982-85, tritium concentrations in water in the Snake River Plain aquifer decreased as much as 80 pCi/mL near the ICPP. In 1985, measurable tritium concentrations ranged from 0.9 ± 0.3 to 93.4 ± 2.0 pCi/mL. Tritium was detected in groundwater near the southern boundary of the INEL, 9 miles south of the ICPP and TRA. Strontium-90 concentrations in groundwater, up to 63 ± 5 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) near the ICPP, generally were smaller than 1981 concentrations. Cesium-137 concentrations in groundwater near the ICPP ranged from 125 ± 14 to 237 ± 45 pCi/L. Maximum concentrations of plutonium-238 and plutonium-239 , -240 (undivided) were 1.31 ± .0019 pCi/ml and 1.9 ± 0.00003 pCi/L. Sodium and chloride generally decreased during 1982-85. Nitrate concentrations increased near the TRA and NRF (Naval Reactors Facility) and decreased near the ICPP.
Hydraulic properties of rock units and chemical quality of water for INEL-1 — A 10,365-foot deep test hole drilled at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho
A 10,365-ft deep test hole drilled at the INEL (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) in southeastern Idaho provided hydraulic information for rock units underlying the Snake River Plain aquifer. Four aquifer tests showed that the hydraulic conductivity decreased with depth--from an average of 0.03 ft/day for the interval from 1,511 to 2,206 ft below land surface to an average of 0.002 ft/day for the interval from 4 ,210 to 10,365 ft. In contrast the hydraulic conductivity of the Snake River Plain aquifer ranges from 1 to 100 ft/day. The hydraulic head increased with depth; the head at depth was about 115 ft greater than that for the Snake River Plain aquifer. Water temperature in the test hole increased from 26 C at 600 ft below land surface to 146 C at 9,985 ft. The gradient was nearly linear and averaged about 1.3 C/100 ft of depth. Water from the Snake River Plain aquifer contained 381 mg/L of dissolved solids and had a calcium bicarbonate chemical composition. The dissolved solids concentration in underlying rock units ranged from 350 to 1,020 mg/L and the water had a sodium bicarbonate composition. Hydrologic data for the test hole suggest that the effective base of the Snake River Plain aquifer near the test hole is between 840 and 1,220 ft below land surface. The upward vertical movement of water into the Snake River Plain aquifer from underlying rock units could be on the order of 15,000 acre-ft/year at INEL. (Author 's abstract)
An overview of environmental surveillance of waste management activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, is a principal center for nuclear energy development for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Nuclear Navy. Fifty-two reactors have been built at the INEL, with 15 still operable. Extensive environmental surveillance is conducted at the INEL by DOE's Radiological Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EG&G Idaho, Inc., and Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company (WINCO). Surveillance of waste management facilities radiation is integrated with the overall INEL Site surveillance program. Air, warer, soil, biota, and environmental radiation are monitored or sampled routinely at INEL. Results to date indicate very small or no impacts from INEL on the surrounding environment. Environmental surveillance activities are currently underway to address key environmental issues at the INEL.
Hydrologic conditions at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho; 1979-1981 update
No abstract available.
Evaluation of a predictive ground-water solute-transport model at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho
Aqueous chemical and radioactive wastes discharged to shallow ponds and to shallow or deep wells on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) since 1952 have affected the quality of the ground water in the underlying Snake River Plain aquifer. The aqueous wastes have created large and laterally dispersed concentration plumes within the aquifer. The waste plumes with the largest areal distribution are those of chloride, tritium, and with high specific conductance values. The data from eight wells drilled near the southern INEL boundary during the summer of 1980 were used to evaluate the accuracy of a predictive modeling study completed in 1973, and to simulate 1980 positions of chloride and tritium plumes. Data interpretation from the drilling program indicates that the hydrogeologic characteristics of the subsurface rocks have marked effects on the regional ground-water flow regimen and, therefore, the movement of aqueous wastes. As expected, the waste plumes projected by the computer model for 1980, extended somewhat further downgradient than indicated by well data due to conservative worst-case assumptions in the model input and inaccurate approximations of subsequent waste discharge and aquifer recharge conditions. (USGS)
Hydrologic conditions at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho — Emphasis: 1974–1978
No abstract available.
Hydrologic conditions at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho, emphasis: 1974-1978
The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) site covers about 890 square miles of the eastern Snake River Plain and overlies the Snake River Plain aquifer. Low concentrations of aqueous chemical and radio-active wastes have been discharged to shallow ponds and to shallow or deep wells on the site since 1952. The regional water table ranges from about 200 feet to more than 1,000 feet below land surface within the INEL boundaries. The gradient of the water table averages about 4 feet per mile to the south-southwest. During the latest period of record, 1974 through 1978, the position of the water table has shown a net decline that ranges from 0.2 foot near the northern boundary of the INEL to more than 10 feet in the central and southern parts of the site. Recharge from surface water has been minimal or non-existent during the latter part of this period. A large body of perched ground water has formed in the basalt underlying the waste disposal ponds in the Test Reactor Area. This perched zone contains tritium, chromium-51, cobalt-60, strontium-90, and several nonradioactive ions. Tritium is the only mappable waste constituent in that portion of the Snake River Plain aquifer directly underlying this perched zone. Low concentrations of chemical and low-level radioactive wastes enter directly into the Snake River Plain aquifer through the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) disposal well. From 1974 through 1978, this 600-foot well was used to discharge a total of 1,861 million gallons of waste water which contained 1,697 curies of radioactivity, ninety-five percent of which was tritium. Tritium has been discharged to the well since 1953 and has formed the largest waste plume, about 28 square miles in area, in the regional aquifer, and minute concentrations have migrated downgradient a horizontal distance of 7.5 miles. Other waste plumes south of the ICPP contain sodium, chloride, nitrate, and the resultant specific conductance. These plumes have similar configurations, flow southward, and the contaminants are in general laterally dispersed in that portion of the aquifer underlying the INEL. Other waste plumes, containing strontium-90 and iodine-129, cover small areas near their points of discharge because strontium-90 is sorbed from solution as it moves through the aquifer and iodine-129 is discharged in very low quantities. Cesium-137 is also discharged through the well but it is strongly sorbed from solution and has never been detected in a sample of ground water at the INEL. Radionuclide plume size and concentrations therein are controlled by aquifer flow conditions, the quantity discharged, radioactive decay, sorption, dilution by dispersion, and perhaps other chemical reactions. Distributions of non-radoactive chemical wastes are subject to the same processes except for radioactive decay.