National Technical Reports Library

The National Technical Information Service acquires, indexes, abstracts, and archives the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in existence. The NTRL offers online, free and open access to these authenticated government technical reports. Technical reports and documents in its repository may be available online for free either from the issuing federal agency, the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Digital System website, or through search engines.

Details

Laboratory and Field Studies Related to Radionuclide Migration at the Nevada Test Site in Support of the Underground Test Area Program and Hydrologic Resources Management Project. October 1, 1999-September 30, 2000.

PB2001106126

Publication Date	2000
Page Count	52
Abstract	This report describes work done by Chemistry Division personnel at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during FY 2000 for the US Department of Energy/Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV). Ours is part of a multiagency program supported by the Defense Programs and Environmental Restoration Divisions of DOE/NV. The missions of both of these divisions are strongly affected by the extent of radioactive contamination of the underground environment of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) because this influences the use of land and water resources there. We are attempting to develop a descriptive model that accounts for the present distribution of radionuclides and predicts future movement within or outside NTS boundaries. The LANL Chemistry Division contribution to this effort during the past year consisted of measurements of radionuclide concentrations in water samples collected from cavities or chimneys of nuclear test locations on the NTS. Because we have been sampling some of these locations for many years, we are able to identify trends in the data that give us insights into how radionuclides may become part of the hydrologic source term; that is, how they become mobile with groundwater. As a complement to this work, we did our first field test of a downhole probe that allows us to measure in situ water temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation-reduction potential. These parameters influence the speciation of radionuclides dissolved in groundwater and affect how they may interact with their geologic environment. Also, we continued to use our capability to measure colloid concentrations in our samples because there is a correlation between colloids and certain radionuclides at some locations.
Keywords	Nevada Test Site Radionuclide migration Water analysis Ground water Radiochemical analysis Laboratory tests Field tests
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
NTIS Subject Category	77G - Radioactive Wastes & Radioactivity
Corporate Authors	Los Alamos National Lab., NM.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Progress rept.
NTIS Issue Number	200117
Contract Number	DE-W-7405-ENG-36

Laboratory and Field Studies Related to Radionuclide Migration at the Nevada Test Site in Support of the Underground Test Area Program and Hydrologic Resources Management Project. October 1, 1999-September 30, 2000.

Laboratory and Field Studies Related to Radionuclide Migration at the Nevada Test Site in Support of the Underground Test Area Program and Hydrologic Resources Management Project. October 1, 1999-September 30, 2000.
PB2001106126

Publication Date	2000
Page Count	52
Abstract	This report describes work done by Chemistry Division personnel at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during FY 2000 for the US Department of Energy/Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV). Ours is part of a multiagency program supported by the Defense Programs and Environmental Restoration Divisions of DOE/NV. The missions of both of these divisions are strongly affected by the extent of radioactive contamination of the underground environment of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) because this influences the use of land and water resources there. We are attempting to develop a descriptive model that accounts for the present distribution of radionuclides and predicts future movement within or outside NTS boundaries. The LANL Chemistry Division contribution to this effort during the past year consisted of measurements of radionuclide concentrations in water samples collected from cavities or chimneys of nuclear test locations on the NTS. Because we have been sampling some of these locations for many years, we are able to identify trends in the data that give us insights into how radionuclides may become part of the hydrologic source term; that is, how they become mobile with groundwater. As a complement to this work, we did our first field test of a downhole probe that allows us to measure in situ water temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation-reduction potential. These parameters influence the speciation of radionuclides dissolved in groundwater and affect how they may interact with their geologic environment. Also, we continued to use our capability to measure colloid concentrations in our samples because there is a correlation between colloids and certain radionuclides at some locations.
Keywords	Nevada Test Site Radionuclide migration Water analysis Ground water Radiochemical analysis Laboratory tests Field tests
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
NTIS Subject Category	77G - Radioactive Wastes & Radioactivity
Corporate Authors	Los Alamos National Lab., NM.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Progress rept.
NTIS Issue Number	200117
Contract Number	DE-W-7405-ENG-36