Investigation of a low-level radioactive waste burial site at DRDC Suffield, Alberta

'Full text:' From 1967 to 1971, Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES) received shipments of low-level radioactive waste from military sources across Canada. The waste was disposed of in long, narrow trenches at a site operated under an AECB licence. Due to incomplete records, the inventory, size, number, and location of the waste trenches is uncertain. The most likely location of the trenches was determined from historical records, aerial photographs, and geophysical surveys. A site investigation was carried out in March of 2005 in which a number of test pits were systematically excavated and samples of waste and soil were collected. Samples will be analyzed using a variety of techniques including gamma-ray spectroscopy, liquid scintillation counting (LSC), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GCMS). Ultimately, an estimate of the inventory of the waste site will be obtained through the application of sampling theory. (author)