Waste disposal by shale fracturing at ORNL

The shale fracturing process is a method of waste disposal currently in use at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the permanent disposal of certain locally generated radioactive waste solutions. In this process, the waste solution is mixed with a solids blend of cement and other additives; the resulting grout is injected into an impermeable shale formation at a depth of 700 to 1000 ft (200 to 300 m). A few hours after completion of the injection, the grout sets, fixed the radioactive waste in the shale formation. The operational experience with this process since 1966, the monitoring techniques that have been developed, and some considerations of the impact on the environment are discussed