Subsurface investigations at the radioactive waste management complex of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

The Subsurface Investigation Program is a part of a continuing effort at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to identify potential pathways and mechanisms for waste radionuclides to migrate through the unsaturated and saturated zones, and eventually to man. The objects of this program are to: develop a field calibrated computer model to predict the long-term migration of radionuclides in the unsaturated zone, and measure the actual migration of radionuclides to date, in order to determine whether there is a problem from a public health and safety standpoint. Four methods for the collection of data in support of these objectives and several specific studies have been initiated. Two years of field data has been collected and techniques refined. Installation of instrumentation and contamination control techniques have been thoroughly tested and demonstrated to be effective. Specific methods and studies are presented including a discussion of the contamination-control measures and a variety of unsaturated zone instrumentation employed for the study