MiniBooNE liner integrity study

The civil construction for the MiniBooNE project includes a 50-m decay path and beam absorbers. The decay path is a six-foot diameter corrugated metal pipe (CMP). To prevent activation of the groundwater, the CMP and beam absorbers are surrounded by crushed aggregate, and enclosed in a double-walled geotextile membrane, referred to as the liner. The minimum distance from the beam centerline to the liner is 10 feet. The double-wall construction of the liner forms three regions, the containment volume, the interstitial volume, and the exterior. Each of these volumes is connected to monitoring wells at both the upstream and downstream ends of the decay volume, i.e. a total of six monitoring pipes extend to the surface. To confirm the integrity of the liner system following its placement, the firm Earth Tech was contracted to perform tests. Michael Williams was the primary contact with Earth Tech. The following is the report from Earth Tech, with minor changes in the interest of clarity. A sketch of the decay region is shown; only one of the layers of the liner is shown, and only one monitoring port. At the time of these tests, the excavation in general, but particularly in the vicinity of the monitoring wells had not been backfilled in the final grade, as indicated by the dashed lines