Determination of filtration velocity of ground water at refinery sludge farm area, using single well radiotracer method

A radioactive tracer experiment was carried out to determine the filtration velocity and its direction within the sludge farm area in a refinery plant. The site is mainly reclaimed by laterite soil and there are three boreholes were constructed around the farm used to monitor fluctuation of ground water table. About 1 mCi of Br-82 in the form of potassium bromide was injected in borehole No. 8 to measure the filtration velocity. Radioisotope Au-194 (2 mCi) in the form of AuCl sub 4- complex solution was introduced into boreholes no. 7 and no. 9 to determine the direction of its ground water. Results of the experiment showed that the filtration velocity varies from 2.3 to 4.5 cm/day depending on the structure of the soil matrix and in general it moves toward between N140E - N160E