Modifications to an existing waste containment structure at Niagara Falls Storage Site

The Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS), located near Lewiston, New York, is an interim waste containment facility for low-level radioactive waste. The facility was completed in 1986 and is managed for the Department of Energy (DOE) by Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) as part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The waste containment structure (WCS) at NFSS is approximately 297 m (975 ft) long and 137 m (450 ft) wide and reaches a maximum height of 10.4 m (34 ft). The peripheral slopes rise at an angle of 3:1 (h:v) for a width of about 16.8 m (55 ft), where the inclination decreases to 7.5%. The apex of the pile is higher at the south end, sloping about 1.2 m (4 ft) to the north. The interim layered cap consists of 0.9 m (3 ft) of clay overlain by 0.45 m (1.5 ft) of topsoil. The uppermost 15 cm (6 in.) of soil was loosely compacted to permit the development of a grass cover. In the summer of 1991, approximately 2,677 m3 (3,500 yd3) of additional contaminated soil and material in temporary storage elsewhere at NFSS was incorporated into the WCS. To accommodate the waste, a portion of the cap roughly centered with the pile [including 0.45 m (1.5 ft) of topsoil and 0.6 m (2 ft) of clay cap] was removed from an area 99 m (325 ft) long and 58.5 m (192 ft) wide, leaving a minimum of 0.3 m (I ft) of clay over the old waste as a radiation and radon barrier. The newly incorporated waste forms a layer 0.6 m (2 ft) thick, replacing the clay portion of the excavated cap. The waste is contained laterally by the old cap and sealed by a new cap, which also consists of 0.9 m (3 ft) of compacted clay and 0.45 m (1.5 ft) of topsoil. A transition zone about 6.1 m (20 ft) wide feathers the new cap to the old cap (see Fig. 3). Except for the uppermost 10.5 to 15.2 cm (4 to 6 in.) of vegetated topsoil, the excavated cap materials were stockpiled and reused in constructing the new cap. Additional material required to complete cap construction was imported from nearby sources. Hydroseeding, a technique involving wood pulp, water, seed, and sometimes fertilizer, was used to create the vegetative (grass) cover. This paper describes in detail each phase of the basic operations: partial excavation of the cap, waste placement, and new cap construction. Additionally, it introduces concepts relating to excavation methods, measures to prevent cracking of the remaining original cap, daily protection of newly placed waste to prevent contamination of neighboring surfaces or rainwater, lateral drainage of precipitation, equipment distribution during construction, placement of storage drums and miscellaneous debris as part of the new waste, soils laboratory control prior to and during execution of the work, and compaction of the clay cap, with permeability outweighing shear strength or compressibility as the prime consideration. (author)