An analysis of groundwater contamination from the operation of a 6-GEV continuous electron beam accelerator

The potential contamination of groundwater in the vicinity of a beam dump associated with a 6-GeV continuous electron beam accelerator has been analyzed considering the site hydrology. The potential contamination arising from photoneutron activation of soil and the subsequent leaching, transport, and decay of tritium are examined. The analysis accounts for dilution from groundwater transport and infiltration of precipitation. The results demonstrate that dilution reduces the concentration of tritium in the groundwater by one order of magnitude from a simple production and transport model that does not consider the effect of dilution