Waste migration studies at the Savannah River Plant burial ground

The low-level radioactive waste burial ground at the Savannah River Plant is a typical shallow-land-burial disposal site in a humid region. Studies of waste migration at this site provide generic data for designing other disposal facilities. A program of field, laboratory, and modeling studies for the SRP burial ground has been conducted for several years. Recent results of lysimeter tests, soil-water chemistry studies, and transport modeling are reported. The lysimeter experiments include ongoing tests with 40 lysimeters containing a variety of defense wastes, and recently concluded lysimeter tests with tritium and plutonium waste forms. The tritium lysimeter operated 12 years. In chemistry studies, measurements of soil-water distribution coefficients (K/sub d/) were concluded. Current emphasis is on identification of trace organic compounds in groundwater from the burial site. Development of the dose-to-man model was completed, and the computer code is available for routine use. 16 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs