By R.G. Striegl, D.E. Prudic, J.S. Duval, R.W. Healy, E.R. Landa,
D.W. Pollock, D.C. Thorstenson, and E.P. Weeks
ABSTRACT
Interpretations of the distributions of tritiated water vapor
(HTOv) and 14-carbon dioxide gas (14CO2) concentrations in the
unsaturated zone adjacent to the low-level radioactive-waste
burial site south of Beatty, Nevada, suggest that observed
concentrations of 14CO2 could be explained by either diffusive or
advective transport of the radioactive gas from the site.
The distribution of HTOv cannot be explained by vapor transport,
either by diffusive or advective mechanisms. Thus, liquid
transport appears to have played a role in moving HTOv to well
UZB-2. Although the process by which this occurred cannot be
determined from available data (and indeed may never be known), it
is likely that liquid wastes disposed directly into the trenches
during the period from 1962 to 1975 contributed to the offsite
contamination.
Liquid transport may have been enhanced by precipitation and
runoff into open trenches that resulted in the occasional
accumulation of ponded water in the trenches and flow along
preferential pathways in the underlying unsaturated zone.
This abstract was published in U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
96-110.