Long-term cover design for low-level radioactive and hazardous waste sites as applied to the rocky flats environmental technology site solar evaporation ponds

摘要

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) operated five lined solar envaporation ponds (SEPs) at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) in Je0fferson County, Colorado from 1953 until 1986. Figure 1 presents a location map of the RFETS. The SEPs were used primarily to store and evaporate low-level radioactive and hazardous process wastes. Operation of the SEPs has resulted in contamination of the surrounding soils, and may also provide a source of groundwater contamination. The DOE proposes to close the SEPs by consolidating the contaminated material beneah an engineered cover. The primary objective of the closure of such hazardous and radioactive sites is to limit the exposure of the general public to the contaminants for time periods ranging from 100 to 10, 000 years.~(1, 2, 3) The goal of the SEPs engineered cover is to isolate hazardous and low-level radioactive soils for a minimum of 1,000 years.