Geohydrology of the Rattlesnake Ridge Interbed in the Gable Mountain Pond Area

摘要

Liquid waste disposal practices at the US Department of Energy's Hanford Site include the discharge of low-level radioactive liquid waste to cribs, trenches, and surface ponds. A study was conducted to develop a conceptual ground-water flow model and characterize the current distribution of radionuclides in the ground water of the Rattlesnake Ridge interbed at one of these facilities, the Gable Mountain Pond (facility 216-A-25). Specially constructed wells were drilled in the vicinity of Gable Mountain Pond to obtain radionuclide distribution data and hydrologic properties of the aquifer. The acquired data were analyzed to determine concentrations of anions, cations, selected radionuclides and groundwater flow patterns. Geologic mechanisms which may be responsible for the determined concentration distribution were evaluated using borehole and subsurface geophysical techniques. (ERA citation 08:014118)