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APPLIED STUDIES & TECHNOLOGY VARIATION IN GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS: RESULTS OF PHASE II FIELD INVESTIGATIONS AND FINAL SUMMARY REPORT
U.S. DOE, Office of Legacy Management. LMS/ESL/S16662, ESL-RPT-2018-01, 327 pp, 2018
The catalyst for this study was the observation in 2012-2013 that concentrations of dissolved ions and selected contaminants varied with depth in groundwater monitoring wells at several former uranium-ore processing and disposal sites managed by DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM). In some cases, the range in specific conductance (SC, an indicator of dissolved ion concentrations), uranium, and other contaminants measured over a decade or more in a well could be reproduced in several hours by sampling the well at different depths. Based on these data, LM undertook an investigation to assess the extent of vertical chemical stratification that occurs in monitoring wells at sites managed under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Program. The study entailed two phases. Phase I was conducted to assess the overall prevalence of vertical stratification in site monitoring wells based on measurements of SC, a measure of salinity. Phase I culminated in a 2015 report, Variation in Groundwater Aquifers: Results of 2013-2014 Phase I Field Investigations. Phase II, the basis of this report, focused on investigating whether the measured vertical variation in SC corresponds to similar variation in milling-related constituents—in particular, uranium. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/10/f56/S16662_VariationRpt.pdf
The catalyst for this study was the observation in 2012-2013 that concentrations of dissolved ions and selected contaminants varied with depth in groundwater monitoring wells at several former uranium-ore processing and disposal sites managed by DOE's Office of Legacy Management (LM). In some cases, the range in specific conductance (SC, an indicator of dissolved ion concentrations), uranium, and other contaminants measured over a decade or more in a well could be reproduced in several hours by sampling the well at different depths. Based on these data, LM undertook an investigation to assess the extent of vertical chemical stratification that occurs in monitoring wells at sites managed under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Program. The study entailed two phases. Phase I was conducted to assess the overall prevalence of vertical stratification in site monitoring wells based on measurements of SC, a measure of salinity. Phase I culminated in a 2015 report, Variation in Groundwater Aquifers: Results of 2013-2014 Phase I Field Investigations. Phase II, the basis of this report, focused on investigating whether the measured vertical variation in SC corresponds to similar variation in milling-related constituents—in particular, uranium. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/10/f56/S16662_VariationRpt.
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