Factors affecting tritium and 14carbon distributions in the unsaturated zone near the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada

Open-File Report 96-110

By: Robert G. Striegl, David E. Prudic, J. S. Duval, R. W. Healy, E. R. Landa, D.W. Pollock, D.C. Thorstenson, and R.P. Weeks

Interpretations of the distributions of tritiated water vapor (HTO_V) and ¹⁴carbon 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 HTO_V cannot be explained by vapor transport, either by diffusive or advective mechanisms. Thus, liquid transport appears to have played a role in moving HTO_V 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

Additional publication details
Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	USGS Numbered Series
Title	Factors affecting tritium and 14carbon distributions in the unsaturated zone near the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada
Series title	Open-File Report
Series number	96-110
DOI	10.3133/ofr96110
Year Published	1996
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location	Denver, CO
Contributing office(s)	Nevada Water Science Center, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
Description	iv, 16 p.
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Nye County
City	Beatty
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page