ML20133D457

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Authorizes Use of Trench 18 for Burial of Radwaste Subj to Listed Conditions,Per 760903 Meeting & Jul 1976 Rept. Le Stratton to Jn Neel Encl
ML20133D457
Person / Time
Site: 02700039
Issue date: 09/21/1976
From: Singer B
NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To: Neel J
U.S. ECOLOGY, INC. (FORMERLY NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Shared Package
ML20133D449 List:
References
FOIA-85-619 NUDOCS 8510090067
Download: ML20133D457 (4)


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Docket 27-39 i

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i:aciccr Cr.;inc: ring Conpany, Inc.

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r. Jc as it. ;'ecl, President ca1 C'.icf Executive Orricer P. O. f.cx 7EG Lc.uisville, !
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On Scptcder 3,197G, to rat with representatives of f:uclcar Engir. cring Co"pcny, Inc. (!!ECO) to discuss the future use of Supportive inforr.'ation Trcnch 13 at the siicffield burial site.

conceraing Trench 18 uas provided byJ;Eco in a rcrort, "Invcstigation of Trcach 18 ::vclear l'aste Dispo:;al Site, Project !!o. 7C-219A, July D76 and uas discussed at the meting.

Pcscd on inforatica centati,cd in the report and the understandings ECO is hereby cuthorized to use Trcnch 18 l

re.:c.cd in the s.22 ting, i:

for Lurial of rcdicactive trastes subject to the folle :ing restrictions ccd c nditions.

7::e :h+ clear.".2;ulctory Comission and other persons desigr.ated by 1.

the Cc~.insica including, but not linited to, the U.S. Geolo:ical Suncy sy r;ckt im'erendent readings of pic7.cncters cnd vells croar.d cod in the vicinity of Tecnch 18 for the purpose of detenaining gesundt:ater levels tround and in the vicinity of the trench.

The bottom of the trench uill be lined utth ccncrete tanks fror.1 2.

Argonne llational Laboratory and/or Dresden.

Cr.ly concrete cnd/or steel containers u111 be placed in the trench.

3.

T!.c.Tount of rdioactive catcrial in any container placed in the

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trench shall not cxceed 200 i.illicurics.

i, eculctory Cc nission or persons designated by the r

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rectissica uill ranitor the r,round.1ater levels during filling of the tranch cad subsr q.:ent.to cc"pletien of fillin3 of the trench.

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?f, ct any tirs, th: grou d.:ntcr level is foanc to intercept the c: attiv:rs piccod in tr.e tr:rch, the Comission nay require that all containers i c rc: oved fraa the trench.

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I:EC0 uill provice qurrterly rer. orts to the f:P.C of the pierce.eter randings around tnd in the vicinity of Trcuch 10 cnd vill irr.adiately i

notify URC if the readings indicate that the uctor tctalc has intercepted any of the centainers buried in the trench. The i

iraediate notification shall be by telephcne follched by a full uritten report.

7.

If cny piezcmat.or raco indicates that tha unter tcble has i

intercepted any of t'.

. a.iners buried in the trcnch,llEC0 shall fr.mdictely ccus2 c.M desist any burial oparations in Trench 18.

The vatcr table, based on your evaluation, is within 0.4 feat of the i

bottom of the trench excluding the drcins. There cay be secconal fluctuations uhich could cause the unter table to rise above the trench bottca and intercept the containers in the trcnch. Therefore, the conditions set forth cbove should be recogni:ed relative to the use of Trench 18. !!c also wish to call to your attention the i

provisions of Condition 19 of License i;o. 13-10342-01 concerning l

exctvaticn of trenches so that water table utll not be intercepted and the need to take seascnal fluctuations into account,in detemining Ghc water tcble level.

Sinceraly, i

Criginal Signed By:

Bernard Singer Pernard Singer, Chief P,adioisotopes Licensing Ercnch niuieinn of Fuel Cycle end riaterial Safety cc: ifr. Charles F. Cason bcc: fir. George DeBuchananne llucicar Engineering Corpany, Inc.

Chief, Office of Radiohydrology 9200 Shelbyville P.oad, Suite 526 U.S. Geological Survey P. O. Box 7246 Reston, VA 22092 Louisville, Kentrcky 40207 1

11r. Gerald R. Day and Distribution:

lir. PeterTedeschi RECunningham ELD (RVoegeli)

I; DANussbaumer ELD (JBecker) 111 E. lionroe Street Springfield, Illinois BSinger FCRL R/F IBassin Docket File 27-39 NDassin R/F PDR LHulman, P328 Region III SEE PREVIOUS YELLO'd FOR CONCURRENCES (Hulman & JBecker, 9/'

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i 1:l'.. rr.Y twn;n To: uS October 29, 1976 IJ

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'fr. James N. Neel

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President and Executive Of ficer Pl.-

Nuclear Engineering Company, Inc.

9200 Shelbyville Road, Suite 526 P. O. Box 7246 Louisville, Kentucky 40207

Dear Mr. Neel:

The Illinois Department of Public llealth and the Illinois State Geological Survey have reviewed NECO's application to the U.S. NRC for interim authorization to bury low-level radioactive wastes in Trench #14 at the Sheffield site.

The application is generally a good description of the geology, but we have some reservations cot.cerning the hydrology. The discussion part of the application seems incomplete in regard to the following items:

1.

The neaning of the challowest " saturated" sample (how determined) and it s relation to the real water table, and the relation of the water levels in the piezometers to the water table.

2.

What effect aill the artesian cond it ions have on the burial of radio-active waste at the ;ite? The data suggest upward migration of ground uater in the till (flow can be either direction and still be under artesian conditions).

If this is correct, there are also hydrologic controls on tha migration of any possible contaminants.

Huwever, the piezometers are not constructed in a way from which this determination can be made conclusively.

3.

The paragraph beginning at the bottom of page 1-4 and concluding on page 1-5 describes the till as " impermeable" and "not holding s i;;n i f ica n t <piant it ies of wa ter".

There is no earth material totally l ope r.aea b l e, although one would expect the till here to be very slouly pernenble with a perneability (hydraulic conductivity) in the order of 10-7 to 10--8 cm/sec. No tests uere made on the material in this case, alt:.ough some exist in a previous consultant's report.

A water content of 10 to 20 percent by weight is not insignificant

..ad aay be greater than many aquifers. The reason the "till may appear dry" is a result of low permeability.

4.

Falling head permeability tests are indicated on pages 1-6, 1-10 to 1-11, and 1-18.

The value of these tests is unclear to us, and NOV 1;196 h L

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N. Meet Oc obe r ;"), l ') / 6 Muc1ra r !1.,;iacer ing ('o::pany o

_, 0 whether the results on page 1-11 are valid. The bottom of the trenches uhere the tests ar* made precomibly were in the un-saturated soil above the wat3r table; yet the results reported appear to be for saturated soils. We are not famil f ar uith the NAWAC DM7 procedure, but we assume it is similar to the infiltration test commonly used for septic system design. The latter tests give variable results which are only partly related to permeability.

5.

The construction of the piezometers allows water from the entire hole to enter the piezometer. Thus, the water Icvel measured in a piezemeter reflects water levels of all zones and their composite permeability.

The more permeabic a particular zone, the more influence on the water level in the piezometer; the consultant has assumed that one zone supplies all the water to the well.

The assumption may be correct, but this cannot be determined from the way the piezometers are constructed. The piezameters should have been scaled just above the stone screen cylinder, so that no more than five feet of hole was open.

A second, shallower piezometer (just below the water table) should also have been constructed in the sane, or adjacent, hole and sealed, leaving it open to only four or five feet of material.

This would allow for more precise determination of the water tahic and of any vertical hydraulic g rad ien t s.

6.

Piezameters constructed in this way allow vertical migration of water up the borehole in the precise manner described on page 1-12 (Section 1.4, 2nd paragraph, last sentence) of the consultant 's report. This, in time, could raise the water table to the height of the artesian pressure and cause water problems in the trench.

Uc suggest that piezameters P14-1 and P14-2 be drilled out, the hole plugged, and that they be replaced with pieze.neters scaled to prevent vertical migration of water.

Each site should have a shallow and a deep piezometer.

It is also desirable to rebuild piezcmeters P14-3A, but this is not essential. Any other piezo-neters on the property constructed in this or a similar r..anner which allow vertical migration of water should also be plugged or rebuilt.

We ask that you submit additional information and comments necessary to clarify these six questionable items.

Very truly yours, e.

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b'Y Leroy E. Stratton Associate Director PT:as cc:

B. Singer - NRC K. Cartwright - IGS l

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