ML20210N098
| ML20210N098 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/15/1986 |
| From: | Grimm J, Haisfield M, Johnson T NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Martin D NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| REF-WM-39 NUDOCS 8702130047 | |
| Download: ML20210N098 (11) | |
Text
_
p-
~4,.
s-
.e, MC -15 E16 WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT MEMORANDUM FOR:
Dan E. Martin, Section Leader
' Uranium Recovery Section Low-Level Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch 3f FROM:
Joel Grimm Mark Haisfield VMi Record File V/M ProhcL Ted Johnson Docket No.
Steve Smykowski PDRV Michael Young LPDR Susan Bilhorn Distribution:
~ ~~ ~
Uranium Recovery Section Low-Level Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch pe;um to WM. 623-SS) _
SUBJECT:
TRIP REPORT: UMTRA SITE VISITS, UTAH AND COLORADO, SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 2, 1986 On September 29 to October 2,1986 staff of the NRC, DOE, and DOE contractors (TAC and RAC) made a tour of five UMTRA Project sites in Colorado and Utah. A i
list of attendees is included as Attachment 1.
The purpose of the tour was to become familiar with existing conditions at the sites and assist the staff's
-review of remedial action plans. This trip report provides a narrative description of each site..The narrative is accompanied by a photographic log-included as Attachment 2 to this report. Attachment 2 will be filed with the i-docketed trip report in the Document Control Center.
Maybell-Site, Colorado The Maybell' site visit consisted of a tour over and around the tailings
[.
embankmant,' overburden. piles and open pits of the uranium mine areas. An estimated 3 million tons of tailings cover approximately 80 acres, and would be r
L consolidated to approximately 55 acres if stabilized in place (SIP). The l
tailings embankment has been covered and appears to be well vegetated as l
required by the State. Mi.ybell is in the pre-final CADSAR stage of remedial
.(occurring during site visit)y being characterized through well drilling action. The site is currentl and sampling. During the site visit several items pf interest were brought up and/o'r viewed. These include:
Groundwater is apparently cor.:aminated from the tailings, as l
mentioned by the TAC. The e8ent of contamination is unknown. The L
TAC will be using nitrate anc! sulfate as pollution indicators.
r The tailings pile f s immediately adjacent to a large abandonned open pit uranium mine. The bottom of the pit was filled with water, but e
i it is unknown whether the source is groundwater or surface runoff.
8702130047 861215 PDR WASTE WM-39 PDR
OEC 15 85 WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT
- In order to characterize impacts upon groundwater resulting from the tailings pile separate from the effects of the open pit, the TAC has drilled several monitor wells between the open pit and the tailings.
Although one set of samples has been collected the results are not yet available.
Johnson Wash, to the east of the tailings pile, is incised approximately 10'ft (3 m) in sandy alluvium and at least.one of its small tributaries has eroded by headcutting to the base of the tailings embankment. This situation may require attention during the design of erosion protection in the Remedial Action Plan.
Rifle Site, Colorado:
Estes Gulch Alternative Disposal Area The first stop near Rifle site was an alternative disposal area at Estes Gulch; the alternative preferred by the State of Colorado. Estes Gulch is located several miles from any residents, in a remote, hilly area. Because of the present phase of remedial action (pre-EA), little technical information is yet available except for verbal comunication with the site manager, Bill Taber.
However, from first-hand observations and with information supplied by Mr.
Taber, the following points were noted:
Five observation wells have been constructed to characterize groundwater. One well with an approximate depth of 250 feet contained water. The other four wells were completed at depths ranging from 50 to 200 feet and are dry.
One set of water samples has been collected from the sole well with groundwater. However, we were told that the sample was contaminated during collection, and lab results are probably unreliable. From this information, it appears groundwater quality has not been characterized.
No apparent groundwater discharge was detected during the site visit.
Although direction of groundwater flow is unknown, the recharge point is prcbably a mountainous area north of the proposed pile location.
Groundwater probably flows southward to Government Creek.
A set of ten suction lysimeters, constructed at different depths, has been installed to monitor the behavior of the unsaturated zone.
The mesa forming this potential disposal site consists of approximately 25 feet of sandy and silty alluvium lying above steeply tilted strata of the Wasatch Formation. Arroyos have fomed on the nesa, eroding vertically walled gullies up to 16 feet deep, and show evidence of soil piping. This situation will probably require special design efforts in the Remedial Action Plan to prevent erosion of tailings.
OEt 15 W E WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT Grand Junction Site, Colorado Conditions and concerns regarding both the Grand Junction processing site and an alternative disposal area at Cheney Reservoir have been addressed in comments on the Grand Junction Draft Remedial Action Plan, transmitted to DOE on October 29, 1986. Those comments are meant to replace observations otherwise included here. See photographs and their descriptions in Attachment 2 of this trip report.
Green River Site, Utah Green River is in the final CADSAR stage of remedial action. Please refer to NRC comments on the final CADSAR, transmitted to DOE October 30, 1986. During the site visit the following observations were made:
The present disposal area occurs on the floodplain of Brown's Wash.
The TAC site manager, Leon Stepp, confirmed that Brown's Wash recently flooded the tailings area.
Lithologic logs, retrieved during well construction, were available from Bill Deutsch while on-site. These logs indicate the presence of shale material, but it it unknown whether the thickness is great enough to preclude downward migration of contaminants.
Bill Deutsch mentioned that the underlying Burro Canyon Sandstone was artesian.
Indeed, water was noted seeping from the casing of well 565, completed in the Burro Canyon Sandstone. This water is fairly high in salts, as seen from salt deposition on the casing and surficial alluvium. The water also had a strong odor of hydrogen sulfide.
In an effort to fully characterize the groundwater system, the TAC has just finished (August,1986) construction of 8 monitor wells and 3 lysimeters.
Inferring from information in the final CADSAR, groundwater appears to be moving west, towards Brown's Wash. Some water may also be moving north, also in the direction of Brown's Wash. No groundwater discharge point to Brown's Wash was noted during the site visit.
Deep gullies were observed in sandy alluvium and perhaps as deep as bedrock in the area preferred for tailings disposal. The arroyos have rather steep longitudinal profiles and are poorly vegetated.
Based on these conditions and the apparent flooding potential of Brown's Wash and tributaries, this site may require special design features for protection of tailings from erosion.
- ~ - -. - - - - - -
e
J.
q' ?
^
DEC 15 ses WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT '
Slick Rock Site, Colorado Slick Rock is in the pre-final.CADSAR stage of remedial action. DOE's-preferredmethodofdisposal_isstabilizationonsite(SOS). This disposal area is located on a terrace above the Dolores River, approximately 150 feet from the present location of the tailings. Several items of interest were noted:
Employing the SOS option will place the material about 300 feet from.
a trailer park. The residents, employees at the nearby natural-gas j
sweetener plant, utilize groundwater as their source of drinking water.
According to water-quality maps presented by Bill Deutsch, groundwater in the alluvial material is contaminated. The predominant direction of migration appears to be downstream, away from the tailings and the trailer park.. NRC staff brought up the concern that the groundwater used by the residents could become contaminated from the tailings. Mr. Deutsch replied that the residents withdrew water from a deeper bedrock aquifer, and because this ' aquifer is artesian, downward migration of contaminants should not occur.
During the site visit, we located several monitor wells, some of which were recently installed for site characterization. The older wells (FBDU?) appeared to be constructed with ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). This material is not recommended for use in monitor-well casing because of its capacity for scavenging dissolved metals from groundwater. The newer wells appear to be constructed with EPA-approved PVC casing.
The casing of one the FBDU(?) wells apparently terminates just below the ground surface, making the well unusable.
At least one monitor well is uncapped and open to the atmosphere.
Mr. Deutsch mentioned it was used only to measure water level, not for water sampling.
Generic Issues Although not resolved, several generic technical issues were discussed.
Groundwater characterization: To characterize groundwater quality, the TAC collects samples of groundwater water-level measurertents a minimum of only twice. For instance, this is being practiced'at the Maybell site. NRC staff suggested that two samples may not be frequent enough to characterize seasonal trends of water quality and flow directions, especially when the S&M plan requires quarterly
-w e-ww=,-r--sv a
=v-,-
-w-----w--r s
--w e---,m* - - - - ---~ -
.I,
MC 15 W WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT water samples, perfonned after remedial actions. Mr. Deutsch replied that semi-annual sample frequencies are practiced only at sites with very slow moving or stagnant groundwater systems.
Water Quality Standards: BothDonLeske(DOE)andBillDeutsch(TAC) voiced their frustrations at the lack of EPA groundwater standards for Title I sites. Because characterization activities should utilize individual criterion for indicators, the absence of standards makes this task difficult. Since the standards may not be promulgated until late 1987, it is likely that characterization of all the UMTRA sites will be performed without these standards intact.
Q8IGIAALsr m n Joel Grimm
. %. stavrn py Ma'rk Haisfield
% %8te g Ted Johnson E % frownegy Steve Smykowski Mike You W
Uranium Recovery Section Low-Level Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch
Enclosures:
As stated l
l l
[
?
Site Orientation Tour of Maybell, Rifle, Grand Junction, Green River, and Slick Rock, September 29 - October 2, 1936 DOE ATTENDEES POSITION Doncld N.
Leske Hydrogeologist Doborah E. Mann Engineer NRC ATTENDEES POSITION Michael H.
Young Hydrogeologist Suscn Bilhorn Project Manager Mark Haisfield Project Manager Stavo Smykowski Geotechnical Engineer Jool Grimm Geologist Ted Johnson Hydraulic Engineer TAC ATTENDEES POSITION Rcoul S.
Portillo Site Engineer Gano Hamlin Estimator Ron Rager Manager of Geotechnical Engineering Poto Rekemeyer Site Manager Bill Deutsch Manager of Hydrology Loon Stepp Site Manager Bill Taber Site Manager Eric Banks Site Geotechnical Engineer Borg Keshian Senior Engineer MKE ATTENDEES POSITION
'Joi Lin Site Engineer l
W4-39/UR TRIP REPORT.
ATTACHMENT 2 Description of Photographs Colorado-Utah VMTRAP Site Visit Maybell Site, Colorado 1.
Overview of Maybell tailings embankment, forming long line with yellow grassy vegetation just below the horizon. Other embankments include mine overburden piles. Johnson's Wash forms low area across view in middle distance.
2.
Johnson Wash approximately 250 ft (76 m) east of the tailings pile. Gully is approximately 10 ft (3 m) deep in sandy alluvium and is well vegetated.
3.
Tributary to Johnson Wash with headcutting into an area just below the southeast side of the tailings pile. The tailings are covered by a 6 to 12 inch layer of vegetated soil. The tailings average approximately 35 ft (11 m) thick and consist of both sand and slime material. Thicker areas, up to 65 ft (20 m), may consist primarily of slime. No visible evidence of salt precipitation was noted on the surface of the tailings pile.
4.
Gullies formed on steep unprotected slopes of uncontaminated overburden piles up to 2 m deep. DOE is considering use of the overburden for radon barrier construction, i
5.
Looking NW at abandoned open-pit mine, located NW of the tailings. The majority of the pit floor is filled with water, but the source of water is unkown. The TAC is monitoring this area to detennine potential effects of the pit on the hydrology of the area.
Rifle Processing Sites, Colorado 6.
Old Rifle processing site, looking south across the tailings. The Colorado River and 1-70 are located in the background of the photograph, but are hidden by vegetation.
7.
New Rifle processing site, looking north from I-70.
Tailings materials are in the center of the photograph. Rifle plant is in right background.
Rifle Site, Colorado:
Estes Gulch Alternative Disposal Area 8.
Overview of Estes Gulch preferred disposal area, seen from Hubbard Mesa to the south. Disposal area to be located'on mesa in middle distance, left of center, and backed nearly to the lightly foresteo foothills of Grand Hogback (horizon).
Estimated height of remediated pile is 20 ft (6 m).
Relief from left edge of disposal area to adjacent canyon is approximately 160 ft (50 m). Government Creek forms valley crcssing view in middle distance with relief from the disposal area of 240 ft (75 m).
~
WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT 9.
Overview of central area of proposed disposal site showing sandy-silty alluvium in a shallow gully with Government Creek and Hubbard Mesa in distance. Bedrock occurs approximately 25 feet (7.5 m) below the surface.
Proposed ccnstruction at Estes Gulch would involve removal of top 10 ft (3 m) of foundation soil for potential use as radon barrier material. The soil appears to be susceptible to swelling.
If the soil is used as radon barrier material, the TAC expects that the swell potential will decrease when remolded at higher moisture contents.
- 10. Main channel forming gully in pediment alluvium at the center of the proposed disposal area.
Gullies have maximal development with vertical walls, exceed 16 ft (5 m) depth, and show evidence of soil piping.
11.
Incipient gully fomation approximately 50 feet north of photograph 10.
- 12. Close-up of recently installed ground-water monitoring well, drilled to approximately 200 feet. The proposed disposal area is in middle distance.
Upgradient drainage area forms the, background.
Grand Junction Processing Site, Colorado
- 13. A large sinkhole (approximately 15 feet in diameter) on the surface of the pile. The TAC believes this feature resulted from collapse of an underground conduit.
- 14. A view of the sinkhole showing stratified tailings and overlying 6 inch cover. The tailings material varies from sand to slime throughout the pile. No visible evidence of salt precipitation was noted on the surface of the tailings pile.
The staff questioned high shear strength values for tailings material reported in the draft RAP. As a result of discussions, the TAC has agreed to revise the draft RAP stability analysis using more conservative shear strength values which were recomended by the staff.
- 15. Abandonea monitor well located in northern area of the tailings.
It appears that ground hogs have burrowed into the annular space around tne casing. This condition makes the well unusable. Many wells observed on the pile were in conditions similar to this.
16.
Looking south from the tailings, towards the Colorado River. Lecated in the center of the photograph are several 55-gallon drums. The drums' centents are unknown.
Grand Junction:
Chenev Reservoir Preferred Alternate Disposal A"ca 17.
View northward across surface typical of proposed disposa; area. Photo shows monitor wellhead on pediment surface P3b. Surfaces P4 and P5 fom higher levels on the horizon. Note lag gravel on ground but lack of well developed interlocking desert pavement suggested in DCE draft RAP. The
J
'd
~ /
-l WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT,
surface soils at Cheney Reservoir are a heterogeneous mixture of gravel, sand, silt,- and clay.
- 18. Unnamedarroyo(Creek"D"inDOEdraftRAP)400m(imile)southeastof, proposed dispcsal' area. Arroyo forms pediment surface P1, P3a fonns i
surface at left horizon, with local relief approximately 6 m (20 ft.).
Green River, Utah 19.
Proposed stabilization-on-site.(505) area on terrace level of Browns Wash, showing sandy and gravelly terrace deposits, undulating topography, and poor vegetative cover.
~
- 20. Proposed stabilization-in-place (SIP) area showing (left to right) Browns Wash vegetation, tailings pile on floodplain, small scarp composed of.
4 Mancos Shale and alluvium, and terrace level on right horizon. SOS area-i and mill yard to right.
- 21. Close-up of tailings pile and monitor well head.
Eroded scarp and terrace (S0S area) in distance and on horizon.
- 22. Tailings in the foreground and the proposed SOS area on terrace in the background. Approximately 137',000 tons of sandy. tailings cover 9 acres.
The tailings average 7 feet in thickness and are covered by a 6 to 12 inch layer of weathered Mancos Shale.
No visible evidence of salt precipitation was noted on the surface of the tailings pile.
23.
Browns Wash, looking downstream toward tailings and disposal sites in the background and horizon. Hydraulic engineer stands in eddy pool formed by currents on downstream side of railroad bridge abutments.
- 24. Tributary of Brown's Wash, view just to left of previous photograph. Site service road has 5 culverts to discharge this steam but they are e
approximately 90% blocked by sediment and debris.
Bed of channel during flood was at least as high as the backfilled sediment.
b
- 25. Close-up of well 565, drillea to approximately 80 feet and located in the i
tailings. This well is artesian as seen from the seepage of water from the casing. The white outline on the casing is salt precipitate.
Hydrogen sulfide gas was also noticed.
Slick Rock, Colorado 26._ Overview of Slick Rock disposal site showing (from foreground to backgrourd) Dolores River, flowing to right, low rock levee to protect tailings, tailings pile and recently regraded cover, terracd level chosen as SOS alternative disposal area, and Corral Draw (left) and Summit Canyon
,( right). Bedrock is Navajo Sandstone in canyon bottcm, Entrada Sandstone at white cliff, and Sumerville and Morrison Formation sandstone and
o WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT siltstones on the top slopes. An 8 inch soil cover overlies the fine sand tailings. No visible evidence of salt precipitation was noted on the surface of the tailings pile.
- 27. Close-up of lower Corral Draw with channel incised at least 10 m vertically in Navajo Sandstone and approximately 5 m of overlying gravel (right). Gravel lithology shows it was deposited by a former loop of the Dolores River (behind camera) 90 ft (27 m) higher than its present level.
- 28. Looking north across tailings pile. Cover material appears recently regraded. The Dolores River flows north (left) behind the tailings.
- 29. Close-up of monitor well constructed prior to recent characterization activities. Looking NW, tailings in left portion of photograph and natural gas sweetener plant in background.
- 30. Clos 5-up of same monitor well as described in photograph 25. Note the cracks surrounding the casing, indicating very poor well integrity.
l t
t I
l i
l t
.~
4,,'
q.
WM-39/UR TRIP REPORT- 0FFICIAL CONCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION RECORD MEMORANDUM FOR:
Dan E. Martin, Section Leader Uranium Recovery Section Low-Level Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch FROM:
Joel Grim Mark Haisfield Ted Johnson Steve Smykowski Michael Young Susan Bilhorn Uranium Recovery Section Low-Level Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch
SUBJECT:
TRIP REPORT: UMTRA SITE VISITS, UTAH AND COLORADO, SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 2, 1986 DATE:
DEC 15 W DISTRIBUTION WtN bcl I WM/SF NMSS RF RBrowning, WM MBell, WM JBunting, WMPC DMartin, WMLU MHaisfield & r/f JGrimm a r/f MikeYoung & r/f SSmykowski & r/f TedJohnson & r/f GGnugnoli SBilhorn CONCURRENCES ORGANIZATION /CONCUREE INITIALS DATE CONCURRED WMLU/JGrimm lh
/t/
WMLU/MHaisfield W
/
l WNLU/TJohnson 4
/
, f6 WMLU/SSmykowski rf3 i
t&
WMLU/MikeYoung
/Wy j.jg hMLU/SBilhorn 4C
'/
i i
.