PNNL

Abstract

This report summarizes groundwater-related numerical calculations that will support groundwater flow and transport analyses associated with the scheduled 2005 performance assessment of the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF) at the Hanford Site. The report also provides potential supporting information to other ongoing Hanford Site risk analyses associated with the closure of single-shell tank farms and related actions. The IDF 2005 performance assessment analysis is using well intercept factors (WIFs), as outlined in the 2001 performance assessment of the IDF. The flow and transport analyses applied to these calculations use both a site-wide regional-scale model and a local-scale model of the area near the IDF. The regional-scale model is used to evaluate flow conditions, groundwater transport, and impacts from the IDF in the central part of the Hanford Site, at the core zone boundary around the 200 East and 200 West Areas, and along the Columbia River. The local-scale model is used to evaluate impacts from transport of contaminants to a hypothetical well 100 m downgradient from the IDF boundaries. Analyses similar to the regional-scale analysis of IDF releases are also provided at individual tank farm areas as additional information. To gain insight on how the WIF approach compares with other approaches for estimating groundwater concentrations from mass releases to the unconfined aquifer, groundwater concentrations were estimated with the WIF approach for two hypothetical release scenarios and compared with similar results using a calculational approach (the convolution approach). One release scenario evaluated with both approaches (WIF and convolution) involved a long-term source release from immobilized low-activity waste glass containing 25,550 Ci of technetium-99 near the IDF; another involved a hypothetical shorter-term release of ~0.7 Ci of technetium over 600 years from the S-SX tank farm area. In addition, direct simulation results for both release scenarios were provided to compare with the results of the WIF and convolution approaches.