PNNL

Abstract

The subsurface distribution of a nuclear waste tank leak on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site was sampled by slant drilling techniques in order to characterize the chemical and radiological characteristics of the leaked material and assess geochemical transport properties of hazardous constituents. Sediment core samples recovered from the borehole were subjected to distilled water and acid leaching procedures with the resulting leachates analyzed for isotopic and chemical signatures. High-sensitivity inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques were used for determination of isotopic ratios for Cs, I, Mo. Analysis of the isotopic patterns of I and Mo combined with associated chemical data showed evidence for at least two separate intrusions of nuclear waste into the subsurface. Isotopic data for Cs was inconclusive with respect to a source attribution signature.