National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

WARD VALLEY

An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology

Committee to Review Specific Scientific and Technical Safety Issues Related to the Ward Valley, California, Low-Level Radioactive Waste Site

Board on Radioactive Waste Management

Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
WASHINGTON D.C.
1995

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Support for this study of Ward Valley was provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, under agreement 1434-94-A-1269 (INTR/USGS).

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-69191

International Standard Book Number 0-309-05288-2

Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Box 285 Washington, D.C. 20055 Call 800-624-6242 or 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area).

B562

Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Cover art by C. Etana Finkler© 1995. Ms. Finkler is a world-travelled water colorist and computer-graphics artist living in Takoma Park, Maryland. Through vividly-colored imagery, she portrays the diversity and commonality in everyday culture.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

COMMITTEE TO REVIEW SPECIFIC SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO THE WARD VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITE

GEORGE A. THOMPSON, Chairman,

Stanford University, Stanford, California

THURE E. CERLING,

University of Utah, Salt Lake City

G. BRENT DALRYMPLE,

Oregon State University, Corvallis

ROBERT D. HATCHER, JR.,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

AUSTIN LONG,

University of Arizona, Tucson

MARTIN D. MIFFLIN,

Mifflin and Associates, Incorporated, Las Vegas, Nevada

JUNE ANN OBERDORFER,

San Jose State University, San Jose, California

KATHLEEN C. PARKER,

University of Georgia, Athens

DUNCAN T. PATTEN,

Arizona State University, Tempe

DENNIS W. POWERS, Consulting Geologist,

Canutillo, Texas

STEPHEN J. REYNOLDS,

Arizona State University, Tempe

JOHN B. ROBERTSON,

HydroGeoLogic, Incorporated, Herndon, Virginia

BRIDGET R. SCANLON,

University of Texas, Austin

LESLIE SMITH,

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

BRUCE A. TSCHANTZ,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

SCOTT TYLER,

Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada

PETER J. WIERENGA,

University of Arizona, Tucson

Staff

INA B. ALTERMAN, Study Director

CARL A. ANDERSON, BRWM Director

KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Associate Director

REBECCA BURKA, Administrative Assistant

ELIZABETH M. LANDRIGAN, Technical Assistant

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

BOARD ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

MICHAEL C. KAVANAUGH, Chairman,

ENVIRON Corporation, Emeryville, California

B. JOHN GARRICK, Vice-Chairman,

PLG, Incorporated, Newport Beach, California

JOHN F. AHEARNE,

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

JEAN M. BAHR,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

LYNDA L. BROTHERS,

Davis Wright Tremaine, Seattle, Washington

SOL BURSTEIN,

Wisconsin Electric Power, Milwaukee (retired)

MELVIN W. CARTER,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta (emeritus)

PAUL P. CRAIG,

University of California, Davis (emeritus)

MARY R. ENGLISH,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

ROBERT D. HATCHER, JR.,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DARLEANE C. HOFFMAN,

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California

H. ROBERT MEYER,

Keystone Scientific, Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado

PERRY L. McCARTY,

Stanford University, Stanford, California

CHARLES McCOMBIE,

National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Wettingen, Switzerland

PRISCILLA P. NELSON,

National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia

D. KIRK NORDSTROM, U.S.

Geological Survey, Boulder, Colorado

D. WARNER NORTH,

Decision Focus, Incorporated, Mountain View, California

GLENN PAULSON,

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago

PAUL SLOVIC,

Decision Research, Eugene, Oregon

BENJAMIN L. SMITH, Independent Consultant,

Columbia, Tennessee

Staff

CARL A. ANDERSON, Staff Director

KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Associate Director

INA B. ALTERMAN, Senior Staff Officer

ROBERT S. ANDREWS, Senior Staff Officer

KARYANIL T. THOMAS, Senior Staff Officer

THOMAS E. KIESS, Staff Officer

VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative Assistant

REBECCA BURKA, Administrative Assistant

LISA J. CLENDENING, Administrative Assistant

DENNIS L. DUPREE, Administrative Assistant

PATRICIA A. JONES, Project Assistant

ELIZABETH M. LANDRIGAN, Technical Assistant

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES

M. GORDON WOLMAN, Chairman,

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

PATRICK R. ATKINS,

Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

EDITH BROWN WEISS,

Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.

JAMES P. BRUCE,

Canadian Climate Program Board, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

WILLIAM L. FISHER,

University of Texas, Austin

EDWARD A. FRIEMAN,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

GEORGE M. HORNBERGER,

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

W. BARCLAY KAMB,

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

PERRY L. MCCARTY,

Stanford University, Stanford, California

S. GEORGE PHILANDER,

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

RAYMOND A. PRICE,

Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada

THOMAS C. SCHELLING,

University of Maryland, College Park

ELLEN SILBERGELD,

University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland

STEVEN M. STANLEY,

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,

Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida

Staff

STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director

STEPHEN PARKER, Associate Executive Director

MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director

JIM MALLORY, Administrative Officer

SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Silences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

Table of Contents

 

 

Executive Summary

 

1

   

Introduction

 

1

   

Major Conclusions Regarding the Seven Issues

 

2

1.

 

Introduction

 

15

   

Federal Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act

 

16

   

The Ward Valley Controversy

 

19

   

Committee Declaration

 

24

   

References

 

25

2.

 

Setting of the Ward Valley Site

 

27

   

Location

 

27

   

General Facility Description

 

27

   

Regional Geologic Setting

 

32

   

Pre-Miocene Geologic History

 

35

   

Geomorphology

 

45

   

Subsurface Geophysical Data

 

46

   

Surface-Water Hydrology

 

52

   

Hydrogeology

 

53

   

Ecology

 

54

   

References

 

56

3.

 

Recharge Through the Unsaturated Zone

 

63

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

63

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

63

   

The Committee's Approach

 

64

   

The Nature of Water Movement in the Unsaturated Zone

 

64

   

The Nature, Direction, and Magnitude of Water Flux Beneath the Ward Valley Site

 

73

   

Environmental Tracers as Indicators of Soil-Water Movement

 

77

   

Evidence for Recharge to the Ground Water Beneath the Site

 

94

   

Summary of Conclusions of Subissues 3, 4, and 5

 

105

   

Adequacy of the Performance-Assessment Modeling

 

106

   

Summary of Conclusions

 

111

   

Recommendations

 

115

   

References

 

117

4.

 

Infiltration and Lateral Flow

 

123

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

123

   

The DHS/U. S. Ecology Position

 

123

   

The Committee's Approach

 

123

   

Lateral Flow Under Natural and Enhanced Rainfall Conditions at Arid Sites

 

124

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×
   

Lateral Flow Under Ponded Conditions at Arid Sites

 

128

   

Lateral Flow in Engineered Systems at Arid Sites

 

129

   

Conclusions

 

130

   

References

 

131

5.

 

Ground-water Pathways to the Colorado River

 

133

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

133

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

136

   

The Committee's Approach

 

138

   

Review of Pathways

 

143

   

The Magnitude of Potential Impacts of Long-Lived Radionuclide Migration from the Site to the Colorado River

 

145

   

Summary of Conclusions

 

149

   

References

 

149

6.

 

Subsurface Monitoring Program

 

151

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

151

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

151

   

The Committee's Approach

 

152

   

The Performance Monitoring Plan for the Unsaturated Zone

 

152

   

Performance Monitoring of the Unsaturated Zone

 

153

   

Summary and Conclusions

 

161

   

The Compliance Monitoring Plan for the Saturated Zone

 

162

   

References

 

167

7.

 

Flood Control and Engineering Considerations

 

169

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

169

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

169

   

The Committee's Approach

 

170

   

Description of Proposed Facilities

 

170

   

Hydrological Setting

 

175

   

Design Criteria

 

182

   

Geomorphic Evidence of Erosional Stability

 

187

   

Conclusions: Adequacy of Proposed Flood Protection System Design

 

189

   

References

 

192

8.

 

The Desert Tortoise

 

195

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

195

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

195

   

The Committee's Approach

 

195

   

Assessment of the Plan to Remediate Potential Impacts

 

199

   

Conclusions and Recommendations

 

203

   

References

 

205

9.

 

Revegetation

 

209

   

The Wilshire Group Position

 

209

   

The DHS/U.S. Ecology Position

 

209

   

The Committee's Approach

 

209

   

Conclusions and Recommendations

 

211

   

References

 

211

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

Figures and Tables

Figure 2.1

 

Location map of Ward Valley proposed facility site

 

28

Figure 2.2

 

Geologic map of the region around Ward Valley

 

29

Figure 2.3

 

Topographic map with location of the site, Homer Wash, the relevant drainage area, and the interstate I-40

 

30

Figure 2.4

 

Relationship of various proposed Ward Valley site boundaries, and location of proposed and existing monitoring wells

 

31

Figure 2.5

 

The main facilities

 

33

Table 2.1

 

Geologic time scale

 

34

Figure 2.6

 

Interpretive geologic cross section across the Ward Valley site and the Colorado River valley at Needles

 

37

Figure 2.7

 

Block diagram of a typical metamorphic core complex

 

38

Figure 2.8

 

Interpretive model for the evolution of detachment faults and metamorphic core complexes

 

39

Figure 2.9

 

Cross section of the Ward Valley site

 

41

Figure 2.10

 

Seismic setting of Ward Valley-map of earthquakes in the region

 

43

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
×

Figure 2.11

 

Well boring logs of alluvial sediments showing the character and variability of fan deposits

 

44

Figure 2.12

 

Bedrock surface topography in Ward Valley derived from geophysical data

 

49

Figure 2.13

 

Longitudinal geologic sections through Ward Valley based on geologic, gravity, well, and seismic-reflection data

 

50

Figure 3.1

 

Variation in water content on an alluvial fan along a 3 km transect in the Jornada Range in southern New Mexico

 

66

Figure 3.2

 

The relationship of the equilibrium matric potential to height above the water table

 

71

Figure 3.3

 

Schematic depth profiles of chloride concentration in soil water

 

79

Figure 3.4

 

Chloride concentrations in pore water of unsaturated sediments from three boreholes at the Ward Valley site

 

82

Table 3.1

 

Tritium results for unsaturated zone soil vapor

 

86

Figure 3.5

 

The isotopic composition of well water from the Ward Valley site in 1989

 

99

Table 3.2

 

Regression data and calculated recharge temperature at Ward Valley

 

101

Figure 4.1

 

Advance of the wetting front with time

 

126

Figure 5.1

 

Postulated ground-water pathways from Ward Valley to the Colorado River

 

134

Figure 6.1

 

Schematic diagram of trench cover and monitoring islands

 

154

Figure 6.2

 

Details of Section 34 with location of site, wells, and borings

 

164

Figure 7.1

 

LLRW disposal site showing original topography

 

171

Figure 7.2

 

LLRW disposal site showing finished grade contours

 

172

Figure 7.3

 

Typical south-north (BB') and west-east (CC') cross sections through trench

 

173

Figure 7.4

 

Schematic plan view of temporary breakup berms

 

176

Table 7.1

 

Homer Wash sub-basin hydrologic summary

 

179

Figure 8.1

 

Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMAs)

 

197

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1995. Ward Valley: An Examination of Seven Issues in Earth Sciences and Ecology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4939.
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The book examines specific scientific and technical safety issues related to the proposed low-level radioactive waste site at Ward Valley, California. It includes, among other issues, evaluation of the potential for infiltration by shallow subsurface water, contamination of ground water and the Colorado River, damaging effects on the desert tortoise habitat, and restoration of the native vegetation.

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