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:
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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
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
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
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
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.
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Figures and Tables
Figure 2.1 |
Location map of Ward Valley proposed facility site |
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Figure 2.2 |
Geologic map of the region around Ward Valley |
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Figure 2.3 |
Topographic map with location of the site, Homer Wash, the relevant drainage area, and the interstate I-40 |
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Figure 2.4 |
Relationship of various proposed Ward Valley site boundaries, and location of proposed and existing monitoring wells |
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Figure 2.5 |
The main facilities |
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Table 2.1 |
Geologic time scale |
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Figure 2.6 |
Interpretive geologic cross section across the Ward Valley site and the Colorado River valley at Needles |
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Figure 2.7 |
Block diagram of a typical metamorphic core complex |
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Figure 2.8 |
Interpretive model for the evolution of detachment faults and metamorphic core complexes |
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Figure 2.9 |
Cross section of the Ward Valley site |
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Figure 2.10 |
Seismic setting of Ward Valley-map of earthquakes in the region |
Figure 2.11 |
Well boring logs of alluvial sediments showing the character and variability of fan deposits |
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Figure 2.12 |
Bedrock surface topography in Ward Valley derived from geophysical data |
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Figure 2.13 |
Longitudinal geologic sections through Ward Valley based on geologic, gravity, well, and seismic-reflection data |
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Figure 3.1 |
Variation in water content on an alluvial fan along a 3 km transect in the Jornada Range in southern New Mexico |
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Figure 3.2 |
The relationship of the equilibrium matric potential to height above the water table |
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Figure 3.3 |
Schematic depth profiles of chloride concentration in soil water |
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Figure 3.4 |
Chloride concentrations in pore water of unsaturated sediments from three boreholes at the Ward Valley site |
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Table 3.1 |
Tritium results for unsaturated zone soil vapor |
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Figure 3.5 |
The isotopic composition of well water from the Ward Valley site in 1989 |
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Table 3.2 |
Regression data and calculated recharge temperature at Ward Valley |
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Figure 4.1 |
Advance of the wetting front with time |
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Figure 5.1 |
Postulated ground-water pathways from Ward Valley to the Colorado River |
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Figure 6.1 |
Schematic diagram of trench cover and monitoring islands |
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Figure 6.2 |
Details of Section 34 with location of site, wells, and borings |
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Figure 7.1 |
LLRW disposal site showing original topography |
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Figure 7.2 |
LLRW disposal site showing finished grade contours |
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Figure 7.3 |
Typical south-north (BB') and west-east (CC') cross sections through trench |
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Figure 7.4 |
Schematic plan view of temporary breakup berms |
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Table 7.1 |
Homer Wash sub-basin hydrologic summary |
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Figure 8.1 |
Desert Wildlife Management Areas (DWMAs) |