2009 DOE-EM LONG-TERM MONITORING TECHNICAL FORUM SUMMARY REPORT

The U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has the responsibility for cleaning up 60 sites in 22 states that were associated with the legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons program and other research and development activities. These sites are unique and many of the technologies needed to successfully disposition the associated wastes have yet to be developed or would require significant re-engineering to be adapted for future EM cleanup efforts. In 2008, the DOE-EM Engineering and Technology Program (EM-22) released the Engineering and Technology Roadmap in response to Congressional direction and the need to focus on longer term activities required for the completion of the aforementioned cleanup program. One of the strategic initiatives included in the Roadmap was to enhance long term performance monitoring as defined by 'Develop and deploy cost effective long-term strategies and technologies to monitor closure sites (including soil, groundwater, and surface water) with multiple contaminants (organics, metals and radionuclides) to verify integrated long-term cleanup performance'. To support this long-term monitoring (LTM) strategic initiative, EM 22 and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) organized and held an interactive symposia, known as the 2009 DOE-EM Long-Term Monitoring Technical Forum, to define and prioritize LTM improvement strategies and products that could be realized within a 3 to 5 year investment time frame. This near-term focus on fundamental research would then be used as a foundation for development of applied programs to improve the closure and long-term performance of EM's legacy waste sites. The Technical Forum was held in Atlanta, GA on February 11-12, 2009, and attended by 57 professionals with a focus on identifying those areas of opportunity that would most effectively advance the transition of the current practices to a more effective strategy for the LTM paradigm. The meeting format encompassed three break-out sessions, which focused on needs and opportunities associated with the following LTM technical areas: (1) Performance Monitoring Tools, (2) Systems, and (3) Information Management. The specific objectives of the Technical Forum were to identify: (1) technical targets for reducing EM costs for life-cycle monitoring; (2) cost-effective approaches and tools to support the transition from active to passive remedies at EM waste sites; and (3) specific goals and objectives associated with the lifecycle monitoring initiatives outlined within the Roadmap. The first Breakout Session on LTM performance measurement tools focused on the integration and improvement of LTM performance measurement and monitoring tools that deal with parameters such as ecosystems, boundary conditions, geophysics, remote sensing, biomarkers, ecological indicators and other types of data used in LTM configurations. Although specific tools were discussed, it was recognized that the Breakout Session could not comprehensively discuss all monitoring technologies in the time provided. Attendees provided key references where other organizations have assessed monitoring tools. Three investment sectors were developed in this Breakout Session. The second Breakout Session was on LTM systems. The focus of this session was to identify new and inventive LTM systems addressing the framework for interactive parameters such as infrastructure, sensors, diagnostic features, field screening tools, state of the art characterization monitoring systems/concepts, and ecosystem approaches to site conditions and evolution. LTM systems consist of the combination of data acquisition and management efforts, data processing and analysis efforts and reporting tools. The objective of the LTM systems workgroup was to provide a vision and path towards novel and innovative LTM systems, which should be able to provide relevant, actionable information on system performance in a cost-effective manner. Two investment sectors were developed in this Breakout Session. The last Breakout Session of the Technical Forum was on LTM information management. The session focus was on the development and implementation of novel information management systems for LTM including techniques to address data issues such as: efficient management of large and diverse datasets; consistency and comparability in data management and incorporation of accurate historical information; data interpretation and information synthesis including statistical methods, modeling, and visualization; and linage of data to site management objectives and leveraging information to forge consensus among stakeholders. One investment sector was developed in this Breakout Session

Probabilistic performance-assessment modeling of the mixed waste landfill at Sandia National Laboratories.

A probabilistic performance assessment has been conducted to evaluate the fate and transport of radionuclides (americium-241, cesium-137, cobalt-60, plutonium-238, plutonium-239, radium-226, radon-222, strontium-90, thorium-232, tritium, uranium-238), heavy metals (lead and cadmium), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL). Probabilistic analyses were performed to quantify uncertainties inherent in the system and models for a 1,000-year period, and sensitivity analyses were performed to identify parameters and processes that were most important to the simulated performance metrics. Comparisons between simulated results and measured values at the MWL were made to gain confidence in the models and perform calibrations when data were available. In addition, long-term monitoring requirements and triggers were recommended based on the results of the quantified uncertainty and sensitivity analyses

ENHANCEMENTS TO NATURAL ATTENUATION: SELECTED CASE STUDIES

In 2003 the US Department of Energy (DOE) embarked on a project to explore an innovative approach to remediation of subsurface contaminant plumes that focused on introducing mechanisms for augmenting natural attenuation to achieve site closure. Termed enhanced attenuation (EA), this approach has drawn its inspiration from the concept of monitored natural attenuation (MNA)

Diagnóstico e avaliaçao dos impactos ambientais de aterros de disposiçao de resíduos no Estado do Paraná : estudo de caso dos Municípios de Jacarezinho e Barra do Jacaré

Orientadora: Maria Cristina B. BragaCo-orientadora: Sandra Mara AlbertiDissertaçao (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduaçao em Recursos Hídricos e Ambientais. Defesa: Curitiba, 2005Inclui bibliografia e anexosResumo: Com a finalidade de avaliar até que ponto as classificações e práticas adotadas pela engenharia e gestão pública são eficientes, foi realizado o diagnóstico ambiental de dois aterros municipais de disposição de resíduos, um em Jacarezinho e outro Barra do Jacaré, no Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Estes aterros estão localizados em uma região carente de estudos científicos e apoio tecnológico. A pesquisa levantou aspectos ambientais para a identificação dos impactos ambientais correlatos. O levantamento dos aspectos ambientais estendeu-se dos levantamentos bibliográficos aos ensaios laboratoriais, passando por ensaios de campo e modelagem matemática. Como resultados parciais, foi determinada a caracterização físico-química do chorume e dos efluentes do sistema de tratamento de chorume, assim como a caracterização físicoquímica dos solos locais. A identificação dos impactos ambientais permitiu o aprofundamento das investigações geoambientais a fim de caracterizar, de modo preliminar, as duas áreas de estudo. A percolação de chorume é a principal forma de contaminação de solos e águas por aterros de resíduos, sendo a ausência de poços e programas de monitoramento os fatores responsáveis pelo desconhecimento desta situação. A pesquisa apontou que a concepção do aterro acontece, normalmente, de forma apropriada estando as principais falhas relacionadas aos modos como os aterros são operados e geridos. Os resultados mostram que o enquadramento dado pelos órgãos ambientais nem sempre condiz com a realidade, podendo um aterro enquadrado como sanitário impactar mais o meio ambiente do que um lixão. Palavras-chave: Aterro Sanitário, Impacto Ambiental, Resíduos Sólidos, ChorumeAbstract: With the purpose of evaluating to what extent the classifications and practices adopted by the engineering and public administration they are efficient, it took place the environmental diagnosis of two municipal landfills in Jacarezinho and Barra do Jacaré, Paraná, Brazil. These landfills are located in a lacking area of scientific studies and technological support. The research lifted environmental aspects for identification of the related environmental impacts. The rising of the environmental aspects extended from bibliographical risings to laboratory rehearsals, going by field rehearsals and mathematical modeling. As partial results, it was obtained the physical-chemical characterization of the leachate and of the output of the system of leachate treatment, as well as the physical-chemical characterization of the local soils. The identification of the environmental impacts allowed goes deeper in the environmental investigations in order to characterize, in preliminary way, the two study areas. The leachate infiltration is the main form of contamination of soils and waters in landfill's areas, being the absence of wells and monitoring programs the responsible for the ignorance of this situation. The research pointed that the conception of the landfills happens, usually, in an appropriate way being the principal flaws related to the manners as the landfill's are operated and managed. The results show that the classification given by the environmental organs not always corresponds to the reality, being able to a landfill classified as safe be more dangerous to the environment of an old unlined landfill. Key-words: Landfill, Environmental Impact, Solid Urban Waste, Leachat

Justification for Class 3 Permit Modification, Corrective Action Complete with Controls, Solid Waste Management Unit 76, Mixed Waste Landfill, Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico, EPA ID Number NM5890110518 Volumes I through VIII

The Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE) and Sandia Corporation (Sandia) are submitting a request for a Class 3 Modification to Module IV of Hazardous Waste Permit NM5890110518-1 (the Permit). DOE and Sandia are requesting that the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) designate solid waste management unit (SWMU) 76 as approved for Corrective Action Complete status. NMED made a preliminary determination in October 2014 that corrective action is complete at this SWMU. SWMU 76, known as the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL), is a 2.6-acre site at Sandia National Laboratories, located on Kirtland Air Force Base immediately southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Radioactive wastes and mixed wastes (radioactive wastes that are also hazardous wastes) were disposed of in the MWL from March 1959 through December 1988. The meximum depth of burial is approximately 25 feet below the ground surface. Groundwater occurs approximately 500 feet below the ground surface at the MWL. DOE and Sandia have implemented corrective measures at SWMU 76 in accordance with the requirements of the Permit; an April 2004 Compliance Order on Consent between NMED, DOE, and Sandia; and the plans approved by NMED. On January 8, 2014, NMED approved a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan (LTMMP) for SWMU 76. DOE and Sandia have implemented the approved LTMMP, maintaining the controls established through the corrective measures. The permit modification request consists of a letter with two enclosures: 1. A brief history or corrective action at SWMU 76 2. An index of the supporting documents that comprise the justification for the permit modification request. The supporting documents are included in an 8-volume set: Justification for Class 3 Permit Modification for Corrective Action Complete With Controls, Solid Waste Management Unit 76, Mixed Waste Landfill. Volume/pages: I/858. II/420. III/556. IV/1128. V/848. VI/1110. VII/914. VIII/866