Download RADIOACTIVE CHEMICAL APPEARING IN WATERSHED TRENCH

CHEMICAL APPEARING IN WATERSHED
RADIOACTIVE CHEMICAL APPEARING IN WATERSHED
Environmentalists want the operator of a low-level radioactive waste
facility in Barnwell County to use more stringent burial practices of waste
because tritium, a radioactive chemical, is appearing in a tributary of the
Savannah River. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental
Control has divided the state into eight major watersheds, where all water
— surface or underground — drains to common areas in the state. The
Barnwell Waste Management Facility, as well as Bluffton and Hilton Head
Island, is within the Savannah River Basin.
Environmentalists want the operator of a low-level radioactive waste facility in Barnwell County to use more stringent
burial practices of waste because tritium, a radioactive
chemical, is appearing in a tributary of the Savannah River.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
has divided the state into eight major watersheds, where all
water — surface or underground — drains to common areas
in the state. The Barnwell Waste Management Facility, as well
as Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, is within the Savannah
River Basin.
S.C.
TRENCH SYSTEM
At right is a typical trench
system for the disposal of
low-level radiation waste.
When vaults are
filled, sand and soil
are poured over
and around the
vaults. The final
layer is engineered
layers of sand, clay,
polyethylene and
top soil.
NOTE: Not to scale
S.C.
TRENCH SYSTEM
Ramp allows
access for vehicles.
About
1,000 ft.
long
About
300 ft.
wide
About
30 ft.
deep
Vaults
CLAY
At least five
feet between
vault and
ground water
Water table
1 to 3 feet of
sand sloped to a
sump pump.
Standpipes allow
rainwater to be monitored.
Source: The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
Staff
At right is a typical
About
Ramp allows
1,000 ft.
trench system for the access for
long
About
300 ft.
vehicles.
disposal of low-level
wide
radiation waste.
When vaults
About
30 ft.
are filled,
deep
Vaults
sand and soil
are poured
CLAY
At least five
over and
Water table
feet between
around the
vault and
ground water
vaults. The
1 to 3 feet of
final layer is
sand sloped to a
engineered layers
sump pump.
of sand, clay,
Standpipes
allow
polyethylene and top soil.
rainwater to be monitored.
NOTE: Not to scale
Source: The S.C. Department of Health
and Environmental Control
Staff