The chemistry of geothermal, production, and injection fluids at the Dixie Valley Geothermal Field, Nevada, was characterized to address an ongoing scaling problem and to evaluate the effects of reinjection into the reservoir. Fluids generally followed mixing-dilution trends. Recharge to the Dixie Valley system apparently originates from local sources. The low-pressure brine and injection waters were saturated with respect to amorphous silica, which correlated with the ongoing scaling problem. Local shallow ground water contains about 15% geothermal brine mixed with regional recharge. The elevated Ca, Mg, and HCO{sub 3} content of this water suggests that carbonate precipitation may occur if shallow groundwater is reinjected. Downhole reservoir fluids are close to equilibrium with the latest vein mineral assemblage of wairakite-epidote-quartz-calcite. Reinjection of spent geothermal brine is predicted to affect the region near the wellbore differently than it does the region farther away.

A gamma-ray survey and analysis of sixteen riverbed samples from the Reedy River watershed near Simpsonville, SC were conducted and compared with national and international studies of primordial radionuclides. The study reported here follows on a recent discovery of anomalously high uranium concentrations in several private well waters in the area near Simpsonville, SC. A HPGe spectrometer was used for quantification of gamma emitting radionuclides in the sediments. All sediments contained radionuclides from the uranium and thorium series as well as {sup 40}K. Uranium-238 concentrations in sediment samples ranged from 11.1 to 74.2 Bq kg{sup -1}. The measured radionuclide concentrations were compared with data from UNSCEAR and NURE reports. The river and stream sediment data were augmented by in situ NaI(Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer measurements. Comparisons between the ex-situ and in-situ measurements indicate equivalently distributed uranium in the surface soils and stream sediments, the source of which is likely attributed to the monazite belts that are known to exist in the area.

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The end of the Cold War allows a comprehensive assessment of the nature and extent of the residual contamination derivative from the atomic defense and nuclear power enterprise in the former Soviet Union. The size of the problem is considerable; some 6.3 x 10{sup 7} TBq (6.4 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}) of radioactive waste from the Soviet Union weapons and power complex was produced throughout all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle. The resulting contamination occurs at sites throughout the former Soviet Union where nuclear fuels were mined, milled, enriched, fabricated, and used in defense and power reactors. In addition, liquid radioactive wastes from nuclear reprocessing have been discharged to lakes, rivers, reservoirs and other surface impoundments; military and civilian naval reactor effluents were released to sea as well as stabilized on land. Finally, nuclear testing residuals from atmospheric and underground nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk and Novaya Zemlya test sites and peaceful nuclear tests conducted throughout the area of the former Soviet Union pose risks to human health and the environment. Through a program of international scientific exchange, cooperative approaches to address these threats provide former Soviet scientists with expertise and technologies developed in the United States, Europe, …

Metals contamination exceeding drinking water standards (MCLs) is associated with acidic leachate generated from a coal pile runoff basin at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. The metals plume extends over 100 acres with its' distal boundary about onehalf mile from the Savannah River. Based on the large plume extent and high dissolved iron and aluminum concentrations, conventional treatment technologies are likely to be ineffective and cost prohibitive. In-situ bioremediation using existing groundwater microbes is being evaluated as a promising alternative technology for effective treatment, along with consideration of natural attenuation of the lower concentration portions of the plume to meet remedial goals. Treatment of the high concentration portion of the groundwater plume by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is being evaluated through laboratory microcosm testing and a field-scale demonstration. Organic substrates are added to promote SRB growth. These bacteria use dissolved sulfate as an electron acceptor and ultimately precipitate dissolved metals as metal sulfides. Laboratory microcosm testing indicate SRB are present in groundwater despite low pH conditions, and that their growth can be stimulated by soybean oil and sodium lactate. The field demonstration consists of substrate injection into a 30-foot deep by 240-foot long permeable trench. Microbial activity …

A screening and ranking framework (SRF) has been developedto evaluate potential geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites on thebasis of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) risk arising from CO2leakage. The approach is based on the assumption that CO2 leakage risk isdependent on three basic characteristics of a geologic CO2 storage site:(1) the potential for primary containment by the target formation; (2)the potential for secondary containment if the primary formation leaks;and (3) the potential for attenuation and dispersion of leaking CO2 ifthe primary formation leaks and secondary containment fails. Theframework is implemented in a spreadsheet in which users enter numericalscores representing expert opinions or published information along withestimates of uncertainty. Applications to three sites in Californiademonstrate the approach. Refinements and extensions are possible throughthe use of more detailed data or model results in place of propertyproxies.

First-year litter decomposition was estimated for an upland-oak forest ecosystem using enrichment or dilution of the {sup 14}C-signature of the Oi-horizon. These isotopically-based mass-loss estimates were contrasted with measured mass-loss rates from past litterbag studies. Mass-loss derived from changes in the {sup 14}C-signature of the Oi-horizon suggested mean mass loss over 9 months of 45% which was higher than the corresponding 9-month rate extrapolated from litterbag studies ({approx}35%). Greater mass loss was expected from the isotopic approach because litterbags are known to limit mass loss processes driven by soil macrofauna (e.g., fragmentation and comminution). Although the {sup 14}C-isotope approach offers the advantage of being a non-invasive method, it exhibited high variability that undermined its utility as an alternative to routine litterbag mass loss methods. However, the {sup 14}C approach measures the residence time of C in the leaf litter, rather than the time it takes for leaves to disappear; hence radiocarbon measures are subject to C immobilization and recycling in the microbial pool, and do not necessarily reflect results from litterbag mass loss. The commonly applied two-compartment isotopic mixing model was appropriate for estimating decomposition from isotopic enrichment of near-background soils, but it produced divergent results for isotopic dilution of …

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Geological, geophysical, and engineering-geological research conducted at the 'Yeniseisky' site obtained data on climatic, geomorphologic, geological conditions, structure and properties of composing rock, and conditions of underground water recharge and discharge. These results provide sufficient information to make an estimate of the suitability of locating a radioactive waste (R W) underground isolation facility at the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif

Construction of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL's) Underground Research Laboratory (URL) began in 1982. The URL was designed to address the needs of the Canadian nuclear fuel waste management program. Over the years, a comprehensive program of geologic characterization and underground hydrogeologic, geotechnical and geomechanical projects have been performed, many of which are ongoing. The scientific work at the URL has evolved through a number of different phases to meet the changing needs of Canada's waste management program. The various phases of the URL have included siting, site evaluation, construction and operation. Collaboration with international organizations is encouraged at the URL, with the facility being a centre of excellence in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) network of underground facilities. One of AECL's major achievements of the past 20 year program has been the preparation and public defense of a ten-volume Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a conceptual deep geologic repository. Completion of this dissertation on the characterization, construction and performance modeling of a conceptual repository in the granite rock of the Canadian Shield was largely based on work conducted at the URL. Work conducted over the seven years since public defense of the EIS has been directed towards …

This work is motivated by the growing interest in injectingcarbon dioxide into deep geological formations as a means of avoidingatmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide and consequent global warming.One of the key questions regarding the feasibility of this technology isthe potential rate of leakage out of the primary storage formation. Weseek exact solutions in a model of gas flow driven by a combination ofbuoyancy, viscous and capillary forces. Different combinations of theseforces and characteristic length scales of the processes lead todifferent time scaling and different types of solutions. In the case of athin, tight seal, where the impact of gravity is negligible relative tocapillary and viscous forces, a Ryzhik-type solution implies square-rootof time scaling of plume propagation velocity. In the general case, a gasplume has two stable zones, which can be described by travelling-wavesolutions. The theoretical maximum of the velocity of plume migrationprovides a conservative estimate for the time of vertical migration.Although the top of the plume has low gas saturation, it propagates witha velocity close to the theoretical maximum. The bottom of the plumeflows significantly more slowly at a higher gas saturation. Due to localheterogeneities, the plume can break into parts. Individual plumes alsocan coalesce and from larger plumes. The …