Identification of the elements of typical hazardous waste facilities (HFWs) that are the major contributors to the risk are focussed on as the elements which require additional considerations in the design and construction of low-level nuclear waste management repositories and HWFs. From a recent study of six typical HWFs it was determined that the factors that contribute most to the human and environmental risk fall into four basic categories: geologic and seismological conditions at each HWF; engineered structures at each HWF; environmental conditions at each HWF; and nature of the material being released. In selecting and carrying out the six case studies, three groups of hazardous waste facilities were examined: generator industries which treat or temporarily store their own wastes; generator facilities which dispose of their own hazardous wastes on site; and industries in the waste treatment and disposal business. The case studies have a diversity of geologic setting, nearby settlement patterns, and environments. Two sites are above a regional aquifer, two are near a bay important to regional fishing, one is in rural hills, and one is in a desert, although not isolated from nearby towns and a groundwater/surface-water system. From the results developed in the study, it was …

A gap between a neutron sonde and the wall of a borehole can have a significant effect on the observed count rate. This effect was determined experimentally to be linear with gaps as large as 2.5 cm. The count rate is given by N/sub N/ = K/sub 0/ + K/sub 1/g where K/sub 0/ is the count rate that would be observed at zero gap, and g is the gap. The parameters K/sub 0/ and K/sub 1/ are dependent on both water (ie. hydrogen) content and bulk density. In many situations failure to correct the count rate for this gap effect can result in a significant degradation in the accuracy of the water content calculated from the count rate. In a dry borehole, K/sub 1/ is small at zero formation water content, and increases with formation water content. In a water-filled borehole, K/sub 1/ is large at zero formation water content, and tends to decrease with increasing formation water content, becoming zero, as of course it must, if the formation is pure water. The absolute value of K/sub 1/ increases with increasing density. A representation was determined for K/sub 0/ and K/sub 1/ from experimental data. This representation can be …