Trench
‘Bathtubbing’ and Surface Plutonium Contamination at
a Legacy Radioactive Waste Site

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Abstract

Radioactive waste containing a few grams of plutonium (Pu) was disposed between 1960 and 1968 in trenches at the Little Forest Burial Ground (LFBG), near Sydney, Australia. A water sampling point installed in a former trench has enabled the radionuclide content of trench water and the response of the water level to rainfall to be studied. The trench water contains readily measurable Pu activity (∼12 Bq/L of ^239+240Pu in 0.45 μm-filtered water), and there is an associated contamination of Pu in surface soils. The highest ^239+240Pu soil activity was 829 Bq/kg in a shallow sample (0–1 cm depth) near the trench sampling point. Away from the trenches, the elevated concentrations of Pu in surface soils extend for tens of meters down-slope. The broader contamination may be partly attributable to dispersion events in the first decade after disposal, after which a layer of soil was added above the trenched area. Since this time, further Pu contamination has occurred near the trench-sampler within this added layer. The water level in the trench-sampler responds quickly to rainfall and intermittently reaches the surface, hence the Pu dispersion is attributed to saturation and overflow of the trenches during extreme rainfall events, referred to as the ‘bathtub’ effect.

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Plutonium transport in the environment.

Annie Kersting (2013)

The recent estimated global stockpile of separated plutonium (Pu) worldwide is about 500 t, with equal contributions from nuclear weapons and civilian nuclear energy. Independent of the United States' future nuclear energy policy, the current large and increasing stockpile of Pu needs to be safely isolated from the biosphere and stored for thousands of years. Recent laboratory and field studies have demonstrated the ability of colloids (1-1000 nm particles) to facilitate the migration of strongly sorbing contaminants such as Pu. In understanding the dominant processes that may facilitate the transport of Pu, the initial source chemistry and groundwater chemistry are important factors, as no one process can explain all the different field observations of Pu transport. Very little is known about the molecular-scale geochemical and biochemical mechanisms controlling Pu transport, leaving our conceptual model incomplete. Equally uncertain are the conditions that inhibit the cycling and mobility of Pu in the subsurface. Without a better mechanistic understanding for Pu at the molecular level, we cannot advance our ability to model its transport behavior and achieve confidence in predicting long-term transport. Without a conceptual model that can successfully predict long-term Pu behavior and ultimately isolation from the biosphere, the public will remain skeptical that nuclear energy is a viable and an attractive alternative to counter global warming effects of carbon-based energy alternatives. This review summarizes our current understanding of the relevant conditions and processes controlling the behavior of Pu in the environment, gaps in our scientific knowledge, and future research needs.

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Characterization of plutonium in maxey flats radioactive trench leachates.

Catherine Rees, Rebecca J Cleveland (1981)

Plutonium in trench leachates at the Maxey Flats radioactive waste disposal site exists as dissolved species, primarily complexes of the tetravalent ion with strong organic ligands such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The complexes are not sorbed well by sediment and are only partly precipitated by ferric hydroxide. These results indicate the importance of isolating radioactive waste from organic matter.