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Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Waste Sites (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix F Disposition of the Nevada Site
Pages 141-148

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From page 141...
... The historic activities at the NTS are: atmospheric weapons testing, underground nuclear testing, safety testing of nuclear weapons, nuclear rocket development, near-surface disposal of radioactive wastes, crater disposal of contaminated soils and equipment, greater confinement disposal of radioactive wastes (a term denoting disposal more isolating that near-surface, but not a deep geologic repository (e.g., deep borehole disposal of radioactive wastes such as is used at NTS) , and site support activities.
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From page 142...
... . a diversified national test and demonstration site that can continue to support the reduced nuclear weapons defense program, while also attracting and supporting other high tech programs and industry that can make significant and long term contributions to local and national energy, environmental, defense, and economic needs (Nevada Test Site Economic Adjustment Task Force, 1994~.
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From page 143...
... However, the 112 MCi underground radiological source term considered in the NTS environmental impact statement as being available for potential migration is just the total activity from all underground tests that were conducted beneath the water table or within 101 m of the top of the water table, of which about 90 percent is due to tritium (U.S. Department of Energy, 1996a, p.
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From page 144...
... The extent of information and investigation concerning NTS geochemistry is even less than for hydrologic aspects, with the exception of areas having water chemistry and geology similar to that of the Yucca Mountain, which is being extensively investigated as a potential site for a high-level waste repository. While water composition per se is known adequately, the chemistry of its interactions with naturally occurring subsurface materials and characterization of naturally occurring chemicals that might affect radionuclide transport (e.g., colloid farmers)
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From page 145...
... Modeling results also indicate that groundwater flow paths from Pahute Mesa are the shortest of all those at the NTS site and constitute the highest potential for contamination migration to off-site public receptors (IT Corporation, 1998~. Recent analysis of water from a well near the TYBO nuclear weapon test site on Pahute Mesa (Thompson, 1998)
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From page 146...
... Disposition Decision The NTS is relying on contamination reduction measures for a specific set of contaminated sites such as those having surficial contamination from safety and atmospheric testing and the industrial sites. The goals of most such activities are to reduce contamination levels sufficiently so that the sites do not pose unacceptable risks to inadvertent intruders or during proposed industrial development, but the levels are not sufficiently low to allow site control to cease.
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From page 147...
... The DOE maintains an extensive guard force to prevent public access to the NTS to prevent exposure to legacy contamination and actively hazardous situations, as well as to protect classified activities. Future Reconsideration of the Disposition Decision The committee was unable to identify any specific commitment or process that would result in future reexamination of the major features of site remediation decisions being made today, although decisions will be made on specific details (e.g., cleanup levels for specific locations)
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From page 148...
... . Geology, Soils, Water Resources, Radionuclide Inventory; Technical Resources Report for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada.
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Key Terms

  • nevada test
  • pahute mesa
  • source term
  • las vegas
  • underground test

  • oasis valley
  • weapons testing
  • operations office
  • institutional management
  • underground tests

  • test sites
  • nevada operations
  • hazardous materials
  • underground nuclear
  • water table

  • nuclear testing
  • radiological source
  • surficial contamination
  • impact statement
  • radioactive wastes

  • contamination resulting
  • contaminated soils
  • nuclear weapon
  • livermore laboratory
  • prevent public

  • economic adjustment
  • reduction measures
  • recently initiated
  • radionuclide migration
  • melt glasses


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