Groundwater treatment technologies used to remove or contain radioactive contaminants found in the leachate plumes from waste storage sites at Chalk River Laboratories : a case study
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Issue Date
2017-05-04
Editor
Authors
Gillespie, Lorne Andrew William
License
Subject
barrier
groundwater
plume
Strontium-90
groundwater
plume
Strontium-90
Abstract
At Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) two remediation technologies are used on one
shallow sand trench waste storage area and one abandoned and buried processing plant each
containing contaminated groundwater plumes. The first technology is a funnel and gate
permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to filter out strontium-90 from a contaminated groundwater
plume and the second technology is a wall and curtain system installed near the site of an
abandoned ammonium nitrate processing plant also used to remove strontium-90 from the
groundwater. Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope that is readily taken up through water
absorption and has the capability of travelling long distances through groundwater. This case
study used trends in analysis results and comparisons with other reports and literature regarding
the use of PRBs to assess the two in use at CRL and make recommendations for improvements
to the systems.