In 1996, Rocky Flats established an Actinide Migration
Studies (AMS) Group to provide guidance and data on issues of actinide
(plutonium, americium, and uranium) behavior and mobility in surface
water, groundwater, and soil environments. The AMS Group has been asked to
draw on the state-of-the art understanding in the scientific community on
actinide chemistry, geochemistry, soil erosion/transport, and migration.
This knowledge would be used to help characterize current environmental
conditions at Rocky Flats and recommend a path forward for Site personnel
for long-term protection of surface water quality during and after Site
closure.
Specifically, the goal of the AMS group is to answer the following questions in the order of urgency shown:
- Urgent : What are the important actinide migration sources and migration processes that account for recent surface water quality standard exceedances?
- Near-term : What will be the impacts of actinide migration on planned remedial actions? To what level do sources need to be cleaned up to protect surface water from exceeding action levels for actinides?
- Long-term : How will actinide migration affect surface water quality after Site closure (what soil action levels will be sufficiently protective of surface water over the long-term)?
- Long-Term : What is the long-term off-site actinide migration, and will it impact downstream areas (e.g., accumulation)?
Through these efforts, Rocky Flats will have a better understanding of the steps necessary to design and implement remedial actions that are protective of surface water resources.
A paper titled Integration of the WEPP and HEC-6T Models to Predict Soil Erosion and Actinide Transport in Surface Water was presentated at the 7th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference, March 2001. A PowerpointTM presentation provides an overview of the methodology for estimating erosion, sediment transport, and actinide transport in surface water at the RFETS site. The presentation compliments the poster and paper. Click here to view the Erosion Sediment Transport Presentation