Since the beginning of operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1943, shallow land burial has been used for the disposal of solid low-level radioactive waste. These wastes have originated from nearly every operating facility, and from 1955 to 1963, ORNL's solid waste storage areas were designated by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as the Southern Regional Burial Ground. During this period, about one million cubic feet of solid waste from various off-site installations were buried in solid waste storage areas (SWSAs) 4 and 5. Six SWSAs have been used since land burial operations began at ORNL in early 1944. ORNL has generated liquid radioactive waste since the separation of plutonium began in 1944. The majority of these wastes are classified as process (low-level) waste and are derived from evaporator condensate and cooling water from process vessels, and from building drains and surface drainage from contaminated areas. Process wastes are monitored at sampling stations located strategicially throughout the plant, and for nearly 15 years (1944 to 1957) they were discharged directly into White Oak Creek without being treated chemically to remove radionuclides. A smaller quantity of intermediate-level wastes (ILW) originate from the radiochemical separation process and from test reactors. The collection, treatment, and methods of disposal of ILW from the years 1943 to 1981 are described. Over this period of time there was a great deal of variation in the amounts and types of radioactive liquid wastes generated.

The management of low-level radioactive wastes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is complicated because of several factors: (1) some of the waste that had been disposed previously does not meet current acceptance criteria; (2) waste is presently being generated both because of ongoing operations as well as the remediation of former disposal sites; and (3) low-level radioactive waste streams that also contain chemically toxic species (mixed wastes) are involved. As a consequence, the waste management activities at ORNL range from the application of standard practices to the development of new technologies to address the various waste management problems. Considerable quantities of low-level radioactive wastes had been disposed in trenches at the ORNL site, and the trenches subsequently covered with landfill. Because the vadose zone is not very extensive in the waste burial area, many of these trenches were located partially or totally within the saturated zone. As a result, considerable amounts of radioactive cesium have been leached from the wastes and have entered the groundwater system. Efforts are currently underway to remediate the problem by excluding groundwater transport through the burial site. A number of waste streams have also been generated that not only contain low levels of radioactive species, but chemically noxious species as well. These mixed wastes'' are currently subject to storage and disposal restrictions imposed on both low-level radioactive materials and on substances subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Technologies currently under development at ORNL to treat these mixed wastes are directed toward separating the RCRA components from the radioactive species, either through destruction of the organic component using chemical or biochemical processes, or the application of solvent extraction or precipitation techniques to effect separation into dependent waste forms. 8 refs., 3 figs.

Considers problems of radioactive waste disposal and the precautions, safeguards, and standards to ensure safe handling of these wastes. Includes numerous nongovernmental reports on the sources and types of radioactive wastes. Focuses on the problems of dumping radioactive wastes into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.