Burial Ground 4 was poened in February 1951 and closed to routine burial operations in July 1959. The average rate of burial during this period was about 2j~ acres per year. The site was underlain by the Conasauga shale of Cambrian age. At the burial ground the formation consisted mostiy of maroon and gray shales interbedded with a few thin limestone lenses. Water-level measurements indicated that the buried waste was in contact with ground water during most periods of the year. Activity was detected in water samples from a number of wells located in areas of low topography where ground water contact with the waste was greatest. Radionuclides were also found in seeps and streams within the area. No significant activity from the burial ground was contributed to nearby White Oak Creek. (auth).

Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 6, located at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) facility, is a shallow land burial site for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and other waste types. Wastes were disposed of in unlined trenches and auger holes from 1969 until May 1986, when it was determined that Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulated wastes were being disposed of there. DOE closed SWSA 6 until changes in operating procedures prevented the disposal of RCRA wastes at SWSA 6. The site, which reopened for waste disposal activities in July 1986, is the only currently operated disposal area for low-level radioactive waste at ORNL. This report provides the results of the 1998 RCRA groundwater assessment monitoring. The monitoring was performed in accordance with the proposed routine monitoring plan recommended in the 1996 EMP. Section 2 provides pertinent background on SWSA 6. Section 3 presents the 1998 monitoring results and discusses the results in terms of any significant changes from previous monitoring efforts. Section 4 provides recommendations for changes in monitoring based on the 1998 results. References are provided in Section 5. Appendix A provides the 1998 RCRA Sampling Data and Appendix B provides a summary of 1998 Quality Assurance results.

Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 6, located at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) facility, is a shallow land burial site for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and other waste types. Wastes were disposed of in unlined trenches and auger holes from 1969 until May 1986, when it was determined that Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulated wastes were being disposed of there. DOE closed SWSA 6 until changes in operating procedures prevented the disposal of RCRA wastes at SWSA 6. The site, which reopened for waste disposal activities in July 1986, is the only currently operating disposal area for low-level radioactive waste at ORNL. In addition to SWSA 6, it was determined that hazardous wastes were treated at the Explosives Detonation Trench (EDT). Explosives and shock-sensitive chemicals such as picric acid, phosphorus, and ammonium nitrate were detonated; debris from the explosions was backfilled into the trench.