55. 



gathered to date indicates that it may be possible to correlate the 

 data on waste with the data on water. If this proves valid, a reliable 

 picture of the ground water movement may make it possible to pre- 

 dict in a given situation whether or not a hazard would be created by 

 the release or escape of wastes into the ground. 



DR. DENISON: Did you say your first two pits were built on 

 a knoll and you had a breakthrough at the base? 



MR. MORTON: Yes. 



DR. DENISON: And you are now building one which won't have 

 that hazard? 



MR. MORTON: No, that is also being built on somewhat of a 

 knoll in order to keep the pit above the water table as much as pos- 

 sible. We plan to put fresh water into this pit and make observations 

 on seepage into the ground. The water can be pumped out and the 

 waste put in later. We suspect that it will break out but we feel that 

 in dealing with intermediate or low level waste we should take advan- 

 tage of the capacity of the soil so long as we don't get a breakout that 

 is excessive of hazardous. 



CHAIRMAN HESS: We will now hear from Mr. Struxness. 



Mr. E.G. Struxness, Director 



Waste Disposal Project 



Health Physics Division 



Oak Ridge National Laboratory 



P. O. Box P 



Oak Ridge, Tennessee 



MR. STRUXNESS: In late 1954, after extensive discussions, 

 we set out to formulate a practical concept of the reactor waste dis- 

 posal problem. Calculations based on the Putnam predictions of 

 power development in the next forty years yielded figures that were 

 invariably large. After a year of study, we decided to let others 

 worry about the U.S. problem and we would be content to develop a 

 method of disposing of ORNL wastes. Highly- radioactive power- 

 reactor waste may be disposed of in pits, provided there is complete 

 retention and immobilization of radionuclides in the pits. For the 

 disposal of low-level and intermediate -level waste, some combination 

 of retention plus seepage might be useful. 



