93. 



I never saw a quarry that was water tight. 



I know where it is and that it isn't going to move 

 around. It doesn't have to be granite, it can be any 

 firm rock. 



The health agencies are going to insist on some spec- 

 ifications. It cannot leak into ground water which will be 

 used for drinking or irrigation. It cannot be a source of 

 contamination of the atmosphere. Winds have a way of 

 whipping up a lot of surface water into the atmosphere. 

 A tornado could suck up the total contents and spread 

 them over the landscape. A cover would be indicated. 

 (AEC) 



What would be needed would be a test of the pit with 

 tracers, over a period of time equivalent to the length 

 of storage time. 



Monitoring in jointed rock would be difficult. Some 

 method should be used to immobilize the wastes -- 

 grouting, self- sealing, etc. 



One of the first properties to be determined is the 

 leaching qualities of the sintered wastes. 



Hatch at Brookhaven has information on leaching from 

 montmorillonite clay. 



When we talk about self- sealing, we have to remember 

 that aluminum is in the picture because all reactors now 

 are research reactors; with the high temperatures in- 

 volved in the power field, the wastes will be zirconium or 

 stainless steel. (Union Carbide and Carbon). 



Anything on the surface is going to make an attractive 

 military target. 



The current system of storing in tanks presents the 

 same hazard. 



Another surface basin might be a lake, or a large de- 

 pression like Death Valley. 



