Successful remediation of four uranium calibration pits at Technical Area II, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Page: 1 of 15
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SUCCESSFUL REMEDIATION OF FOUR URANIUM CALIBRATION PITS AT TECHNICAL AREA II,
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A.
Rarilee Conway (Sandia National Laboratories), Michael Wade (INTERA, Inc.), Tommy Tharp (Roy F.
Weston, Inc.), and John Copland (SAIC)
ABSTRACT
The first remediation of an Environmental Restoration (ER) Project site at Sandia National
Laboratories (SNL) was successfully conducted in May and June 1994 at Technical Area II (TA-Il) in
Albuquerque, New Mexico (Fig. 1). The removal action involved four Uranium Calibration Pits
(UCPs) filled with radioactive or hazardous materials. The concrete culvert pits were used between
1978 and 1984 by the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) to test and calibrate borehole
radiometric logging tools for uranium exploration.
The UCPs were remediated as part of a voluntary corrective measure (VCM) to reduce investigation
costs and accelerate regulatory cleanup schedules. The cost of the VCM to the ER Project was
approximately $100,000. A cost savings of at least $180,000 was achieved by conducting the
VCM instead of following the standard regulatory process.
The removal action consisted of excavating and containerizing the pit contents and contaminated
soil beneath the culverts, removing the four culverts, and backfilling the excavation. Each UCP
removal had unique complexities.
Sixty 208-L drums of solid radioactive waste and eight 208-L drums of liquid hazardous waste
were generated during the VCM. Two of the concrete culverts will be disposed as radioactive
waste and two as solid waste. Uranium-238 was detected in UCP-2 ore material at 746 pCi/g, and
at 59 pCi/g in UCP-1 silica sand. UCP-4 was empty; sludge from UCP-3 contained 122 mg/L (ppm)
chromium.
Place Fig. 1 here
This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-
94AL85000.
DISCLAIMER
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States
Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their
employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi-
bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or
process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer-
ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark,
manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom-
mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views
and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the
United States Government or any agency thereof.
DISTRIBUTION OF TH-I ~OOCUMENT 1S UNUtMITED
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Conway, R.; Wade, M.; Tharp, T. & Copland, J. Successful remediation of four uranium calibration pits at Technical Area II, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, article, December 31, 1994; Albuquerque, New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc717033/m1/1/: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.