U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY $ttOF££&£O»N!At f
Ground-Water Hydrology and Subsurface 

Migration of Radionuclides at a Commercial 

Radioactive-Waste Burial Site, West Valley, 

Cattaraugus County, New York

By DAVID E. PRUDIC

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1325

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1986
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DONALD PAUL HODEL, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prudic, DavidE.

Ground-water hydrology and subsurface migration of radionuclides at a commercial radioactive-waste burial site, West Valley, 

Cattaraugus County, New York.

(U.S. Geological Survey professional paper ; 1325)

Bibliography: p. 80

Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.16:1325

1. Water, Underground New York (State) Cattaraugus County. 2. Ground-water flow New York (State) Cattaraugus

County Simulation methods. 3. Radioactive-waste disposal in the ground New York (State) Cattaraugus County. I.

Title. II. Series: Geological Survey professional paper ; 1325.

GB1025.N7P78 1986 628.1'685 84-600197

For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract 

Introduction 

Purpose and scope 

Acknowledgments 

Physical setting 

. 1

_____ 2

 2

____ g

Climate and precipitation 3 

Geology -

Bedrock 

Glacial deposits 

Postglacial erosion 

Ground water 

Occurrence and movement 

Chemical quality 

Waste-burial trenches 

Construction and content 

3

5

5

6

6

8

8

8

10

Test holes and wells 12 

Stratigraphy and general ground-water movement at the

burial site 14

Physical and hydraulic properties of the till 20

Physical and mineralogical properties 20

Hydraulic conductivity 20

Anisotropy 2 3

Fractured zone 23

Lenses of sorted material 23

Extent and continuity 23

Hydraulic conductivity 29

Equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the till 29

Ground-water flow at the burial site 30

Flow within the till 30

Flow within the underlying lacustrine unit 32

Computer simulation of ground-water flow 33

North trenches 37

Page

Ground-water flow at the burial site Continued

Computer simulation of ground-water flow Continued

South trenches 41

Limitations and results 41

Seepage from trenches to nearest streams 43

Seepage through a hypothetical permeable layer 44

Estimated traveltime 44

Recharge to trenches 46

Correlation of precipitation with water-level 

rises in trenches 

Effects of additional cover over trenches 1 through 5 

on water levels 

Infiltration of precipitation through cracks in cover 

Cracks caused by settling of waste 

Cracks caused by seasonal drying of cover 

Chemistry of trench water 

Sampling methods 

Composition of trench water 

Radionuclide migration from trenches 

Outward migration 

Downward migration 

- 49

- 54

- 54

- 54

- 56

- 57

- 57

- 58

- 58

- 61

- 64

Tritium 65

Cobalt and cesium 68

Strontium 69

Carbon 69

Plutonium 69

Distribution coefficients of selected radionuclides 71

Migration rates 71

TVitinm _______ ______________________________________ 73 J.11L1U111 ^^ ' * *

Strontium 76

Carbon 78

Summary and conclusions 79

References cited 80

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1. Map showing location of Western New York Nuclear Service Center, streams, and selected wells within

Cattaraugus Creek basin 2 

2. Map showing location of reprocessing center, waste-burial trenches, streams, wells, test holes, and geologic

sections within Western New York Nuclear Service Center 4 

Duration curves of daily flow for Cattaraugus, Buttermilk, and Franks Creeks, 1940-78 5 

Graphs showing monthly distribution of average annual runoff, Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda 6 

Map showing bedrock-surface altitude in Buttermilk Creek valley 7

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Vertical section showing typical ground-water flow patterns in the region near West Valley 

Map showing locations of waste-burial trenches and nearby test holes and wells 

Map showing surficial geology of burial site and vicinity 

Geologic sections across and along Buttermilk CreekIdealized cross section in vicinity of the burial site west of Buttermilk Creek showing inferred

distribution of saturated and unsaturated material and general directions of ground-water flow - 

Graph showing relation of hydraulic conductivity and volumetric soil-moisture content to soil-moisture tension 23

11

16

17

19

Cross sections showing distribution of sorted material in till at waste-burial site 

Vertical sections through trenches showing head distribution during February 1976 

Graphs showing water-level trend in piezometers, January 1976 through May 1978 

Map showing direction of ground-water flow in lacustrine sequence beneath the till, as determined from water 

levels in three piezometers 

24

31

34

36

III
IV CONTENTS

Page

FIGURE

TABLE

16.

17. 

18.

19. 

20. 

21.

22.

23. 

24. 

25.

26.

27. 

28. 

29-30.

31. 

32.

33. 

34. 

35. 

36.

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10.

11.

12. 

13.

14. 

15. 

16

Vertical section C-C X through north trenches showing node arrangement, boundary conditions,

Graph showing comparison of computer-simulated water levels with observed water levels

Vertical section D-D through south trenches showing computer-simulated distribution

Part of vertical section D-DX from trench 8 eastward to Franks Creek showing computer-simulated

Graphs showing water level in trench 5 after pumpout of water in July and September 1976 and

MmrrmVirr 1 Q77

Graphs showing water level in trenches 12 and 14 in relation to precipitation, March 1979 through 

January 1980

Graphs showing water level in trench 5 after covers of trenches 1 through 5 were regraded in August 1978 

Profiles of tritium concentrations:

Profiles showing comparison of observed tritium concentrations with those calculated from an analytical

Profiles showing comparison of observed and calculated ""Sr concentrations beneath trench 8 in test hole 8-2B 

Profile showing comparison of observed and calculated 90Sr concentrations beneath trench 4 in test hole 4-4A 

Profile showing predicted 90Sr concentrations in till beneath trench 4 after 10, 100, and 500 years 

TABLES

Results of slug tests for hydraulic conductivity at piezometers finished in unoxidized till 

Results of slug tests for hydraulic conductivity at piezometers finished in lenses of sorted materials 

Heads observed in February 1976 and February 1978 compared with results of best-fitting computer simulations

Lowest 30-day and 60-day cumulative rainfall periods from May through October, 1968 through 1978,

Changes in concentration of tritium and gross alpha and gross beta determinations in trenches 4, 5,

rinnppnt.rflfinn nf* Splprt.pH vaHinrmrliHpc Hnnnnth tvnnrViPS A. & nr\r\ ft .... ,. 

3Q

4.0

41

42

4*;

 46

47

48

*>0

KO

KQ

 55

fi9

CK

£Q

70

74

 76 

 77 

 78 

 79

Page

19

1 Q

14

21

01

 22 

oo

 29

56

Pi'7

59

KQ

fiO

fifi
CONTENTS V

CONVERSION FACTORS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The following factors may be used to convert the International System of Units (SI) in this report1 to inchpound units.

Multiply SI units

centimeter (cm) 

meter (m) 

kilometer (km)

by

Length

0.394 

3.281 

0.621

To obtain inch-pound units

inch (in.) 

foot (ft) 

mile (mi)

Area

square centimeter (cm2) 

square meter (m2) 

square kilometer (km2) 

hectare (h)

0.155 

10.8 

0.386 

2.47

square inch (in2) 

square foot (ft2) 

square mile (mi2) 

acre

Volume

cubic centimeter (cm3) 

cubic meter (m3) 

liter (L) 

liter (L)

gram (g)

2.64 x 10-4 

35.31 

0.264 

0.035

Weight

2.205 x 10'3

gallon (gal) 

cubic foot (ft3) 

gallon (gal) 

cubic foot (ft3)

pound (Ib)

Hydraulic conductivity

centimeters per second (cm/s) 2.835 x 10 3 feet per day (ft/d)

Pressure

kilograms per square centimeter (kg/cm2) 

centimeters of water (cm of H2O)

14.22 

0.033

pounds per square inch (psi) 

feet of water (ft of H2O)

Specific conductance

microsiemens per centimeter at 

25 °C OtS/cm)

1 micromhos per centimeter at 

25°C (^mho/cm)

Chemical concentration

milliliters per gram (mL/g) 

milligrams per liter (mg/L)

degree Celsius (°C)

1

Temperature

(9/5 °C) +32

parts per million2

degree Fahrenheit (°F)

Radiometric concentration

microcuries per millimeter (^iCi/mL) 

microcuries per gram (^Ci/g)

Topographic maps of this area have contour intervals of 10 feet; therefore illustrations incorporating these maps are scaled in conventional units. 

! Milligrams per liter approximately equal parts per million when dissolved-solids concentration is less than about 7,000 milligrams per liter.
VI CONTENTS

Notation for Selected Radionuclides

Notation

3H

HTO

"C

60Co

40R

22Na

85Sr

90gr

133Ba

l34Cs

137Cs

241Am

238pu

239.240pu

Element

Tritium (hydrogen)

Tritium (hydrogen

in form of water)

Carbon

Cobalt

Potassium

Sodium

Strontium

Strontium

Barium

Cesium

Cesium

Americium

Plutonium

Plutonium

Atomic weights

3

3

14

60

40

22

85

90

133

134

137

241

238

239,240

ALTITUDE DATUM

The term "National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929" (NGVD of 1929) replaces the formerly used term "mean sea 

level" to describe the datum for altitude measurements. NGVD of 1929 is derived from a general adjustment of the firstorder leveling networks of both the United States and Canada. For convenience in this report, the datum is referred 

to as sea level.
GROUND-WATER HYDROLOGY AND SUBSURFACE MIGRATION

OF RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE

BURIAL SITE, WEST VALLEY, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

By DAVID E. PRUDIC

ABSTRACT

Low-level radioactive wastes were buried during 1963-75 in a series 

of trenches excavated in a fine-grained till. The till is about 28 m thick. 

Beneath the till is a lacustrine sequence that is unsaturated in the 

upper few meters but saturated in the lower several meters; the 

saturated part provides an avenue of slow lateral flow to nearby 

Buttermilk Creek. Fractures with oxidized and (or) reduced walls 

extend as much as 5 m below the pre-trench land surface. Simulation 

of ground-water flow in the till by a digital computer model suggests 

that the fractured till is 5 to 10 times more permeable than the 

underlying unfractured till and that the hydraulic conductivity of the 

unfractured till decreases by 15 to 30 percent with depth as a result 

of compaction by overburden. The direction of ground-water flow 

through the till is predominantly downward because the underlying 

lacustrine sequence acts as a drain to the till. The specific flux of water 

is estimated to be between 0.3 and 2.3 cm/yr; this is equivalent to an 

average linear (pore) velocity of 1 to 8 cm/yr, assuming a porosity of 

30 percent.

All trenches contain water, and water levels in some have risen 

repeatedly and have required periodic pumpout. Computer simulations 

indicate that water seeping outward through the trench walls will not 

reach adjacent small streams as long as water in the trenches remains 

below the base of the covers. Deformed lenses of silt and sand constitute 7 percent of the till mass, but few extend more than a few meters 

laterally; simulations suggest that even an extensive lens would not 

conduct trench water to a nearby stream. If trench water should rise 

into the 2 to 4 m of reworked till covering the trenches and seep out, 

however, it could flow overland to streams.

Differences in the rates of water-level rise among the trenches are 

attributed to differences in hydraulic conductivity of the cover material. 

In trenches completed before 1970, water began to rise after the dry 

summer of 1971, overflowed briefly from two trenches in 1975, and 

was periodically removed by pumping thereafter. In four of the seven 

trenches completed during 1970-75, water levels rose noticeably after 

the dry summer 1978. The increase in water-level rise is attributed 

to desiccation cracks that intersected or enlarged previous cracks that 

had formed by settling of buried waste. Water-level trends in the 

trenches indicate that once cracks extend through the cover, they do 

not close completely, even during wet periods.

Peak tritium concentrations (generally 10 5 to 10"3 /iCi/mL) in 

cores from test holes drilled near the trenches in 1976 were found 

within 3 m of land surface and are attributed to surface contamination from fallout or surface spills. Secondary peaks found at about 9

m depth from cores of two test holes next to trench 5 suggest that outward migration may be as much as 3 m. Other radionuclides were 

detected only near land surface or in reworked till that covers the 

trenches and nearby areas.

Tritium concentrations in cores collected from beneath trenches 

4, 5, and 8 in November and December 1977 indicate that tritium 

migrated less than 3 m downward in the 7 to 11 years after the 

trenches were completed. Estimates of tritium migration calculated 

from a one-dimensional analytical equation indicate that the migration of tritium is controlled by molecular diffusion. On the basis of 

the assumption that the concentration of tritium remains constant 

in the trench water for 100 years, the maximum distance tritium might 

migrate is estimated to be between 10 and 14 m below the trench floor.

The one radionuclide besides tritium to have migrated close to 

1 m is 14C. The other radionuclides have apparently migrated less than 

a meter, but the distance they have migrated has not been exactly 

defined. The time for detectable concentrations of 14C to migrate 

through the 23 m of till is estimated to range from 1,500 to 20,000 

years. No estimate was made as to the time required for a detectable 

concentration of 14C to reach Buttermilk Creek by migrating through 

the lacustrine unit beneath the till. However, radionuclides are far 

less likely to reach the surface environment by subsurface migration 

than by saturation and overflow of the trenches, which can occur 

wherever substantial recharge enters through cracks in the cover. In 

addition, radionuclides can migrate as gases through the covers and 

open pipes in the trenches.

INTRODUCTION

A State-licensed landfill for commercial radioactive 

wastes is among the facilities at the Western New York 

Nuclear Service Center, which occupies 13.5 km2 in the 

northern part of Cattaraugus County, N.Y. (figs. 1 and 

2). The site is in a sparsely populated region about 50 

km south of Buffalo that is characterized by rounded 

hills of shale and siltstone that are capped with till and 

separated by valleys containing glacial deposits as much 

as 150 m thick.

In 1975, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study 

to determine which factors control the subsurface migra-
2 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

42°37'30'

42°30'00'

42°22'30'

79°00' 78°45' 78°30'

WYOMING 

COUNTY

Western New York 

Nuclear Service 

Center

10-35

Ashford 

Hollow

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY EXPLANATION NEW 

YORK 

Buffalo STREAM-GAGING STATION

WELL - Seconds of latitude 

followed by seconds of longitude 

identifies well sampled for 

chemical analysis (table 1).

Study area 

and vicinity

Base from U. S. Geological Survey 

Buffalo 1:250,000, 1962 8 KILOMETERS

5 MILES

FIGURE 1. Location of Western New York Nuclear Service Center, streams, and selected wells within Cattaraugus Creek basin.

tion of radionuclides at the site. The study was one of 

several being conducted by the Survey at nuclear-waste 

landfills across the Nation. At the same time, the New 

York State Geological Survey, as lead agency under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, assumed 

responsibility for evaluating all processes of radionuclide 

migration, including subsurface flow, at the site. Many 

elements of the two studies required the same information, and several were jointly planned and completed by 

the two Surveys. Examples of joint efforts include surficial geologic mapping of the site and vicinity (LaFleur, 

1979), installation of water- and gas-sampling wells into the trenches (Prudic, 1978), and the collection of core 

samples from beneath the trench floors (Prudic, 1979a).

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This report is a summary of the U.S. Geological 

Survey study at the burial site from 1975 through 1980. 

The report has fourfold purpose. First, it describes the 

general geohydrologic setting in the vicinity of the 

burial site, including climate, streamflow, geology, 

ground-water movement, and ground-water quality. Second, it describes the history of the site, including the 

types of waste buried and the method of burying the 

wastes. Third, it describes in detail the ground-water 

hydrology and geology at the burial site, including the 

periodic rise of water within some of the trenches. 

Fourth, it evaluates the potential for subsurface migration of radionuclides from the trenches to land surface.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people participated in this and related 

studies to evaluate the mechanisms by which radionuclides could migrate from the burial site; some 

results of their work are included in this report. Interpretations of the geology near the burial site were done 

chiefly by Robert G. LaFleur (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Allan D. Randall (U.S. Geological Survey). 

Allan Randall also designed most of the test holes and 

provided guidance for the study. Robert Fakundiny and 

Jeffrey Pferd (New York State Geological Survey) also 

contributed to the interpretation of the geology, 

mapped the extent of fractures near the trenches, and, 

along with James F. Davis (New York State Geological 

Survey), assisted in the design of test holes drilled
PHYSICAL SETTING

beneath the trenches. Scott Keys (U.S. Geological 

Survey) interpreted the results of many geophysical logs 

designed to detect subsurface migration of radionuclides. 

Edwin P. Weeks (U.S. Geological Survey) assisted in the 

ground-water flow modeling and in evaluating the 

permeability of the trench covers. John Matuszek (New 

York State Department of Health, Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory) and A. J. Weiss (Brookhaven National 

Laboratory) designed techniques to collect and analyze 

samples for chemical and radionuclide content and 

interpreted the many results. Alan Lu (New York State 

Department of Health, Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory) wrote the analytic equation and computer 

program that was used to estimate the migration of radionuclides away from the trenches.

Chemical and radiochemical analyses of trench water 

and of core samples of the till were done at the New York 

State Department of Health, Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory, and at Brookhaven National Laboratory. 

Laboratory analyses of hydrologic properties of core 

samples were done at the Hydrologic Laboratory of the 

U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo., except for the 

falling-head permeameter tests, which were performed 

by TerraTek, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, and for two 

particle-size analyses, which were performed by Dunn 

Geoscience Laboratory, Latham, N.Y.

Thanks are extended to Stephen Molello (New York 

State Geological Survey) and Robert Wozniak (New 

York State Department of Environmental Conservation) 

for assistance with fieldwork. Thanks also are extended to the following for granting access to the burial 

site: the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Radiation, regulator of the 

site; the New York State Department of Energy 

Research and Development Authority, owner of the site, 

and Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., the site operator. 

Nuclear Fuels Services personnel also helped in locating 

data, provided health-physics monitoring, and allowed 

access and use of their machine shop, storage facilities, 

and equipment.

PHYSICAL SETTING

The main facilities of the Western New York Service 

Center are about 6 km northwest of West Valley on the 

west side of Buttermilk Creek valley (figs. 1 and 2). The 

State-licensed burial site is about 500 m southeast of the 

main facilities and covers approximately 4 ha. Franks 

Creek, a tributary to Buttermilk Creek, drains the east, 

south, and southwest parts of the burial site; an unnamed tributary to Franks Creek drains the north and 

northwest parts.

CLIMATE AND PRECIPITATION

Climate at the burial site is humid continental (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1978), 

dominated by the interplay of humid, warm air masses 

from the Gulf of Mexico and subtropical waters with dry, 

cold air from the northern interior of the continent.

Prevailing winds are from the west southwesterly 

during warm months and northwesterly during winter. 

Wind speed normally is less than 15 km/h, but occasional strong winds from well-developed storm systems 

may cause property damage. Thunderstorms are common during summer and occur on about 30 days per 

year. Hail locally accompanies some thunderstorms but 

rarely causes extensive property damage or crop losses. 

Only three or four tornadoes are reported within New 

York each year; in July 1975, one caused localized property damage about 8 km north of the burial site.

Annual average air temperature at three stations 

within 25 km of the site is about 7°C (National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, 1978). Mean monthly 

temperatures range from 6°C in January and 

February to 20°C in July. In general, the winters are 

long and cold. A temperature of 26°C or lower can be 

expected at least once a winter, and a minimum 

temperature of -18° C can be expected on about 15 days 

in most winters. Summers are short and cool, with 

daytime temperatures in the range of 24°C to 29°C. 

Temperatures of 32°C or higher occur only two or three 

days a year. Air temperature during summer frequently drops close to 4°C and may approach freezing during 

June and the latter half of August. The number of freezefree days ranges from 100 to 120.

Average annual precipitation near West Valley is 

about 100 cm. Monthly precipitation generally averages 

from a low of 7 cm in winter to a high of 9 cm in spring, 

early summer, and late fall. Distinctly dry or wet periods 

seldom repeat each year. Precipitation in winter normally is in the form of snow. The area is affected by 

heavy snow storms off Lake Erie, 40 km to the west and 

northwest. These "lake-effect" storms are most frequent 

in November and December, before the lake surface 

freezes. Individual storms often generate more than 30 

cm of snow, and accumulations of 125 cm or more within 

two consecutive months are common (National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration, 1978). A continuous 

snow cover can be expected from mid-December to midMarch; maximum depths usually occur in February.

STREAMFLOW

Runoff from the burial site flows into Lake Erie 

via Franks Creek, Buttermilk Creek, and Cattaraugus
4 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

78 40' 78° 39' 78°38' 78 37'

EXPLANATION

42° 29'

42° 28'

42° 27'

42° 26'

A STREAM-GAGING STATION 

1L MEASURED GEOLOGIC SECTION WITH. 

I IDENTIFICATION-Some sections are described in Randall (1980), others are unpublished.

O WELL OR TEST HOLE 

DH6

B2 Geologic test hole 

V

20-59 Seconds of latitude followed by seconds of 

longitude, identifies wells sampled for chemical 

analysis (with degrees and minutes in table 1). 

B' LINE OF GEOLOGIC SECTIONS-Shown in

figure 9.

-; WESTERN NEW YORK NUCLEAR SERVICE 

CENTER BOUNDARY

Base from U. S. Geological Survey 

Ashford Hollow 1:24,000, 1964

0.5 

"-* '

1 KILOMETER

0.2 0.4 0.6 MILE

FIGURE 2. Location of reprocessing center, waste-burial trenches, streams, wells, test holes, and geologic sections within Western New

York Nuclear Service Center.
PHYSICAL SETTING

Creek (figs. 1 and 2). All three streams exhibit wide 

variations in flow, as indicated in figure 3, but differ 

substantially in flow per unit area at low flow. Here, a 

in most of the Northeast, low flow per unit area is largely 

a function of the percentage of the drainage basin 

overlain by sand and gravel (Ku and others, 1975; 

Thomas, 1966) because these deposits provide most oJ 

the water to streams at low flow. Maps by LaSala (1968) 

and LaFleur (1979) show that Cattaraugus Creek drains 

a larger proportion of stratified drift and alluvium than 

Buttermilk Creek and that Franks Creek upstream from 

the gage drains virtually none.

The temporal distribution of surface runoff, by 

month, for Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda, 25 km below 

the mouth of Buttermilk Creek, is shown in figure 4. 

The percentage of annual runoff during the summers 

of 1975-79, when this study was in progress, was slightly higher than the long-term average. The general pattern, however, is typical of streams in the Northeast. 

High runoff occurs during March and April as a result 

of snowmelt, minimal evapotranspiration, and high 

ground-water levels. Low runoff occurs through the summer because of high evapotranspiration and low groundwater levels.

More detailed analyses of the flow regime of these 

and nearby streams are given in Harding and Gilbert 

(1968), Dana and others (1978), Boothroyd and others 

(1979), and Ragan and others (1979).

GEOLOGY

BEDROCK

Bedrock in the vicinity of the burial site generally is a 

sequence of shales with some siltstones of the Devonian 

Canadaway Group (Chadwick, 1933) about 300 m thick 

that dip gently southward at 6 to 8 m/km (LaSala, 1968). 

The log of a deep core hole near the burial site (de 

Laguna, 1972) shows the upper 180 m of bedrock to consist of thin beds of gray shale and silty shale and a few 

scattered thin beds of light-gray calcareous siltstone. 

Virtually no folding or faulting of the upper layers of 

bedrock is evident, but joints or fractures are common. 

A study of bedrock jointing in core holes and exposures 

near the site (G. H. Chase, U.S. Geological Survey, 

written commun., 1969; quoted in part by Sun and 

Mongan, 1974) indicates that all joints are vertical or 

nearly so; most are about 30 cm in length, spaced 60 cm 

apart on the average, and oriented N. 68° E. or N. 45° 

W. At least four out of five are tightly closed.

Relief of the bedrock surface between hills and adjacent valleys is as great as 300 m. Multiple glacial advances have had a strong influence on the present 

drainage system, but the arrangement of the major hills 

and valleys seems to be inherited from an earlier time.

o 

z 

o 

o

111

CO 0.1

O uj

5 cc

3 ^

o 2

? o

= CO

0.01

0.001

0.0001

I I «1111 I I

CATTARAUGUS CREEK

AT GOWANDA 

FRANKS CREEK \ \

AT BURIAL SITE

BUTTERMILK ~ 

CREEK NEAR : 

\ SPRINGVILLE -

I I I I I I I 1 I

0.01 10 50 90 99 99.99

PERCENTAGE OF TIME THAT DISCHARGE 

IS EQUALED OR EXCEEDED

FIGURE 3. Duration curves of daily flow for Cattaraugus, Buttermilk, and Franks Creeks, 1940-78. Curve for Cattaraugus Creek 

was compiled from records of daily flow at Gowanda (figure 1) 

for those 38 years. Curves for Buttermilk Creek and Franks 

Creek are based on records for 1961-68 and 1975-79, respectively, 

adjusted to 1940-78 by multiplying each ordinate by the ratio 

of flow-duration values of Cattaraugus Creek for 1940-78 to flowduration values for the latter periods.

Before glaciation, the entire area probably drained 

northward to Lake Erie through several parallel valleys 

(Calkin and others, 1974, p. 250). As the glaciers 

moved southward, they widened the north-south valleys 

into glacial troughs characterized by truncated spurs, 

U-shaped transverse profiles, and unusually deep floors 

(Muller, 1977a). The glaciers blocked the northward 

drainage, forcing melt water to cut new channels 

southward or westward through former divides. The 

present westward course of Cattaraugus Creek (fig. 1) 

transects several north-south valleys.

The bedrock-surface configuration in Buttermilk 

Creek valley near the burial site has been fairly well 

defined(Randall, 1980, and fig. 5). The thalweg of the 

bedrock valley lies 90 to 120 m below the present creek 

channel, or about 150 m below the general land surface. 

At the burial site, bedrock is about 116 m below land 

surface. On the larger hills near the site, bedrock is 

mantled in most places by 1.5 to 9 m of till (LaFleur, 

1979).
6 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

GLACIAL DEPOSITS

Continental ice sheets advanced across Buttermilk Creek valley at least four times during the Quaternary Period. LaFleur (1979) identified two drift sheets 

of late Wisconsinan age within the valley, both 

associated with ponded water and followed by ice-free 

fluvial erosion and deposition. Deposits from two earlier 

glaciations (Illinoian and middle Wisconsinan age) have 

not been recognized in Buttermilk Creek valley. 

However, the fact that remnants of these glaciations 

have been mapped in areas to the south (LaFleur, 1979; 

Muller, 1977b) indicates that the area near the burial 

site was once covered by the two older ice sheets.

Much of the sediment deposited in this region by 

ice sheets or associated meltwater consists of silt and 

clay because bedrock for many kilometers to the north 

is predominantly shale and siltstone, which readily 

break down to clay- and silt-size particles during glacial 

or fluvial erosion. Temporary glacial lakes formed in the 

valleys as glaciers blocked the northward drainage of 

streams, trapping large volumes of silt and clay. Some 

of these lacustrine deposits have been preserved, 

whereas others became sources of fine-grained sediment 

to the glaciers that moved across them. Sand and gravel 

were deposited locally, chiefly in deltas where streams 

entered glacial lakes and on the flood plains and alluvial 

fans of streams that formed during ice-free interstadial 

episodes.

Generally, 80 to 95 percent of the pebbles and 

presumably most of the smaller grains in the tills of this

region are fragments of local bedrock. Some fragments, 

however, are crystalline rock from Canada, red and 

white sandstone, or gray or blue-gray dolomite and 

limestone from northern New York. The carbonate rock 

fragments probably cause higher concentrations of 

calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate in the ground 

water than would be expected if ground water were in 

contact with only local bedrock.

POSTGLACIAL EROSION

Immediately after retreat of the last glacier and the 

subsequent draining of proglacial lakes, meltwater from 

ice to the north and runoff from hillsides spread gravel 

over substantial parts of the valley floors in Cattaraugus 

Creek basin, including Buttermilk Creek valley. Soon, 

however, incision by Cattaraugus Creek west of 

Springville (fig. 1) initiated a phase of erosion in the 

region upstream that continues to the present. Cattaraugus Creek and Buttermilk Creek were already 

incised to within 3 m of the present stream channels 

2,000 to 4,000 years ago, as indicated by radiocarbon 

dating of wood samples collected by R. G. LaFleur from 

low terraces along these streams (V. J. Janzer, U.S. 

Geological Survey, written commun., 1976). On the 

assumption that incision began about 13,000 years ago, 

when meltwater ceased carrying outwash southward to 

Cattaraugus Creek, LaFleur (written commun., 1980) 

calculated the average rate of downcutting of Buttermilk 

and Cattaraugus Creeks to be 60 cm per century in drift

ONDJ FMAMJ JAS ONDJ FMAMJ J AS

MONTHS

FIGURE 4. Monthly distribution of average annual runoff, Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda.
78° 40'

PHYSICAL SETTING 

78° 39' 78°38' 78 37'

42° 29'

400

297

O

451

D

EXPLANATION

BEDROCK SURFACE CONTOUR - Shows alti 

tude of bedrock surface. Contour interval is 

50 meters. Datum is sea level

WELL OR TEST HOLE - Number is altitude of 

bedrock surface, in meters above sea level

WELL OR TEST HOLE - Number is altitude of 

bottom of hole, in metsrs above sea level

SEISMIC SHOT POINT OR POINT FROM A 

SEISMIC CROSS SECTION - Number is 

altitude of bedrock surface, in meters above 

sea level (Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., 1962)

BEDROCK OUTCROP 

1979)

42 28'

42° 27'

42 26'

(in part from LaFleur,

Base from U. S. Geological Survey 

Ashford Hollow 1:24,000. 1964

0.5 1 KILOMETER

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 MILE 

FIGURE 5. Bedrock-surface altitude in Buttermilk Creek valley (modified from Randall, 1980).
8 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

and about 33 cm per century in bedrock. Because of this 

deep postglacial incision and the fine-grained texture of 

the till and lacustrine sediments, the bluffs along these 

streams are susceptible to mass wasting. The slopes are 

covered with 30 to 90 cm of colluvium; larger slumps 

and shallow-seated rotational slides also are common.

GROUND WATER

OCCURRENCE AND MOVEMENT

In general, Buttermilk Creek valley contains few productive aquifers, although ice-contact sand and gravel 

occupies a saddle at the headwaters of Buttermilk Creek 

south of West Valley, and a few wells in the valley 

penetrate gravel layers, lenses, or pockets at depths of 

12 to 120 m that are capable of yielding 38 to 190 L/min. 

The shale bedrock is tapped by several domestic wells, 

but yields are small. The upper 3 m of bedrock locally 

contains abundant fractures and, less commonly, 

crumpled and broken rock. Maximum well yields from 

this zone range from 40 to 60 L/min; wells penetrating 

bedrock elsewhere, where the fractures or crumpled zone 

were absent, generally yield 0 to 25 L/min (LaSala, 1968, 

p. 25-26). These yields are presumably based on drillers' 

tests of typical domestic wells. The average hydraulic 

conductivity of the uppermost 3 m of bedrock, where 

fractured, is about 10~5 cm/s, as derived from typical 

drawdowns from drillers' tests at the yields indicated; 

within the next 30 to 60 m it is about 10~7 cm/s.

Ground water in the region tends to flow downward 

within the higher hills, laterally beneath low hillsides 

and terraces, and upward near major streams, as shown 

in figure 6 and described by LaSala (1968). Downward 

flow within the higher hills is evidenced by lower water 

levels in deeper wells. Upward flow near major streams 

is evidenced by flowing wells, which indicate an upward 

hydraulic head gradient (fig. 6). Several flowing wells 

are found along Cattaraugus Creek near Gowanda and 

Arcade (fig. 1), and another (well 10-35 in fig. 1) is in 

the valley of Connoisarauley Creek, 5.5 km west of the 

site.

Regional flow patterns are also evidenced by the 

distribution of ground water that contains chloride concentrations above the 2 to 25 mg/L typical of shallow 

wells in this region (table 1), as explained by LaSala 

(1968, p. 60-61). Chloride concentrations of several hundred mg/L or more are universal in the shales and 

siltstones of this region beneath the zone of fresh water. 

Depth to high-chloride water usually is much less 

beneath the valley floors than beneath the hills. The 

occurrence of high chloride concentrations in wells suggests that water comes from the deeper, more regional 

flow system. Some high-chloride water may discharge 

into Buttermilk Creek 2 or 3 km above its mouth (fig.

. Water table

Land surface Tributary stream

FIGURE 6. Vertical section showing typical ground-water flow patterns in the region near West Valley (from LaSala, 1968).

2), just upstream from where it flows over bedrock, as 

indicated by samples collected July 4,1963 (Archer and 

others, 1968; Harding and Gilbert, 1968). However, a 

well next to Buttermilk Creek (well 37-23, in fig. 2), 

about 700 m southeast of the burial site, is finished in 

gravel just above bedrock beneath more than 75 m of 

clayey drift; that well has a water level 3 m below the 

creek and yields water having only 21 mg/L chloride (see 

sample 17 in table 1). This suggests that the reach of 

Buttermilk Creek adjacent to the burial site is not a 

discharge point for a regional flow system.

The effects of variations in permeability of earth 

material are not easily incorporated in an idealized 

sketch such as figure 6. The bulk of the subsurface flow 

occurs close to and subparallel to land surface. Where 

surflcial sand and gravel (alluvium or outwash) overlies 

till or lake deposits, most ground water flows laterally 

through the sand and gravel to streams or springs. 

Where till or lake deposits occur at land surface, which 

is the case at the burial site, the top meter contains 

numerous secondary openings such as cracks, root holes, 

and mole runs that make it relatively permeable, so that 

the principal subsurface flow, again, is lateral. Of the 

water that does penetrate vertically downward through 

the till or lake beds, some may be diverted laterally 

through sand layers, fractures in the top of bedrock, or 

bedding-plane joints within the bedrock toward points 

of discharge, rather than penetrating to depths suggested in figure 6. Accordingly, the regional flow system 

of water moving downward from the hills to discharge 

points along major streams several kilometers away is 

probably a very small component of total subsurface 

flow.

CHEMICAL QUALITY

Calcium and bicarbonate are the predominant constituents of most ground water in and near Buttermilk 

Creek valley. However, wells in areas of regional 

discharge or unusually deep wells may tap water having elevated concentrations of sodium chloride; these 

wells may also have little or no sulfate because of reduction to hydrogen sulfide (LaSala, 1968). Several analyses
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IVOISAHd
10 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

of water from wells in the vicinity of Buttermilk Creek 

valley and analyses of samples from C attaraugus and 

Buttermilk Creeks on dates when streamflow consisted 

largely of shallow ground-water discharge (LaSala, 1968) 

are given in table 1.

LaSala (1968) reported that, in general, ground water 

at shallow depth in unconsolidated deposits is lower in 

dissolved solids than water in the underlying bedrock. 

The water-quality data in table 1 show little evidence 

of this, but calculations based on samples from Buttermilk Creek and hydrograph separation techniques 

(LaSala, 1967) suggest that ground water in shallow 

aquifers averages about 150 mg/L dissolved solids, 

whereas small amounts of more highly mineralized 

water are discharged from deeper aquifers. Other factors that may influence the chemical quality of ground 

water include well construction (LaSala, 1968, p. 59), 

percentage of exotic limestone fragments in the drift 

(Seaber and Hollyday, 1964), local sources of pollution 

(LaSala, 1968, p. 65), and the residence time of water 

in the various earth materials.

WASTE-BURIAL TRENCHES

Studies in 1960-61 by the New York State Atomic and 

Space Development Authority (now the New York State 

Energy Research and Development Authority), the New 

York State Department of Transportation, the New 

York State Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological 

Survey described the geology and ground-water 

hydrology at the proposed Western New York Nuclear 

Service Center. Results of these studies were not 

published separately but were incorporated in a report 

by the site operator (Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., 1962).

The Center, established in 1961, was designed 

primarily for chemical reprocessing of partly spent fuel 

rods from nuclear powerplants and for storage and burial 

of resulting wastes. A State-licensed burial ground for 

commercial low-level radioactive wastes, 300 m 

southeast of the reprocessing plant and adjacent to 

Franks Creek (fig. 2), was also established and was 

operated from November 1963 until May 1975, during 

which time more than 67,000 m3 of waste was buried 

in a series of trenches excavated in fine-grained till.

CONSTRUCTION AND CONTENT

The arrangement of the burial trenches is shown in 

figure 7. Each trench is about 6 m deep, 10 m wide at 

the surface, and between 115 and 215 m long, except 

trench 6, which actually is a series of auger holes, and 

trench 7, which is essentially a concrete vault. Each was

excavated in successive segments. Normally only 30 to 

60 m was open at any given time, and less than 15 m 

of trench floor was exposed in front of the leading edge 

of the waste pile. This practice minimized the capture 

of precipitation and runoff (Giardina and others, 1977). 

Nevertheless, water accumulated on the floor of open 

trenches and, although most of it was removed by 

periodic pumping, some remained as standing water 

within the trenches after emplacement of the covers.

The trenches were excavated by bulldozer. Both ends 

of each trench were sloped to allow access. Burial of 

wastes began at one end of the trench after a short section was excavated (15 to 30 m). Trucks carrying wastes 

would park next to the trench, and the wastes were 

either dumped or unloaded by a crane. Wastes, commonly packed in steel drums and pails ranging in capacity from 19 to 210 L and in rectangular containers made 

of cardboard, fiberboard, wood, and concrete, were initially unloaded randomly without being stacked or arranged, but starting with trench 8 or perhaps sooner, 

metal drums were stacked on their sides by hand to form 

partitions. Concrete casks and other heavy metal or 

wooden containers, as well as containers with abovenormal levels of external radiation, were placed by crane 

at the bottom of the trenches between the partitions 

(Giardina and others, 1977), and miscellaneous wastes 

were placed on top of them. Several loads of dirt and 

building rubble were also dumped into the trenches, and 

at least two semitrailers, presumably filled with radioactive waste, were buried in trench 9. The length of each 

trench was extended by backing the bulldozer down the 

remaining access ramp toward the refuse and having 

it remove some of the till on its upward pass. The newly excavated till was placed temporarily on top of the 

adjacent trench until needed to cover newly buried waste 

(Giardina and others, 1977). Kelleher (1979) noted that 

the procedure of temporarily surcharging each trench 

with till from the next trench was neither required nor 

consistently practiced before trench 8 was excavated. 

Trenches 5 and 14 (fig. 7) did not receive any surcharge 

because they were the last trenches completed in their 

respective areas.

All trenches except 6 and 7 were excavated and completed in numerical order, starting in November 1963 

and continuing to May 1975; trenches 6 and 7 were set 

aside for the burial of special materials of high specific 

activity (Prudic, 1978; Kelleher, 1979). Trenches 1 and 

2 were excavated end to end. Trenches 1 through 4 initially were covered together beneath a single mound 

of till, but when ponding and erosion resulted (Kelleher, 

1979, p. 846), an individual mound was constructed over 

each of trenches 1 through 4 in the fall of 1968 and over 

each trench completed thereafter. This technique, which 

was approved by the State in 1968 with minor revisions,
WASTE-BURIAL TRENCHES 11

<

<

EXPLANATION "^ ,

%-, * .<§*

» E Test hole drilled > o"3

1975-76 " A 'v

y /

, 2C Test hole augered

1973-74 . ^C /

' N. Swamp

O Test hole hand augered c J ' -'"^" /

1977-80 ' ' ->- XY -r --*: '

Z^WX / '-rl_ x

^ Pipe from sump in trench / TA.O 

/ ^ 21

i 

1

9PX ^^ «N * 

Well driven into trench / C . 

1976-77 ^: .1 E

' Test hole driven through trench ' 

1977-78 5 ' 1

10 Trench number x x x x-, r-

* _, c 

Q Swampx/^

C

}l

y

/

Cross-section profile *'>» LJ rk D 4-1 

, . ,_ i/o n u ±

modeling i*. 13 J^ 5-. 

' i 10" 7B \

X

I 

X I-

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'$D: 'I F » t^

>s Fence / x n « 1 1 C-T 

Special -r \ 5

burial areas i | Q

7 "Sli!

-^ II

Security fence

I

X

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X

x Lagoon

I ~ '

I ' '

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 M

r ' T 14-1

x _.

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ty X

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* South 

x trenches

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\

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3 JL ' /?

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D D D

12 11 1 J __

« .

1 N

X

1

x . 1 /

X

X

M N I /^,

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x EB-3 /

1 o

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' O i

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1 EB-7 EB-9.

DO x EB-8 1 1 o :

98 «

f * I >

x » x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x.* \»

25 50 75 METERS Based on plane-table survey

U. S. Geological Survey, 1975-78

0 100 200 FEET 

FIGURE 7. Locations of waste-burial trenches and nearby test holes and wells. Site location is shown in figures 1 and 2.
12 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

included a thicker cover and was intended to reduce the 

infiltration of precipitation into the trenches (Kelleher, 

1979, p. 846).

Additional cover material was added to trenches 1 

through 4 in August 1969 when trench 5 was completed. 

All south trenches except 14 were covered by additional 

material for periods ranging from 6 months (trench 11) 

to 33 months (trench 8) before the covers were finally 

graded to their July 1975-78 level. Table 2 shows the 

dates when trenches were completed and covered and 

when they were last graded to the level prevailing at 

the start of this study.

In an attempt to explain the water-level trends that 

subsequently developed at the south trenches (8-14), a 

description of the types of waste containers, and their 

volumes, was obtained from burial records. A summary 

for trenches 8 through 14 is given in table 3. The totals 

for trenches 8 through 11 differ slightly from those 

presented by Kelleher and Michaels (1973) and Giardina 

and others (1977), who classify the waste in trenches 1 

through 11 according to the type of industry or institution from which it was received.

Trenches 9 through 12 contain slightly less waste 

than trenches 13 and 14 because they are shorter, even 

though the southern 40 m of trench 14 was not filled 

with waste but with reworked till. Trench 8, which has 

the same outside dimensions as trenches 9 through 12, 

contains at least 30 percent more waste. The only procedural difference in burial practices among these trenches was that parts of trenches 9 and 10 were not used 

because of collapsing side walls (A. G. Bockleman, 

Nuclear Fuel Services, oral commun., 1981). According 

to Bockleman, variations in the amount of waste buried 

in each trench are caused by the shape and type of waste 

containers. For example, paper, cardboard, and fiberboard are more readily compressed than wood, metal, 

or concrete; thus, the greater amount of waste in trench 

8 can be explained to some extent by its greater amount 

of cardboard, paper, and fiberboard containers. The 

smaller amount of these types of containers in trenches 

11 through 14 than in the earlier trenches probably coincides with closing in 1972 of the reprocessing plant, 

which used the cardboard containers routinely.

TEST HOLES AND WELLS

Several sets of test holes and wells have been installed near and within the burial site since 1960. (Locations are shown in figs. 2 and 7.) Because each set was 

numbered independently and the records were not compiled uniformly, an explanation of the records and 

numbering systems is given below.

More than 100 test holes were constructed in 1960-61 

as part of the initial study of the Center (Nuclear Fuels 

Services, Inc., 1962). Those test holes were designated

TABLE 2. Dates of trench completion and regrading 

[Trench locations are shown in fig. 7]

Trench

1 ....

0

4 ....

c

a

10 - - - -

11 ----

19

10

14 ....

Date completed and 

totally covered

. . ?

....... f

1 Q££

------- 1967

IQfiQ

Oftnhpr 1 Q70

....... June 1971

Mav 1Q79

-..-..- January 1973

rWnHai- 1Q7Q

------- June 1974

....... May 1975

Date cover was regraded 

to level of 1975-78

August 1969

August 1969

August 1969

August 1969

August 1969

July 1973

July 1973

July 1973

July 1973

June 1975

June 1975

June 1975

as either PAH (power auger hole) or DH (drill hole), 

followed by a serial number. The DH holes were drilled 

to depths of 65 m or to bedrock, whichever came first, 

whereas most PAH holes were augered to depths less 

than 10 m. Later, test holes were drilled by consultants 

to the site operator to obtain information on soil conditions at the sites of proposed structures, and more than 

one set of numbers was used. Several of these test holes 

are cited in this report and are preceded by the letter 

B (figs. 2 and 9).

During 1973-74, the site operator had a local contractor auger several test holes adjacent to the burial 

trenches as part of a project funded in part by the New 

York State Atomic and Space Development Authority 

and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the rate of radionuclide migration at the burial 

ground. Data from these holes are published in several 

reports, including Duckworth and others (1974), 

Matuszek and others (1976), Giardina and others (1977), 

and Lu (1978). These test holes were assigned numbers 

from 1 to 13; where more than one hole was augered 

near the same location, the numbers are followed by letters; for example, holes 2, 2B, and 2C.

The fate of most of these test holes is not known. 

Records of the drilling procedures and results do not indicate whether they were backfilled or plugged; apparently most were allowed to collapse naturally upon 

withdrawal of augers or driller's casing.

Several test holes were drilled or augered from 

1975-79 near or between the burial trenches as part of 

the U.S. Geological Survey study described herein. Most 

were drilled by air-rotary equipment as described by 

Prudic and Randall (1979, p. 888); a'few were drilled by 

alternately driving casing and removing material with 

soil-sampling equipment, as described by Prudic (1979a); 

two were drilled by cable-tool equipment; and several 

were augered either with a drill rig or by hand to depths 

of 2 to 5 m near the trenches or along or at the base of 

slopes north and east of the burial ground. Nearly all 

contained one or more piezometers surrounded by an 

envelope of sand, and all were backfilled with cement 

grout. In later holes, thin layers of powdered bentonite 

were used in addition to the cement grout. All are iden-
TABLE 3. Volume of waste containers in trenches 8 through 14 

[Locations are shown in fig. 7; - indicates negligible amount]

Trench 8

Type of 

container

Metal

Pipes, beams, other

Wood

Concrete

Paper, cardboard, fiberboard

plocti/*

Loose dirt, gravel, slag, rubble 

Miscellaneous

Other ------------------

Volume 

(ms)

3279 

164 

4

1

1081

1

119

1712 

342

4 

383

56 

32

7178

Percentage 

of total

46 

2

15 

2

24 

5

5 

1

Trench 9

Volume 

(m3)

2543 

39 

165

59

718 

17

161 

11

769 

24

231

80 

21

4838

Percentage 

of total

53 

1 

3

1

15

3

16 

1

5 

2

Trench 10

Volume 

(m3)

2467 

84 

135

6

889 

10

32 

1

1016 

73

461

22 

6

5202

Percentage 

of total

47 

2 

3

17 

1

20 

1

9

Trench 1 1

Volume 

(ms)

3034 

165

15

952 

11

67 

6

423 

31

419

41 

19

5183

Percentage 

of total

59 

3

18 

1

8 

1

8 

1

Trench 12

Volume 

(m3)

3400 

266 

4

216

908 

17

168 

22

294 

52

2 

175

29 

5

5558

Percentage

of total

61 

5

4 

16

3

5 

1

3 

1

Trench 

Volume 

(ms)

3893 

46 

26

23

1030 

3

457

240 

65

50

36 

35

5904

P
14 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

TABLE 4. Stratigraphy of Quaternary sediments in central Buttermilk Creek valley, Cattaraugus County, N. Y. 

[Locations (Riceville Station, Bond Rd., etc.) are shown in fig. 2]

Unit Thickness Lithology and distribution Origin

(1) Slopes: typically 0.3-1 m 

Elsewhere: 0

A layer of chiefly soft, plastic pebbly silt (reworked till) 0.3 to 1 

m thick on all slopes, also local slump blocks several meters

thick.

Colluvium, formed by soil creep and local shallow-seated 

rotational slumps.

(2) Valley bottoms: 0.6-2 m 

Elsewhere: 0

Gravel, pebbles to large cobbles, and sand, moderately silty; in 

part overlain by clayey silt with organic matter; includes local 

masses of colluvium, chiefly reworked till. _____

Stream alluvium (channel point-bar gravel, and silt deposited by 

overbank floods or in channel reaches ponded by mudslides) 

locally interbedded with mudslide deposits.

(3) Terraces: 0.6-2m typical 

Elsewhere: 0

Ferruginous gravel and silt, underlies terraces along Buttermilk 

Creek.

Older alluvium of Buttermilk Creek.

(4) 0-6.2 m Gravel and sand, moderately silty; coarser and siltier on alluvial 

fans formed where streams enter Buttermilk Valley at about 

437 m altitude.

Deposited by upland streams that flowed onto the freshly 

exposed till plain, then northwestward, before significant 

incision by the present stream system. Alluvial-fan deposition 

near the valley wall probably continued after incision by 

Buttermilk Creek had begun. Absent on some higher areas of 

the till plain and where lingering ice blocks diverted flow.

(5) 5 m (Riceville Station) 

22 m (Buttermilk Rd.) 

28 m (burial site) 

37 m (RR bridge over

Buttermilk Cr.) 

40 m (mouth of Franks Cr.

to Bond Rd.)

Till, composed predominantly of clay and silt. Sixteen cores from 

drill holes near the burial site contained 50 percent clay, 27 

percent silt, 13 percent sand, and 10 percent fine gravel on the 

average. LaFleur (1979) reports that 10-20 percent pebbles 

and cobbles is characteristic of most exposures. Typical 

nonsorted till interfingers randomly with a similar till 

containing many tiny blebs and torn, deformed wisps of quartz 

silt. Although these two subfacies form crudely horizontal 

layers, each is internally deformed. Distributed throughout (at 

least within boundary of the center) are randomly oriented 

pods and irregular lenses of stratified sand and gravel and 

rhythmic silt and clay. Excavations at the burial site and 

between Franks Creek and Buttermilk Creek (Davis and 

Fakundiny, 1978) consistently demonstrate that these 

stratified deposits are discontinuous, deformed, and rotated or 

transported from their original point of deposition. Although 

these lenses constitute only about 7 percent of core footage 

logged (Prudic and Randall, 1979), two-thirds of the U.S. 

Geological Survey test holes in 1962 and 1975-78 near the 

burial site penetrated one or more lenses at depths of 3 to 11 

m below natural grade. The till is present throughout 

Buttermilk Valley below about 437 m altitude.

Deposited by a tongue of ice that readvanced as far south as 

West Valley through ponded water as much as 125 m deep in 

Buttermilk Valley. During this readvance, which has been 

correlated by LaFleur (1979) with the Lavery readvance in 

Ohio, the glacier apparently floated free from the substrate 

periodically and allowed beds of silt and clay to accumulate. 

Resettling of the ice to the lake floor, possibly in response to 

lowering of lake water by subglacial drainage or to more rapid 

advance of the glacier, would explain renewed till deposition 

as well as the structural deformation observed in both the till 

and lacustrine-till subfacies. The apparent abundance of 

fragments of water-laid deposits in the upper part of the till 

led LaFleur (1979) to suggest a minor ice withdrawal and 

readvance across ice-frontal deposits near the end of this 

glaciation.

tified by letters from A to Z except a few near Franks 

Creek, which are designated by the letters EB. Where 

multiple holes were drilled close to one another, a 

number follows the letter as described previously. The 

piezometers are identified by the test-hole letter (and 

number, if any) followed by a hyphen and a piezometer 

number; the number 1 is used even if the hole contains 

only one piezometer. In test holes with more than one 

piezometer, the piezometers are numbered sequentially from shallowest to deepest; for example, G-l 

(shallow), G-2 (intermediate), G-3 (deep).

Wells were driven into the trenches from 1976-79 to 

sample water and gas (Prudic, 1978), and test holes were 

drilled beneath the trench floors (after driving closed 

pipes through the waste) to help define radionuclide 

migration rates (Prudic, 1979a). Each of these wells and 

test holes was assigned two numbers separated by a 

hyphen and followed by a letter, for example, 5-3C. The 

first number indicates the trench, the second indicates 

the location along the trench, and the letter 

distinguishes closely spaced wells near the same location. Some were filled with cement grout; others were 

left as open pipes for monitoring and sampling (Prudic, 

1978, 1979a).

STRATIGRAPHY AND GENERAL

GROUND-WATER MOVEMENT

AT THE BURIAL SITE

Radioactive wastes were buried in trenches excavated 

in a silty-clay till that contains few stones and thin 

distorted lenses of silt, fine sand, and rarely, coarser 

sand. The till is covered by thin gravel and sand deposits 

over much of the Western New York Nuclear Service 

Center, but these are generally absent near the 

trenches. The till extends about 28 m below the pretrench land surface at the burial site and overlies a bedded lacustrine sequence 10 to 20 m thick that consists 

mostly of fine sand and silt and in places is capped by 

a gravel. Beneath the lacustrine sequence is another 

silty-clay till. Table 4 summarizes the stratigraphy of 

the sediments near the burial site and describes the 

origin of each of the units. Figure 8 shows the distribution of surficial deposits, including the area of outcrop 

of the lacustrine sequence along Buttermilk Creek, and 

figure 9 shows the stratigraphic relations of units in two 

vertical sections. Locations of sections are shown in 

figure 2.
STRATIGRAPHY AND GENERAL GROUND-WATER MOVEMENT 15

TABLE 4. Stratigraphy of Quaternary sediments in central Buttermilk Creek valley, Cattaraugus County, N. Y. Continued

[Locations (Riceville Station, Bond Rd., etc.) are shown in fig. 2 ]

Unit Thickness Lithology and distribution Origin

Layered clay or clay-silt rhythmites; may contain pebbles or 

grade upward into layered silty clay with scattered pebbles 

and then into till.

Deposited in proglacial lake dammed by advancing ice. Missing 

in some places; not easily recognized unless well exposed. May 

be grouped with the overlying unit on basis of similar grain 

size and frequency with which the till grades into or 

incorporates lacustrine beds at various depths.

(7) 0-8 m Gravel composed of pebbles and small cobbles, and sand; 

typically poorly sorted and moderately silty. Absent near the 

burial site and fuel-reprocessing plant (figs. 8 and 9); present 

consistently (but possibly discontinuous) near Buttermilk 

Creek. Where more than 3 m thick, interbedded with pebbly 

coarse sand, fine sand, and silt.

At least three modes of deposition are plausible. Deposits east 

and southeast of the burial ground may have originated as 

deltas in a declining postglacial lake, and (or) as an alluvial 

blanket spreading across the.former lake floor. Deposits near 

the mouth of Franks Creek are thin, 15 m lower in altitude, 

and rest on unit 9 rather than unit 8; they might have formed 

along stream channel(s) during interglacial incision (Erie 

Interstade) (LaFleur, 1979).

(8) 0-8 m Sand, very fine to fine, well-sorted and stratified, interbedded 

with much silt that becomes predominant with depth. Grades 

into underlying unit. Absent near mouth of Franks Creek and 

generally along the west side of the valley.

Deltaic sediments deposited in a persistent glacial lake, probably 

by local streams, as indicated by distribution (fig. 8); 

northward flow indicated in two exposures, and gradation into 

underlying lake-bottom deposits without an intervening till or 

truncation.

(9) 6-16 (?) m Interbedded coarse silt, fine silt, and clay, generally in rhythmic 

layers up to several mm thick; some fine silt layers are as thick 

as 30 cm, but close inspection commonly reveals regular 

partings of coarse silt; olive-gray except clay layers commonly 

pale grayish-red. At most locations, some intervals are 

marked by widely scattered pebbles, disturbed bedding, and 

(or) thin layers, blebs, and irregular masses of reddish-brown 

or greenish-gray pebbly sandy silt. This unit is present 

everywhere from Riceville Station to mouth of Franks Creek, 

except close to sides of valley.

Units 9 and 11 consist of bottom deposits in a glacial lake 

characterized by icebergs and occasional readvances of a 

floating or occasionally grounded ice tongue. The intervening 

till layer (unit 10) is inferred to be of Kent age (LaFleur, 

1979); it appears to be a continuous unit but south of 

Buttermilk Road incorporates fragments of lacustrine 

sediment and may grade into or interfinger with lacustrine 

sediment that contains detritus dropped from floating ice. 

Furthermore, some borehole logs and geologic sections seem 

inconsistent with this simple threefold division of units 

(Randall, 1980), perhaps because floating ice tongues that 

dropped scattered pebbles and sandy clay blebs in one locality 

may have been grounded in another locality and deposited till. 

In any case, the deposits below the top of unit 9 were formed 

during repeated ice advance and retreat through proglacial 

lake water.

(10) 3-10 m Till, similar to unit 5, perhaps darker; rare inclusions of grayishred till; facies with torn, deformed wisps, slivers, or masses of 

coarse silt and in part with low pebble content predominates 

south of Buttermilk Road.

(ii) Predominantly clay, clayey silt, and silt in rhythmic layers, 

commonly disturbed much the same as unit 9; layered fine 

sand, coarse sand, and gravels locally present.

(12) Till, much more sandy and stony than units 5 and 10; exposed 

and reported in test holes near the side of the valley, atop or 

close to bedrock.

May be an upland facies of unit 10, or an older till sheet; may 

incorporate or grade to silty gravel.

The stratigraphy of the materials at the burial site 

plays an important role in the movement of ground 

water. The upper parts of the underlying lacustrine 

sequence (units 7 and 8 in table 4) are unsaturated 

(Prudic and Randall, 1979); however, the deeper lakebottom rhythmites (unit 9) are saturated and provide an 

avenue for slow lateral flow through coarse silt to points 

of discharge in the bluffs along Buttermilk Creek (fig. 

8). The unsaturated conditions in the lacustrine unit are 

the result of very low vertical permeability in the till 

and thus low recharge through the till rather than high 

horizontal permeability in units 7 through 9. Nevertheless, the lacustrine sequence acts as a drain to the 

till and causes downward gradients in the till of 0.7 to 

1.0, even beneath small valleys adjacent to the burial 

site, as evidenced by hydraulic heads in several nested 

piezometers. Before Buttermilk Creek cut down through 

the lacustrine sequence, permitting free drainage along

the bluffs, the entire section was undoubtedly saturated. 

Downward gradients in the till must have been much 

less pronounced, and lateral or upward gradients might 

have occurred locally in the till close to the small 

streams that border the burial site.

LaFleur (1979) proposed that gravel deposited by 

ancestral Buttermilk Creek in the interstadial interval 

after deposition of the lacustrine sequence might serve 

as a drain for adjacent and overlying materials, provided that the gravel had not been eroded away by the 

advancing ice that deposited the upper silty-clay till 

(unit 5 in table 4). No substantial springs nor areas of 

spring sapping that would indicate such a drain have 

been detected where the gravel and the underlying 

lacustrine sequence crop out along the steep valley walls 

of Buttermilk or Franks Creek. Therefore, ground-water 

discharge from these units must be small enough to seep 

away without removing the deposits resulting from
16 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

EXPLANATION

Unit no. 

(table 4)

78°39

42°27'30" 

4 GRAVEL AND SAND - Alluvial fans and flood 

plains before incision by postglacial stream

5 TILL Predominantly clay and silt, incorporating 

discontinuous deformed fragments of stratified 

sediments

7,8 GRAVEL AND (OR) SAND - Locally underlain 

by fine sand to silt: deltaic and flood plain 

deposits

9 SILT AND CLAY IN RHYTHMIC LAYERS - 

Scattered pebbles and unsorted sadiments 

dropped from floating ice

10 Tl LL Similar to unit 5

11 LAYERED, LOCALLY DISTURBED SILT AND 

CLAY Similar to unit 9

12 TILL More stony than units 9 and 11

CONTACT BETWEEN GEOLOGIC UNITS - 

Dashed where inferred

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

Ashford Hollow 1:24,000, 1964

300 600 METERS Geology by A. D. Randall 

modified from LaFleur (1979)

1000 2000 FEET

FIGURE 8. Surficial geology of burial site and vicinity. Units are mantled by a few meters of flood-plain and terrace gravels along Buttermilk Creek and some tributaries (shown in detail by Boothroyd and others, 1979) and by a meter or more of colluvium and landslide 

blocks on the steep bluffs bordering these streams.
STRATIGRAPHY AND GENERAL GROUND-WATER MOVEMENT 17

450

UJ

>

UJ

_l

<

UJ 

CO

LJJ 

>

O

00

<

CO

cc

UJ IUJ 2

z

iU 

Q

D

Continued 

Below

450

440

430

420

410

400

390

380

370

360

350

- Burial Hole A 

Trenches

DH 7

Section A

vi\ Buttermilk 

YLX Creek '

7^

0 30 60 90 120 METERS 

I III I

Vertical exaggeration x 2.5

EXPLANATION

Hole A, 

Hole J, 

Hole V.

DH-7

B1,B2, etc.

.6) etc.

Measured geologic section 

Hole drilled for USGS study

Test boring drilled in 1962 as part of 

site evaluation; drive-spoon samples 

examined by geologist.

Test boring drilled for engineering design of proposed structures; log by 

Empire Soils Investigations, Inc.

Lithostratigraphic units, described in 

table 4.

Macro-scale folding 

(0.3-m amplitude)

T Till, silty clay matrix

t Till, stony silty clay

G Gravel

S Fine to coarse sand

F Fine to very fine sand

L Silt

Y Clay

+ Log inferred from geophysical data 

	and other wells

^> Top of bedrock

FIGURE 9. A, Section A-A' across and along Buttermilk Creek. All data projected to line of section, as shown in figure 2 (modified from

Randall, 1980, figure 2).
LU 

>

LU

LU 

CO

LU

>

o

CO

CO

cc

LU

430

420

410

400

Lu 390

G

D

380

370

360

not plotted below 400 meters; 

contacts are at lower altitude here 

than in line of section.

EXPLANATION

B, 1L, etc. Measured geologic section 

HoleW Hole drilled for USGS study

DH-14 Test boring drilled in 1962 as part of 

site evaluation; drive-spoon samples 

examined by geologist.

B4, etc. Test boring drilled for engineering design of proposed structures; log by 

Empire Soils Investigations, Inc.

) (2) etc. Lithostratigraphic units, described in 

table 4.

* Zone with abundant pebbles and (or) 

sandy silt or till blebs and (or) 

distorted bedding

Till, silty clay matrix

Till, stony silty clay

Gravel

Fine to coarse sand

Fine to very fine san

Silt

Clay

Pebbly

Top of bedrock

Macro-scale folding 

(0.3-m amplitude)

FIGURE 9.-Continued. B, Section B-B' along Buttermilk Creek. All data projected to line of section, as shown in figure 2 (modified from Ran
STRATIGRAPHY AND GENERAL GROUND-WATER MOVEMENT 19

mudflow and soil creep (unit 1 in table 4) that generally mantle the slope, or possibly discharge may occur 

chiefly where the lacustrine sequence dips down to the 

grade of the creek some distance to the north (figs. 8 and 

9). One small spring was visible through most of 1976 

in a fresh slide scar along Buttermilk Creek (Prudic and 

Randall, 1979, fig. 5) from which water issued at a rate 

of nearly 1 L/min from very fine sand and silt near the 

contact between units 8 and 9. The spring was higher 

in altitude than the water level farther west in 

piezometers finished in unit 9; this could be explained 

by a greater rate of recharge on the slope near the spring 

and (or) perhaps by a strong downward vertical gradient 

across units 9 and 10 such as in the overlying till. A 

spring of comparable magnitude was noted in May 1980 

on a slide scar 600 m north of the first one.

An idealized vertical section (fig. 10) illustrates the 

inferred distribution of saturated and unsaturated 

material within the stratigraphic column at the burial 

site and the general pattern of subsurface flow; it also 

includes the gravel drain postulated by LaFleur. This 

sketch does not represent a specific location (vertical 

sections showing the distribution of hydraulic head in 

the till beneath the burial site are presented later); it 

is intended only to emphasize that nearly all runoff entering the soil flows close to land surface. Where till (unit 

5) occurs at land surface, runoff moves as overland sheet 

flow and shallow subsurface flow and normally reaches 

stream channels in a few hours. In several areas near 

the site, storm runoff to nearby surface depressions and 

gullies is through a network of interlaced mole runs 

about 15 cm below land surface that forms a veritable

Precipitation

Precipitation

EXPLANATION 

II SATURATED

|| UNSATURATED

y DIRECTION OF WATER MOVEMENT 

Length and number of arrows 

suggest relative magnitude

.... WATER TABLE

 CONTACT BETWEEN UNITS

STRATIGRAPHIC UN ITS From table 4

2, 3, 4, 7 Gravel, coarse sand 9 Silt, clay

8 Fine sand, silt 5,10 Till

10

Not To Scale

FIGURE 10. Idealized cross section in vicinity of burial site west of Buttermilk Creek showing inferred distribution of saturated and unsaturated material and general directions of ground-water flow.
20 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

storm-sewer system. In one area about 30 m northeast 

of trench 2 (fig. 7), flowing water was heard after a rain 

storm in May 1976, although no overland flow was visible. Several mole runs were quickly uncovered by shovel, 

and all found to be serving as water conduits. When one 

became plugged, water in the upstream segment erupted 

to the surface as a "wet-weather spring" that briefly 

yielded several liters per minute. That "spring," and 

others like it on other occasions, at first drew interest 

because of its proximity to the burial trenches, but was 

later disregarded once its origin as a form of overland 

runoff was understood. Other smaller secondary openings at shallow depth, such as root openings and cracks 

formed by ice, desiccation, or soil creep may also conduct a small fraction of runoff to streams. Where surficial gravel or sand (units 2-4 in table 4) is present at 

land surface, some precipitation infiltrates to the water 

table (fig. 10, unit 4), then moves laterally to stream 

channels or points of seepage on nearby slopes. The 

numerous small surface depressions and thick vegetation along channels of small tributary streams result in 

delayed runoff (as channel storage) and in appreciable 

evapotranspiration during summer.

Of the 12 geologic units listed in table 4, only unit 

4 would qualify as an aquifer; the others are either insufficiently permeable to yield usable quantities of water 

to wells or are at least seasonally unsaturated. The surficial gravels that form unit 4 are commonly thin and, 

where incised by streams, are well drained but locally 

could probably yield several liters per minute to shallow 

wells. Most of the scattered lenses of sand and gravel 

within unit 5 are too small to yield usable amounts of 

water, but a few of the most extensive ones (Davis and 

Fakundiny, 1978, fig. 11-4) could possibly yield several 

liters per minute for a few hours.

PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC 

PROPERTIES OF THE TILL

Detailed hydrologic studies at the burial site were 

limited to the till (unit 5 in table 4) because the 

trenches are excavated only in this till, the covers consist only of reworked till, and the studies showed that 

subsurface radionuclide migration had not extended 

through or beyond the till. The following paragraphs 

describe the physical and hydraulic properties of the till.

PHYSICAL AND MINERALOGICAL 

PROPERTIES

Particle size of 27 core samples from test holes drilled 

near the trenches was analyzed by methods described 

by Morris and Johnson (1966). The results are given 

in table 5. Of these samples, 16 were till and averaged

49.6 percent clay, 26.7 percent silt, 13.0 percent 

sand, and 10.7 percent gravel. The remaining 

11 samples were collected from disturbed sorted 

materials within the till. The predominant particle 

size varied widely from sample to sample in the disturbed sorted materials; 4 of the 11 samples contained 

predominantly clay-sized particles, 2 were mainly silt, 

2 were predominantly gravel, and the others were a mixture of more than one class size. Because the disturbed 

sorted materials varied widely, no attempt was made 

to determine an average particle size.

The average porosity of 28 samples of till from all 

depths was 32.4 percent, with a standard deviation of 

4.7. Two samples of interbedded silt and clay had 

porosities of 34.8 and 33.1 percent. The average dry bulk 

density (dry unit weight) determined from 17 core 

samples was 1.82 g/cm3 ; Fickies and others (1979) 

reported five values averaging 1.80 g/cm3 .

Bulk X-ray analyses of seven core samples (table 6) 

indicate that quartz and illite constitute well over half 

the material in each of the samples; Whitney (1977) 

noted that the silt and clay fraction of three samples was 

predominantly quartz, mica (illite), and chlorite.

Specific storage, defined as the volume of water 

released from storage under a unit decline in hydraulic 

head, is equal to the compression of the medium and the 

expansion of the water. The specific storage of the till 

near the trenches was determined from four consolidation tests of core samples from depths between 6 and 16 

m. The specific storage decreased from 16 X 10~6 per cm 

at a depth of 5.8 m to 2 x 10 ~ 6 per cm at a depth of 16 

m and averaged 8 X 10~6 per cm (Prudic, 1981). These 

values are in the lower part of a range of values for 

medium-hard clay quoted by Domenico and Mifflin 

(1965) and are an order of magnitude less than intergranular specific storage of a fractured clay-rich till 

near Manitoba,Canada (Grisak and Cherry, 1975).

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

Both field and laboratory tests were made to determine the hydraulic conductivity of saturated till near 

the burial trenches. In general, values of hydraulic conductivity based on laboratory tests of core samples 

agreed with values calculated from slug tests in which 

water was suddenly removed from piezometers screened 

in the till (Prudic, 1982). Two methods were used to 

analyze the slug tests. The first method (Cooper and 

others, 1967) assumed horizontal flow; the second 

(Hvorslev, 1951) assumed isotropic spherical flow to the 

piezometer. The average hydraulic conductivity 

calculated from 12 tests was 6 x 10~8 cm/s by the first 

method and 2 X 10'8 cm/s by the second (Prudic, 1982). 

Individual values are listed in table 7.
PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF THE TILL 21

Horizontal hydraulic conductivity determined from 

falling-head permeameter tests of nine core samples 

with zero confining pressure averaged 3.8 x 10~8 cm/s. 

Vertical hydraulic conductivity determined from fallinghead permeameter tests of 13 core samples with zero 

confining pressure averaged 6.2xlO~8 cm/s, but in

three tests with confining pressures equal to the 

estimated overburden pressures, vertical hydraulic conductivity averaged 1.6 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s. Vertical hydraulicconductivity values calculated from consolidation tests 

of six samples of saturated till with confining pressures 

equal to the estimated overburden pressures (including

TABLE 5. Particle size of selected core samples 

[Locations of test holes are shown in fig. 7]

Hole

Depth below

land surface in

meters

Percent of grain size

Gravel 

(2-64 mm)

Sand 

(0.625-2 mm)

Silt 

(0.004-0.625 mm)

Clay 

(<0.004 mm)

Core samples of till 1

C2........................... 8.69- 8.84 &7 24.9 34.8 30.7

C2-------------- -------....- 9.91-10.06 7.3 12.3 28.2 52.2

D ------------------------.. 4.42- 4.57 11.0 11.5 32.2 45.3

D .-.---------..--.--......-13.22-13.38 3.5 28.5 22.3 45.7

E --------------------------io.36-10.97 28.4 7.1 21.5 43.0

F---------------------------io.67-10.82 8.5 13.8 28.9 48.8

F------------------------.--13.72-13.86 6.4 6.9 27.9 58.8

G -------------------------- 7.68- 7.80 25.4 21.3 25.9 27.4

G ----.---------..--------.. 9.30- 9.45 11.0 10.6 25.0 53.4

I ..-------...-.............. 5 .79_ 5.94 21.7 18.3 24.6 35.4

I ...........................n.67-11.83 2.7 4.5 28.0 64.8

I ...........................14.72-14.87 5.9 9.9 26.3 57.9

12 -------------------------- 9.91-10.06 2.5 5.6 21.3 70.7

L--------------------------- 1.43- 1.58 7.7 10.8 25.3 56.2

M --------------------------15.64-15.94 10.7 9.8 26.6 52.9

R .......................... 7.pi_ 7.16_________{K4___________11.8____________28.2____________50.6

_________________________________Core samples of disturbed materials within the till_________________________________

A2 ------------------------- 3.81- 3.96 1.4 35.3 30.2 33.3

B -..----------------.-...-- 3.05- 3.29 42.6 15.5 19.4 22.5

B ---.--------..----------.-10.21-10.36 14.8 8.7 53.7 22.8

E -------------------------- 1.98- 2.13 34.6 31.4 24.9 8.5

E ---------.---------.------ 7.16- 7.32 0.0 1.9 28.0 70.0

D --.--------.---------.---. 9.39- 9.54 1.6 5.6 33.8 59.0

G -...--------..----------.-11.06-11.22 0.0 0.9 28.1 70.7

K -------------------------- 7.81- 8.02 71.4 2.2 8.5 17.9

L- --.---------.------------- 4.82- 4.97 7.7 10.8 25.3 56.2

EB-72 ----------------------- 3.57- 3.74 o.l 49.2 46.0 4.7

8-1C2 --------..--------.--. -11.45-11.51__________0.0___________13.7____________77.9_____________8.4

iMean percent of grain size for core samples of till are for gravel, 10.7; sand, 13.0; silt, 26.7; and clay, 49.6. Standard deviation in percent of grain size for core samples of till is 

for gravel, 7.8; sand, 6.9; silt, 3.6; and clay, 11.7.

2Samples analyzed by Dunn Geoscience Laboratory, Latham, New York; otherwise samples were analyzed by the Hydrologic Laboratory, Denver, Colorado.

TABLE 6. Mineral composition of selected core samples^ 

[All values are in weight percent; locations of test holes are shown in fig. 7]

Test-hole identification symbol, depth interval, and material

F

6.8 

7.0

13

2.3

2.4

J

16.1

16.2

N

7.5

7.6

C2

2.9

3.0

C2

13.0

13.1

D

4.3

4.4

D

9.1

9.2

G

11.0 

11.2

Minerals Till

Oxidized 

till Till Till

Oxidized 

till Till Till

L

4.7

4.8

Lakebeds Lakebeds Lakebeds

Quartz ----------

Potassium feldspar - 

Plagioclase feldspar - 

Calcite ----------

Dolomite --------

Chlorite ---------

Kaolinite --------

Montmorillonite -------

Mixed-layer clay minerals - 

Totals -----------

24

1

7

11

5

3

9

24

0

4

24 

<1

7

7

3

0

9

27

86

24 

<1 

5 

7 

5 

4

10

27

0

4

86

22 

1 

4 

8 

5 

4 

9

21

0

_6

80

26

2

7

9

7

1

7

28

0

4

91

22

1

5

7

5

12

0

26

0

1

79

27 

1 

5 

9 

5 

5 

9

30 

0

<1

91

32

3

9

11

9

4

6

16

0

4

94

23

0

6

7

5

6

8

19

0

7

81

33

3

10

9

11

4

5

15

0

5

95

1 From LaFleur (1979, table 1). Mineral composition determined by B. J. Anderson, U.S. Geological Survey; X-ray diffraction according to method of Schultz (1964). Totals 

between 90 and 105 percent are considered normal for this semiquantitative method. Low totals in some samples probably indicate a higher iron content; the fluorescent radiation 

produced by iron causes loss of peak intensity and therefore generally lower percentages (B. J. Anderson, written commun., 1978).

2 Depths are in meters below land surface.
22 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

two values reported by Fickies and others, 1979) averaged 5.4 x 10~8 cm/s. Individual values from laboratory 

tests are listed in table 8.

Laboratory tests (four consolidation tests and two falling head tests) were run on six core samples of till to 

determine the effects of increased confining pressures

TABLE 7. Results of slug tests for hydraulic conductivity at piezometers 

finished in unoxidized tilli

[Test hole locations are shown in figure 7; conductivity values are in centimeters per

second]

Test 

hole

P9

F----.

J2

M ----

p.....

g

Piezometer 

number

-----2

q

q

-----2

q

..... 1

q

-----2

-----2

.....1

..... 1

-----2

Depth below 

land surface 

(meters)

11.7-12.3 

14.1-14.7 

15.5-16.2 

7.5- 8.1 

12.3-12.9 

5.4- 5.8 

14.6 15.2

15.3-15.9 

13.8-14.4 

4.0- 4.6 

11.6-11.9 

7.1- 7.6

Hydraulic conductivity

Hvorslev methods

1 x 10-8 

3x10-8 

3 x 10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8 

2x10-8

Mean value 2x10-8

Cooper methods

5x10-8 

10x10-8 

9x10-8 

5x10-8 

6x10-8 

6x10-8 

4x10-8 

8x10-8 

6x10-8 

4x10-8 

6x10-8 

5x10-8

6x10-8

1 From Prudic, 1982.

2 M. J. Hvorslev, 1951; flow is assumed spherical.

3 H. H. Cooper, and others, 1967; flow is assumed horizontal.

on hydraulic conductivity (Prudic, 1982). In general, vertical conductivity decreased about 40 percent as confining pressures increased from near atmospheric to 7 

kg/cm2 (a pressure equivalent to a depth of 30 m), which 

suggests that increased overburden pressure reduces the 

hydraulic conductivity. About half of this decrease occurred between confining pressures near atmospheric 

and 1 kg/cm2 . At pressures between 1 and 7 kg/cm2 , vertical conductivity decreased linearly (Prudic, 1982, fig. 

6).

Five core samples were tested with water of chemical 

composition similar to that in the trenches to determine 

its effect on hydraulic conductivity. Three samples 

showed a threefold to sevenfold decrease when compared 

to values previously obtained from tests with formation 

water; the other two showed little or no change. These 

results suggest that geochemical reactions between 

trench water and the till may reduce the hydraulic conductivity to varying degrees.

A curve relating soil-moisture content to soil-moisture 

tension under unsaturated conditions was calculated 

from mercury porosimeter tests (Prudic, 1981), and 

ratios of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated till to 

that of saturated till over a range of soil-moisture tenTABLE 8. Results of laboratory tests for hydraulic conductivity of core samples from the unoxidized till* 

[Locations of test holes are shown in figure 7; conductivity values are in centimeters per second]

Falling-head permeameter tests

Test hole

B .-....-.--.

B ---.-.---..

B2 -----------

no

P9

po

D -....----..

D ..-..-.----

D .-----...-.

I ...........

L -....-.--.-

M -.-.----.-.

N --..-----..

Depth below 

land surface 

(meters)

........ 5.61 5.71

.--..... 11.19 11.34

7

1 c n oo

q 42 Q ^4

........ 9.91 10.06

1 O 1 1 1O OC

........ 4.42 4.57

i q oo iq qo

........ 15.39 15.54

U cn 11 oo

........ 6.55 6.71

S CO Q CQ

1 0 87 1 /) f!9

Mean value

Vertical 

at estimated 

overburden 

pressure

2.1x10-8 

0.9x10-8

1.9x10-8

1.6x10-8

Hydraulic conductivity

Verticals

3.6x10-8 

1.6x10-8 

6.0x10-8 

1.1x10-8 

4.9x10-8 

1.2x10-8 

1.9x10-8 

3.6x10-8 

6.4x10-8 

3.7x10-8 

6.3x10-8 

4.7x10-8 

1.5x10-8

6.2x10-8

Horizontal

2.3x10-8 

9.6x10-8

4.0x10-8

2.5x10-8 

5.0x10-8 

3.1x10-8 

2.1x10-8 

3.2x10-8 

2.7x10-8

3.8x10-8

Consolidation tests

Test hole

P9

D ...-..----..

M -----------

Trench 33 ---------

Trench 33 .........

Depth below 

land surface 

(meters)

................. 12.4-12.5

5

Q C. f\

................. 10.4-10.5

1 r o 1 /* A

7 3

U o.

Confining pressure 

equal to estimated 

overburden pressure 

(kg/cm2)

2.9 

1.0 

2.4 

3.0 

1.6 

2.5

Vertical 

hydraulic 

conductivity 

(cm/s)

9.3x10-8 

7.8x10-8 

1.1x10-8 

1.2x10-8 

5.6x10-8 

7.2x10-8

Mean value 5.4x10-8

1 From Prudic, 1982; - means values of hydraulic conductivity not determined.

2 No confining pressures applied.

3 Trench 3 is a research trench exavated by the New York State Geological Survey 215m east of test hole N (Fickies and others, 1979). Hydraulic conductivity at estimated 

overburden pressure linearly extrapolated between load increments.
PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF THE TILL 23

sions were calculated from the soil-moisture content versus soil-moisture-tension curves with an equation by 

Millington and Quirk (1961). Curves of soil-moisture 

content and hydraulic-conductivity ratios plotted against 

soil-moisture tension, as determined from seven 

mercury-porosimeter tests, are shown in figure 11.

ANISOTROPY

Fickies and others (1979) reported anisotropy of 35:1 

(horizontal hydraulic conductivity greater than vertical) 

from laboratory tests of two samples of saturated till. 

However, when nine samples of the till cored from test 

holes were tested for vertical and horizontal conductivity, results did not suggest anisotropy (Prudic, 1982). 

Examination of 18 thin sections of till prepared from 

other core samples showed no preferential horizontal 

layering of the clay grains (LaFleur, written commun., 

1980), which also suggests little anisotropy. Thus, the 

till is not strongly anisotropic and, on the basis of field 

and laboratory tests, the range in vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the till is between 2 x 10 ~ 8 

cm/s to 6xlO~8 cm/s.

FRACTURED ZONE

Cores from test holes near the burial site revealed 

that the upper 2 to 3 m of till is oxidized to medium 

brown and contains abundant intersecting fractures and 

that fractures having firm oxidized borders a few 

millimeters wide extend downward into the plastic unoxidized till to depths of about 4.5 m (Prudic and Randall, 1979). Dana and others (1979, p. 14) described in 

detail the nature, orientation, and spacing of fractures 

in the walls of a research trench 200 m from the burial 

ground; they also noted that oxidized fractures decreased 

in number and width with depth and were absent below about 5 m.

The oxidized zones bordering the fractures, as well 

as thin coatings of manganese or iron oxide or calcite, 

root hairs, and thin gray (reduced) zones on the inner 

surfaces of some fractures, clearly suggest water movement along the fractures. The hydraulic conductivity 

calculated from slug tests of three shallow piezometers 

(H-l, J4-1, and U-l, which were 3 m or less in depth) 

ranged from that of the unoxidized till to a value 200 

times greater. Grisak and Cherry (1975) showed that 

fractures significantly increased the permeability of till 

at a site in Canada. Trial computer simulations of 

ground-water flow in the till (described later) indicate 

that the upper, weathered till is as much as 10 times 

more permeable than the unweathered till (below 5-m 

depth), presumably because of the fractures.

100

80

8

60

40

= °-20

0

125 Q

UJ

100

75 Q ^

HI >

50

^ Qj

25 SD

H Q 

0 CC I

-25,000 -20,000 -15,000 -10,000 -5,000 0

PRESSURE HEAD, IN CENTIMETERS OF WATER

FIGURE 11. Relation of hydraulic conductivity and volumetric soilmoisture content to soil-moisture tension, as calculated from 

seven mercury-porosimeter tests of till (from Prudic, 1981).

LENSES OF SORTED MATERIAL

EXTENT AND CONTINUITY

The till in which the trenches are excavated contains 

scattered, distorted lenses of stratified sediments that 

constitute about 7 percent of the total mass and also contains locally abundant wisps of silt. As explained in table 

4, all of the larger lenses observed in trench excavations 

were discontinuous, deformed, and rotated to random 

orientations. Several vertical sections (fig. 12) illustrate 

the lithology and distribution of stratified lenses near 

the trenches. Differences in altitude and lithology of 

stratified materials, and the steep dip of some lenses, 

commonly preclude correlation and thus rule out the 

possibility of a continuous stratigraphic unit of waterlaid sediment. The difference between materials 

penetrated by holes I and 13 (fig. 12O, less than 2 m 

apart, suggests that even over the interval of 2 m, the 

correlation of stratified units within the till is tenuous.

Borehole logs from three localities near the trenches 

indicated a possibility that lenses of fine sand, silt, and 

clay 10 to 100 m in extent might be present within the 

till. Assessments of conditions at each of these localities 

follow:

1. Test holes 4-4A, F, 5-2D, D, and E (fig.!2C, D) 

penetrated 60 to 120 cm of silt and clay with subordinate fine sands between altitudes of 411 and 414 

m. However, bedding dips of 20° to 45° and abundant internal deformation in individual cores, as 

well as differences in stratigraphic details, argue 

against their continuity as a single layer. Other 

holes confirm that these materials are not con-
24 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

>

LU

CO

LU

>

O 

00

<

CO

cc

LU

tLU

O

D

422

419

416

413

410

407

404

SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

Pipeline 

Excavation

Swamp

15 METERS

Vertical exaggeration x 2

LU

>

LU

>

O 

00

li 

O

D

422

419

416

413

410

407

A and A2

Vertical exaggeration x 2

10

EXPLANATION

EAST

15 METERS

C Cover or backfill, usually reworked till

FT Fractured unweathered till

G Gravel

L Silt

OM Organic matter

OT Oxidized or weathered till

S Sand

T Unweathered till (constituent, in percent): clay, 50; silt, 27; gravel, 13 

sand, 10

Y Clay

I_S, I_Y, Mixed materials with increasing abunSG, etc. dance from left to right; for example, 

LS is silty sand

LY/LS Interbedded layers too thin to identify 

separately, commonly deformed and 

dipping at an angle to core

T/L 3 Till with torn, discontinuous layers or 

wisps of silt. Number is estimated 

percentage of layered silt in core 

B3 Test-hole identification 

| Interval not cored, or core encountered 

| reworked till (cover or backfill)

FIGURE 12. Distribution of sorted material in till at waste-burial site. Location of all sections is shown in figure 127. 

A, Test hole B3 to swamp northeast of burial site. B, Trench 2 to test hole R.
PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF THE TILL 25

LU 

CO

UJ

>

o

CO

<

CO

cc

LU

H 

LU

LU 

O

D 

H

425

422

419

416

413

410

407

404

SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

Trenches 

Projected 

5-2D

543 

Projected 4 4A

13.

FT

,T/LS-5 

T/LS-30 

T T/LS-10 -T-lT T/LS-10 

T/L-1

T/LS-40

YL/L

T T/L

T/LS-1 

T 

4=5

L/S/LYT.T

I ~1 /L LY/LS/ 

L/YL/S.X LY/L/S 

LY/L ^ \LY/L 

T/L-1 -r

Vertical exaggeration x 5.1

15 

l

30 

I METERS

T/LS-5 T

T

T/LS-1 

t LY/L/S Water ]

T Yielding 4

1 SLor ! 

., T/L-1 LY/LS * 

:: T

T/L-1

T

LU

LU 

CO 

LU 

>

O 

CO

CO

cc

LU

H 

LU

o

D 

H

ID 

NORTHWEST

419

416

413

410

407

404

_

_

>

s^^rl "

AL 1

T

C ^

"H' 1 

V/^^ i '

r /^ T 

 LY

T

SOUTHEAST

E D ^ £-___ 

n TD.«:««*«^ r

X^1^ " ' c c

5-2D

^r /^

/ T 

/ '

f -p

T/L-1 

LY

; T

Vertical exaggeratio

: Y/L |

T ;

; T/L-1 .

T

T

 T/LS-1 

 Y/L 

: T/LS-1

T

- T/LS-1 ^

T

T

T/LS-10 j

I T/LS-1 / T 

; Y/LS

T J

T

_. S

: T :

, 0 15 30 45 METERS

n x 4 ° l ' ' '

- T/LS-1 S - 

' L/Y/LS ; 

: T/LS-1 ^

T

' T/LS-1

T

: S

T

Pmtas*^..tri r rUJcCIcU

4-4AI

r

i _

L/S '

LY/L/S IT

T "

; T/LS-1-

T

EXPLANATION

AL Recent alluvium deposited by small 

streams

C Cover or backfill, usually reworked till

FT Fractured unweathered till

G Gravel

L Silt

OT Oxidized or weathered till

S Sand

T Unweathered till (constituent, in percent): clay, 50; silt, 27; gravel. 13 

sand, 10

Y Clay

LS, LY, Mixed materials with increasing abunSG, etc. dance from left to right; for example, 

LS = silty sand

LY/LS

T/L-3

Interbedded layers too thin to identify 

separately, commonly deformed and 

dipping at an angle to core

Till with torn, discontinuous layers or 

wisps of silt. Number is estimated 

percentage of layered silt in core

Slope of arrow corresponds to angle of 

dip of layers: direction of dip is unknown, drawn by convention to 

left

Test hole identification

Interval not cored, or core encountered 

reworked till (cover or backfill)

FIGURE 12. Continued. Distribution of sorted material at waste-burial site. C, Test holes G to J, perpendicular to north trenches. D, Test 

holes F to Z, parallel to trench 5 (Location of sections is shown in figure 127).
26 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

UJ

>

UJ

_l

<

UJ to

UJ

>

O CO

428

425

422

419

to

cc 416

UJ

LJJ

413

UJ

Q

P 410

407

404

SOUTHWEST

DH-3

j^^^^^Railroad

i r*

\ LG K

i

'T

1

1

1 

1 ^

: LSG

1

NORTHEAST

Trenches 8 14

,M~^N

\ U L/ \s- -v

T

T

: S

LY/LS

T

4- " T/LS-1

I

I T

J_T SG

- Vertical exaggeration x 20

T

T/L

I

_ ;

<

: T/S

LY/LS 

T/L-1 5 J

T

T/L-5 ;

T/L-1 :

T/L-1 0 H

LY/LS -

 i j

_! 1 T/L-5

LY/L ± T/LS-5 ;

Dr 0 50 100

I ill

_

T

: S

T

:

:T

T

C

-

T

T/L-1

T

IT* -

200 METERS

I

UJ

>

UJ

UJ to

UJ

O 

CO

<

to

cc

UJ

H

UJ

UJ

Q

D

C Cover or

Dr Devonian shale, siltstone, or sandstone

FT Fractured unweathered till

G Gravel

L Silt

OT Oxidized or weathered till

S Sand

T Unweathered till (constituent, in percent): clay, 50; silt, 27; gravel, 13; 

sand, 10

Y Clay

LS, LY, Mixed materials with increasing abunSG, etc. dance from left to right; for example, 

LS = silty sand

F

425 

422

419 

416

413 

410

407

NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST

N 8-2A 8-1 C

-

_

C

OT

FT

T

T~

T T

T/L

Nominal 

depth of

trench 8

SY/LS 

^

 >. 

T/LS-1 J

 ~ ^T

C

T/SL 

:S/L/Y T ;

'LY/LS

] 

i

>.

OT \

% \

T/L-3

IT/L 

;T/L

T 0 30 60 METERS T T 

i i j Vertical exaggeration

EXPLANATION

fill, usually reworked till LY/LS Interbedded

.

I

J Franks Crt

S i

x 10

layers

separately, commonly deformed and 

dipping at an angle to core

T/L 3 Till with torn, discontinuous layers or 

wisps of silt. Number is estimated 

percentage of layered silt in core

/

Slope of arrow corresponds to angle 

of dip layers: direction of dip is unknown, drawn by convention to 

left

K Test hole identification 

l Interval not cored or core encountered 

1 reworked till (cover or backfill) 

! Infrequent core samples collected

FIGURE 12.' Continued. Distribution of sorted material in till at waste-burial site. E, Test holes DH-3 to 

N, perpendicular to south trenches. F, Test holes N to P, parallel to trench 8. (Location of sections 

is shown in figure 127.)
PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF THE TILL 27

ui

> ui

ui 

eo

ui

O 

00

<

eo

DC 

111 hIII

425

422

419

416

SOUTHWEST

H 

NORTHEAST NORTHWEST SOUTHEAST

413

UJ

Q

D

J 410

407

8-1C

I

T T 

S/L/Y

L

LY/LS

T/LS-10

Vertical exaggeration x 10 T/LS 2 

0 30 60 METERS T/LS-10

Vertical exaggeration x 10

EB-7

EB-8

30

i

60 METERS

_I

EXPLANATION

AL Recent alluvium deposited by small

streams

G Gravel 

L Silt 

S Sand 

T Unweathered till (constituent in percent):

Clay, 50; silt, 27; sand, 10; gravel, 13 

Y Clay

LS, LY, Mixed materials with increasing abunSG, etc. dance from left to right; for example,

LS = silty sand

LY/LS

T/L-3

EB-7

I 

I

Interbedded layer too thin to identify 

separately, commonly deformed and 

dipping at an angle to core

Slope of arrows corresponds to angle 

of dip of layers; direction of dip is 

unknown, drawn by convention to 

left

Till with torn, discontinuous layers 

or wisps of silt. Number is estimated 

percentage of layered silt in core.

Test hole identification 

Interval not cored or core encountered 

reworked till (cover or backfill)

FIGURE 12. Continued. Distribution of sorted material in till at waste-burial site. G, Test hole 8-1C east to Franks 

Creek. H, Test hole EB-3 south to test hole EB-8 along Franks Creek. (Location of sections is shown in figure 127.)

tinuous as far north and west as Franks Creek 

tributaries.

2. Test hole 8-1C penetrated almost 2 m of layered silt, 

fine sand, and clay at 411 m altitude immediately 

beneath the floor of trench 8. Test holes to the 

north and south penetrated different materials (fig. 

12F), but test hole EB-7, 50 m to the east, 

penetrated a similar section at the same altitude 

(fig. 12G). It is possible that layered lacustrine 

materials are continuous between these two holes, 

but they do not continue far north, east, or south 

of hole EB-7, as indicated by several holes in figs. 

12G and 12H, nor do they conduct water from 

trench 8 toward Franks Creek. The water level in 

a piezometer finished in the silt in hole EB-7 was 

consistently about 1 m higher than in hole 8-1C.

Test hole EB-8 (fig. 12H) penetrated abundant, 

grossly deformed, torn fragments of silt that could 

not possibly constitute an inplace layer. Thus, the 

lacustrine materials in test holes 8-1C and EB-7 

probably are isolated pods.

3. Rhythmic fine sand, silt, and clay 1.5 m thick was 

penetrated at or near pre-trench land surface in 

three test holes 7 m apart east of trench 2 (test 

holes A, A2, and R). Proximity and similar 

lithology suggest that the lacustrine material may 

be continuous and intersect trench 2 (fig. 12B); 

however, this is not certain because contacts between the lacustrine sediment and till at angles of 

60° to 90° were observed in cores from both holes. 

If the lacustrine sediment is continuous, the apparent dip is toward the trench (fig. 12B), and the
28 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

EXPLANATION 

- E Test holes 

l£j Trench number

B3 Cross sections in 

figures 12A-H

[ Franks Creek 40 meters

i _ _

25 50 75 METERS

i ___i i

i i

FEET

Based on plane-table survey

U. S. Geological Survey, 1975-78

0 100 200 

FIGURE 12. Continued. I, Location of sections depicted in figures 12A-12H.
PHYSICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF THE TILL 29

hydraulic head in piezometers R-l and A2-1, finished in the disturbed lacustrine unit, is above trenchwater level. This indicates that the lens has not 

served as a conduit for outward migration of trench 

water but rather may be a conduit for slow lateral 

flow to trench 2.

Over much of Buttermilk Creek valley, the till is 

mantled by a few meters of gravel deposited by local 

streams in late-glacial or postglacial time (unit 4, table 

4). This gravel is missing near the burial ground except 

in two small, low-lying areas described below:

1. In 1977, a meter of organic and inorganic silty clay 

underlain by a meter of gravel was observed 

beneath a shallow depression that collects runoff 

north of trench 2, along a gas-pipeline excavation. 

Test holes B and B3, drilled where the edge of the 

trench cover approaches or overlaps the shallow 

depression (fig. 12A), penetrated silty gravel (test 

hole B) and gravelly silts (test hole B3) at the same 

altitude as the gravel beneath the shallow depression. The gravel was overlain by about a meter of 

till (test hole B3) or possibly colluvium (test hole 

B). The water level in a piezometer finished next 

to the gravel at test hole B ranged seasonally from 

slightly above the surface of the shallow depression to 50 cm below it, further suggesting continuity. If the gravel beneath the shallow depression 

does not extend south .to test hole B3, the overlying till might have slid onto an early postglacial 

flood plain from adjacent, slightly higher ground. 

Alternatively, the gravels at test holes B and B3 

may constitute remnants of ice-frontal deposits 

buried by a last brief ice readvance. If the gravel 

is continuous from test hole B3 to the nearby 

shallow surface depression and intersects trench 

3, it is possible that radionuclides could migrate 

along the gravel lenses once the water level in 

trench 3 exceeded an altitude of 416.5 m.

2. According to Nuclear Fuel Services (written commun., 1974), a gravel lens as much as 1 m thick 

was observed during excavation of trench 13; the 

lens was just below land surface about 50 m north 

of the south end of the trench. Test pits penetrated 

gravelly material southwestward for about 60 m, 

generally beneath 30 to 120 cm of till described as 

silty. This distribution of gravel coincides with a 

swampy shallow depression on a 1960 topographic 

map. Perhaps the depression was occupied briefly 

by a late-glacial stream and later trapped silty 

alluvium or colluvium and was then backfilled 

with till after removal of topsoil and muck by the 

site operator in 1970 (A. Bockleman, Nuclear Fuels 

Services, oral commun., 1975). If the water level

in trench 13 were to rise to the top of the trench, 

it is possible that radionuclides could migrate along 

the gravel unit to trench 14. Similarly, if the water 

level in trench 14 were to rise close to the top of 

the trench, radionuclides could possibly migrate to 

trench 13 or southwestward several meters. 

However, the gravel unit does not seem to intersect 

the slope of Franks Creek but rather is contained 

in a shallow depression (now obscured by the 

trenches). Thus, the migration of radionuclides 

through the gravel to some discharge point at land 

surface seems unlikely.

HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

Slug tests of five piezometers (D-l, E-2,12-1, J-l, and 

K-2) finished in small lenses of silt, sand, and rarely 

gravel were analyzed for hydraulic conductivity by the 

methods of Hvorslev (1951) and Cooper and others 

(1967). The average hydraulic conductivity obtained by 

the Hvorslev method was 3xlO~6 cm/s; the average 

value from the method of Cooper and others was 6 x 0~6 

cm/s. Values from these tests ranged more widely than 

those of the till and are presented in table 9. The average 

hydraulic conductivity of the sorted material in the till 

probably lies between the mean values from these two 

methods two orders of magnitude higher than that of 

the till itself.

EQUIVALENT HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY 

OF THE TILL

The equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the till unit 

may be determined as a weighted average of the 

hydraulic conductivity of the till itself and the hydraulic 

conductivity of the randomly distributed pods or lenses 

of silt, sand, and rarely gravel. An initial estimate, 

calculated by simple proportions, was about lxlO~7 

cm/s (Prudic and Randall, 1979). Prudic (1981) reported 

a slightly lower value of 8 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s, on the basis of

TABLE 9. Results of slug tests for hydraulic conductivity at piezometers 

finished in lenses of sorted materials*

[Test hole locations are shown in figure 7]

Test 

hole

Piezometer 

number

Depth below

land surface

(meters)

Hydraulic conductivity 

(in centimeters per second)

Hvorslev method? Cooper methodsD ------

12 - - - -

j__.__._

..-.-. 1

------2

------ 1

-..--- 1

------2

Q Q Q Q

6.6- 7.5

10.1-11.0

5.9- 6.5

1x10-6

2x10-6

2x10-7

1x10-5

Q v 1 ft 7

2x10-6

4x10-6

3x10-7

2x10-5

3x10-6

Mean value 3x10-6 6x10-6

1 From Prudic, 1982.

2 M. J. Hvorslev, 1951; flow is assumed spherical.

3 H. H. Cooper and others, 1967; flow is assumed horizontal.
30 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

a lower estimate of hydraulic conductivity of both the 

till and the sorted material. However, because the lenses 

of sorted material are surrounded by till and because 

the general flow patterns are perpendicular to the 

changes in the hydraulic conductivities, the best means 

of averaging the hydraulic conductivity of the till and 

the lenses of sorted material is expressed in the following equation (Freeze and Cherry, 1979, p. 34):

K

where

(1)

K, Kz

K = equivalent hydraulic conductivity,

d =

i, d2 , dn =

hydraulic conductivity of individual 

units, LT' 1 ;

total thickness, L; and 

thickness of individual units, L.

Thus, the equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the 

till was computed as follows: Kt was taken to be the 

average hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till, 

which is between 2 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s, and 6 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s, and 

Kz to be the average hydraulic conductivity of the sorted 

material, which is probably between 3xlO~6 and 

6 x 10 ~ 6 cm/s. The basis for these values was explained 

on the preceding pages. Thickness of the sorted material 

(<4) was taken as 7 percent of the total thickness (d) 

(Prudic and Randall, 1979). Substituting these values 

into equation 1 yielded an equivalent hydraulic conductivity of the till between 2.2. x 1Q- 8 cm/s and 6.4 x 10~ 8 

cm/s, essentially equal to the hydraulic conductivity of 

the till itself. A reasonable equivalent value is probably 

4xlO~ 8 cm/s ± 2xlO- 8 cm/s. The equivalent 

hydraulic conductivity of the till between 2 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s 

and 6 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s was used in the simulation of groundwater flow and in the computation of rates of water 

movement.

GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE 

BURIAL SITE

In general, ground water at the burial site flows 

vertically downward through the till and the unsaturated part of the underlying lacustrine sequence and 

laterally within the saturated part of the lacustrine 

sequence northeastward to points of discharge along 

Buttermilk Creek. Detailed discussions on the direction 

and rate of ground-water flow, including the simulation

of ground-water flow with a computer model, are 

presented in the following sections.

FLOW WITHIN THE TILL

The hydraulic gradients in the till surrounding the 

burial site as determined from several nested 

piezometers is predominantly downward, even beneath 

adjacent small stream valleys, where localized discharge 

of ground water might be expected. Figure 13 shows the 

distribution of hydraulic heads along vertical sections 

perpendicular to the north and south trenches from 

measurements taken in February 1976. The position of 

the water table was estimated from the intersection of 

a line of equal hydraulic head with the altitude of an 

equivalent value (pressure head equal to zero). At that 

time, most of the north trenches (1-5) were nearly filled 

with water (as discussed in section "Recharge to the 

trenches"), whereas only the lowest part of each south 

trench (8-14) was saturated. In general, ground water 

flows from areas of higher hydraulic head to lower 

hydraulic head; thus, the direction of seepage from the 

trenches was mostly downward with some outward 

movement within a few meters of the trenches. A small 

flow component toward trench 5 may be inferred from 

the greater hydraulic head near land surface in test hole 

D, 3 m to the west.

Where data are sparse or absent, such as the area 

from test hole N eastward to Franks Creek (fig. 13), the 

distribution of hydraulic heads and the location of the 

water table can only be inferred. The till along the slopes 

of adjacent valleys is nearly saturated, as determined 

from hydraulic heads in shallow piezometers along the 

slopes of the adjacent valleys (test holes EB-1, EB-2, O, 

T, X, and Y in fig. 7). Thus, the till east of hole N is also 

probably saturated, although specific data are not 

available.

West of trench 14, piezometers to depths of 14 m in 

test holes L and Q (figs. 7 and 13) never contained water 

after their installation in September and October 1975. 

This absence of positive pressure heads may be explained by a lack of infiltration because the upper soil 

layers were scraped away from the area between trench 

14 and test hole U, leaving a smooth, sloping bare surface that sheds nearly all rainfall (Prudic and Randall, 

1979). A few piezometers along the east side of the 

trenches, at depths of 8 m in test hole N (fig. 13) and 

4 and 6 m in test hole I (fig. 13), have also been dry 

continuously or periodically, although occasional small 

positive heads were associated with seasonal changes 

or the addition of earth material near these test holes. 

These piezometers are also on relatively steep slopes 

that shed water readily.
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 31

WEST 

425

EAST

30 60 90 120 150 180 

DISTANCE FROM WEST EDGE OF BURIAL SITE, IN METERS

210

UJ

>

UJ

UJ</>

UJ

i

cc

UJ

UJ

425

420 '?

415 -

- 410 -

UJ

O

D Il- 405

EAST

150 180 210 240 270 300

EZ2 

EH

Backfill

Weathered till

Till with oxidized fractures

Unweathered till

DISTANCE FROM HOLE K, IN METERS

EXPLANATION

 E Water level in trench

-414

M

Assumed water table

Line of equipotential head

Interval 2 meters. Dashed where till 

may be unsaturated.

Test hole

FIGURE 13. Vertical sections through trenches showing head distribution during February 1976. A, Section C-C through north trenches. 

B, Section D-D' through south trenches. Location of sections is shown in figure 7 (from Prudic and Randall, 1979).
32 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

Another explanation of the lack of positive pressure 

heads in piezometers in test holes L, Q, N, and I is that 

the hydraulic conductivity may have been greater at 

these locations than elsewhere. This does not seem 

likely, however, because cores from test holes with 

piezometers having positive pressure heads did not differ greatly from those from test holes lacking positive 

pressures, and because piezometers along smoothsloping surfaces with low pressure heads did not consistently show higher hydraulic conductivity than those 

near shallow surface depressions. In addition, a lack of 

positive heads to depths of 14 m would require the 

hydraulic conductivity to be greater throughout entire 

thickness of the till, which seems unlikely.

Neutron-moisture profiles show little difference between the till near test hole L and the saturated till near 

test hole U (Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 859). Three core 

samples of till from depths of 2 to 6 m near holes L and 

Q were analyzed for porosity and moisture content; 

results indicated the till to be at least 90 percent 

saturated. By comparison, similar tests indicated 80 to 

112 percent saturation in five till samples from areas 

where piezometers demonstrated saturated conditions. 

Either the laboratory techniques were not precise (as in 

the case of 112 percent saturation) or some samples had 

dried slightly before they were analyzed. The till remains at least 90 percent saturated to suction pressures 

(negative pressure heads) of 5,000 cm as determined 

from a soil-moisture-tension curve (fig. 11) derived from 

mercury porosimeter tests. The till remains at least 60 

percent saturated to suction pressures of 15,000 cm, the 

wilting point of typical grasses (Kohnke, 1968). 

Although the till lacks positive pressure heads in the 

test holes L and Q, it is likely that it remains nearly 

saturated. Thus, the lack of a detectable difference in 

moisture content between test holes L and Q and test 

hole U can be explained by the till's ability to remain 

saturated or nearly so even without positive pressure 

heads.

All piezometers screened in the till that had positive 

pressure heads near the burial site showed yearly fluctuations in water levels. The deep piezometers consistently showed smaller and less erratic fluctuations and 

later seasonal peaks than the shallow piezometers. Peak 

water levels in the deepest piezometers lagged almost 

6 months behind those in the shallowest piezometers. 

Water levels in several piezometers are shown in figure 

14. These water-level fluctuations seem to reflect 

seasonal variation in infiltration and transpiration near 

land surface.

Several piezometers next to trenches 5 and 2 responded to the pumpout of water from those trenches in 1976 

and 1977 (figs. 14B, 14C, and 7), but those further away 

did not (figs. 14A and 7). The decline of water levels in

piezometers near trench 5 was most rapid in those finished near the reported altitude of the trench floor (D-l, 

E-2, and F-2) or in sandy backfill next to trench 5 (E-l) 

(Prudic, 1981). Piezometers next to trench 2 showed a 

smaller response than those next to trench 5 (figs. 14B, 

14O because the water-level change in trench 2 caused 

by pumping was smaller (Prudic, 1981). Piezometers 

near the south trenches showed no response to the pumpout of water from trenches 10, 11, and 14 in November 

1977 (fig. 14D); however, the change in water levels in 

these trenches was also smaller than in trench 5.

The sudden water-level increases in piezometers D-2 

and F-3 (fig. 14B) in May and June 1976 were caused 

by attempts to sample the piezometers (Prudic, 1981). 

Nitrogen was injected at pressures as high as 4.2 kg/cm2 

down the larger of two tubes that extended to the 

piezometer screen and forced water up the smaller tube 

to the surface. Apparently, this deformed the till and 

spread it away from the column of hardened cement 

grout above the piezometer. Because total head in the 

till declines with depth, the water level rose when water 

from shallower depth entered the piezometer. The subsequent decline in water level reflects partial resealing 

of till against the grout column as well as a response 

to trench pumpout. Although the two effects cannot be 

separately measured, the water-level trends in 

piezometer D-2 and F-3 caused by the pumpouts were, 

for purposes of model calibration, estimated from 

measurements in E-3, which was finished at similar 

depth along the west side of trench 5 (Prudic, 1981).

FLOW WITHIN THE UNDERLYING 

LACUSTRINE UNIT

The lacustrine sequence (units 6-9 in table 4) of 

layered silts and clays that grade upward into unsaturated fine sand was encountered beneath the till 

near the burial site. The top of the lacustrine sequence 

near the trenches is at an altitude of about 391 m, or 

about 23 m below the trench floor. Three piezometers 

finished within the saturated part of the lacustrine sequence fluctuated less than 20 cm/yr. The direction of 

lateral flow through the sequence, as determined from 

heads in the three piezometers, is to the northeast 

toward Buttermilk Creek (fig. 15). A downward gradient 

through this sequence and into the underlying drift is 

also possible, but the rate of downward flow through the 

layered lacustrine sequence would probably be much 

slower than the rate of lateral flow. Neutron-porosity 

logs of test holes J, V, and W show a sharp break in the 

profile at or near the contact between the till and the 

lacustrine sequence. The sharp break coincides with the 

unsaturated part of the sequence. The profile does not
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 33

show another sharp break until the water level in the 

piezometers is encountered. If the sharp breaks in the 

neutron-porosity logs had occurred above the water level 

in the piezometers, a downward head in the lacustrine 

sequence could be postulated. However, because the logs 

did not break until the water level in the piezometers 

was encountered, the vertical gradient within the 

lacustrine sequence is probably small. Therefore, the 

flow direction indicated in figure 15 and the lateral gradient of ground water in the lacustrine sequence near 

the burial site are probably correct.

COMPUTER SIMULATION OF 

GROUND-WATER FLOW

Ground-water flow at the burial site near West Valley 

was analyzed by a computer model. A computer program 

written by Reeves and Duguid (1975) was used to quantify factors that control ground-water flow near the 

burial trenches because the program allows for a moving 

water table and unsaturated conditions in two dimensions along a vertical section. A two-dimensional model 

was used because the flow directions in the till are 

generally vertical, as evidenced by hydraulic heads in 

piezometers.

The modeling effort was directed toward simulating 

ground-water flow in a vertical section (1) across the 

north trenches from test hole G eastward to Franks 

Creek, (2) across the south trenches from test hole K 

through test hole N to Franks Creek, and (3) from trench 

4 northward through test holes C and Z to a tributary 

of Franks Creek (sections are shown in fig. 7). Modeling 

was especially useful in evaluating anisotropy in the till 

and variations in hydraulic conductivity with depth. The 

development and calibration of the model are described 

in detail by Prudic (1981); much of the following material 

is adapted from that report.

Reeves and Duguid (1975, p. 10) state that the equations representing flow in saturated and unsaturated 

porous media consist of equations for

1. continuity of the water;

2. continuity of the matrix;

3. motion of the water;

4. consolidation of the matrix; and

5. compressibility of the water.

They combined these equations into one:

-£[*(£)] (2)

where 

6

n

/8 '

dh

x

dh

dt

z 

K

= volumetric moisture content, dimensionless 

ratio;

 porosity, dimensionless ratio;

= modified coefficient of compressibility of 

water, L" 1 ;

 modified coefficient of compressibility of 

medium, L" 1 ;

= change in moisture content with respect 

to pressure head, L~ x ;

= horizontal distance, L;

= change in pressure head with respect to 

time, LT - 1 ;

= vertical distance, L; and

= hydraulic-conductivity tensor, LT - 1 .

The hydraulic-conductivity tensor is dependent on 

pressure head, as shown in the following equation:

K = K Kr (h) (3)

where 

K

Kr(h) =

hydraulic-conductivity tensor, LT -1; 

saturated hydraulic-conductivity tensor,

relative hydraulic conductivity as a 

function of pressure head, dimensionless.

The computer program by Reeves and Duguid (1975) 

solves the two-dimensional saturated-unsaturated flow 

equation (eq. 2) by the Galerkin finite-element 

numerical technique in which the region of interest is 

divided into subregions or elements that may have 

irregular shapes. This results in a set of nonlinear 

algebraic equations that must first be linearized and 

then solved simultaneously. In solving the flow equation for irregular elements, the surface integrals are 

converted to volume integrals by the Gauss divergence 

theorem. The resultant equations are evaluated at a 

finite number of points, or nodes, that coincide with the 

vertices of and points interior to the elements. The type 

of finite-element method used by Reeves and Duguid is 

the Galerkin method which is explained by Finder and 

Frind (1972); Neuman (1975); Finlayson and others 

(1978), and Lappala (1981).

In the Reeves and Duguid program, the time 

derivative (dh/dt) is approximated by either the backwards difference or the centered-in-time difference
34 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

UJ

>

UJto

UJ

2

00

oc

UJ I420

418

416

414

412

410

408

UJ

>

UJ

420

-i 418 -

oc

UJ i

r T i i i i i i i i r

J5-1 (0.8m)

J2-1 (5.7m)

G-2 (8.0m)

Test holes G and J

I I I I I I I I I I

00 

UJ

00

oc

UJ IUJ

UJ

>

UJ_l

DC 

UJ

416 -

414 -

412 -

410 -

408 -

406

i i i i i i i i i i i i i i I

Test holes D, D2, E, F 

near Trench 5

JFMAMJJASONDJ FM AM J JASONDJFMAM 

1976 1977 1978

FIGURE 14. Water-level trend in piezometers, January 1976 through May 1978. A, test holes G and 

J. B, Near trench 5 (test holes D, D2, E, and F). Test holes with more than one piezometer are numbered 

consecutively from the shallowest piezometer to the deepest piezometer. Numbers in parentheses indicate 

depth below land surface, in meters. Locations are shown in figure 7 (modified from Prudic, 1981).
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 35

2 LEVEL,WATR INMETERS ABOVE WATERIN SEA LEVELEL, METERS ABOVE SEALEVEL

O

<t 10 

416

414 

412 

410 

408

406 

423

421 

419 

417 

415 

413 

411 

409

407

LIRE 14. 

Near t 

more t 

piezom

' 1 1 l_ 1 1 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 i | 1 1 1 I 1

Trenches 3-5 ^^ ~-~ ^ \ 

pumped , Base of piezometer 14-1 (4.0 m-dry) 

-^ _______ . A2-1 tb.im) ____fiaseof pje2ometer \.\ (5.9m-dry)_

^ '.3-1 (7.7m) \ N^~

R-2 (7.6m) V«- .-T» ~.~^z ,1 A

- \ _ Sump 2 _

^^T -^-^' "~" - r^^Ag-2 (10.7m) .^ ______ ^ ^ 

l2-1~(ld7m) ~~"^

Test holes A. A2, I, 12, 13, 

_ 14, R, near Trench 2

 ' ^ . _ ___ vi (15.51^ . ^ _ 

1 1 i i i i i i i . . 1 ........ i i i 1 i i i i

D

Trench 12 pumped Trenches 10, 1 1 and 14 pumped

 -..- ' -. . ' K-1 (2.5m) -. ..- ' 

...... K-2 (6.5m)

Test holes K, M, N, P 

P-1 (9.0m) . _ . >_

 N .! (8.9m-dry?) - 

M.1 (12.5rn^ _ ^

K-3 (15.3m)

 -^ . p-oiA^^ "~~ "^ ' -" ' ~~"-

" _ __N-2 (15.0m) ____ Z!

 --> M-2 (15.9m) ____^

Illlllll II lllll III llllll 1111

JFMAMJ JASONDJ FMAMJ JASONDJFMAM 

1976 1977 1978

-Continued. Water level trend in piezometers, January 1976 through May 1978. C, 

rench 2 (test holes A, A2, 1, 12, 13, 14, and R). D, Test holes K, M, N, and P. Test holes having 

lan one piezometer are numbered consecutively from the shallowest piezometer to the deepest 

eter. Numbers in parentheses indicate depth below land surface, in meters. Locations are shown

in figure 7 (modified from Prudic, 1981.)
36 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

(Crank-Nicholson) technique (Reeves and Duguid, 1975; 

for an explanation on the techniques, see Remson and 

others, 1971). The Crank-Nicholson technique for 

nonlinear problems leads to oscillatory instabilities, 

whereas the backwards difference technique does not. 

The backwards difference technique, however, has a 

lower order truncation error. The backwards difference 

technique was used in the simulation of ground-water 

flow through the till and can be approximated by:

where

h Q = the pressure head in a node at the 

beginning of a time step (known), L;

h ! = the pressure head in a node at the end 

of a time step (unknown), L; and

A t = the time step interval, T.

The computer program is sensitive to the nonlinearity of the moisture content and hydraulic conductivity 

in the unsaturated zone. The program may fail to converge to an acceptable solution if the moisture content

78°38'

42°27'30

42°26'30" -

Base from U. S. Geological Survey 

Ashford Hollow 1:24,000, 1964

0 300 600 METERS

I \ \

0 1000 2000 FEET

EXPLANATION

 TEST HOLE Number is altitude of water level 

3'9 in piezometer, in meters above sea level

FIGURE 15. Direction of ground-water flow in lacustrine sequence beneath the till, as determined from water levels in three piezometers.
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 37

and hydraulic conductivity versus negative pressure 

heads (soil suction or tension) is very nonlinear that 

is, if large changes in moisture content or hydraulic conductivity occur over short negative pressure-head intervals or between nodes that are spaced too far apart. 

However, because the till is nearly saturated and remains so over a large interval of negative pressure heads 

(fig. 11), the problem of nonconvergence did not occur 

in the simulations of ground-water flow through the till. 

The boundary and internal conditions used in all 

modeled sections are as follows:

1. No-flow boundary on either side of the section 

because the hydraulic gradient is vertical.

2. In general, zero head at the base of the till to represent unsaturated conditions in the underlying silt. 

(A few model runs were made assuming the 

underlying silt to be saturated near hole G.)

3. Infiltration rate sufficient to saturate the till to land 

surface near swampy areas but less over smooth or 

steeply sloping areas to create local unsaturated 

conditions. This rate is the amount that will 

recharge the till. When pressure head in the surface node reaches a designated value (usually zero), 

the node switches from a flux boundary to a 

constant-head boundary.

4. A horizontal hydraulic conductivity of either 

2 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s or 6 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s for the unweathered 

till, which is the estimate of the equivalent 

hydraulic conductivity of the till and the sorted 

material within the till as determined from field 

and laboratory tests.

5. Constant heads within the trenches equal to observed heads in February 1976 or February 1978 

or, for a few transient-state simulations, an instantaneous change from one set of heads to another.

NORTH TRENCHES

The flow pattern along the vertical section C-C X 

through the north trenches from test hole G eastward 

to Franks Creek (location of section is shown in fig. 7) 

was chosen for thorough exploratory simulations and 

model calibration because the distribution of heads in 

the till near these trenches had been observed both 

before and after the trench-water levels were lowered 

4 m by pumping in 1976, a greater stress than observed 

elsewhere.

Several steady-state simulations were made with the 

boundary and internal conditions listed in the previous 

section to evaluate (1) the relative significance of 

anisotropy and (2) variations in hydraulic conductivity 

caused by fracturing and increased confining pressures 

in the till. Simulations started with a single isotropic 

unit and eventually included up to 5 model units (including lenses of silt and sand as a unit). As a general 

index of closeness of fit, the mean absolute departure 

(positive or negative) of simulated heads from observed 

heads at piezometers in the plane of section was 

calculated for each simulation. Results of the various 

simulations are presented in Prudic (1981, table 1) and 

are summarized in the following paragraphs.

Simulations that incorporated a single isotropic unit 

produced the same pressure heads regardless of 

hydraulic conductivity and had a mean absolute departure of 201 cm. All simulated pressure heads were less 

than observed heads. As expected, changes in computed 

inflow and outflow rates were directly proportional to 

any change in hydraulic conductivity. Anisotropy 

(horizontal hydraulic conductivity greater than vertical) 

lowered the mean absolute departure in the simulations 

to 114 cm when the horizontal hydraulic conductivity 

was 100 times greater than the vertical. Simulating a 

shallow unit to represent the abundantly fractured, 

weathered till with a higher hydraulic conductivity than 

the unweathered till also lowered the mean absolute 

departure (123 cm when the weathered till was 10 times 

more permeable than the unweathered till). Increasing 

the hydraulic conductivity of the weathered till produced slightly greater mean absolute departures. 

Simulating anisotropy in the two units further reduced 

the mean absolute departures. However, the lowest 

mean absolute departures occurred when four isotropic 

layers were simulated, each with a different hydraulic 

conductivity, to represent fracturing near land surface 

and increased consolidation of the till with depth. The 

mean absolute departure was 21 cm for the February 

1976 simulation and 29 cm for the February 1978 

simulation.

In the best simulation, hydraulic conductivity of the 

uppermost layer, which represented the distance from 

land surface to the base of oxidation in the till, was 

calibrated to be about 10 times higher than that of the 

deeper unweathered till below (layer 3). Hydraulic conductivity of the second layer, which represented the zone 

in the unweathered till containing oxidized fractures, 

was calibrated to be about 5 times higher than that of 

the deeper unweathered till (layer 3). Hydraulic conductivity of the fourth layer, a layer about 10 m thick at 

the base of the unweathered till, was calibrated to be 

15 to 30 percent less than that of the bulk of the 

unweathered till to simulate the reduction in hydraulic 

conductivity with depth. To duplicate heads in three 

piezometers finished in silt and sand lenses in test holes 

D, J, and I, it was necessary to simulate the individual 

lenses and adjust their extent as well as their hydraulic 

conductivity during calibration.

The best simulations with anisotropy included three 

units the weathered zone, the unweathered till with 

fractures, and the unweathered till and also the local-
38 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

ized silt and sand lenses near piezometers in test holes 

D, J, and I. In these simulations, the weathered till unit 

had a horizontal hydraulic conductivity 10 times greater 

than the unweathered till, and the unweathered till with 

oxidized fractures and the localized silt and sand lenses 

had a value 5 times greater than the unweathered till. 

The horizontal hydraulic conductivity was 10 times 

higher than the vertical in all three layers; localized silt 

and sand lenses were assumed to be isotropic. The mean 

absolute departure was 46 cm for the February 1976 

simulation and 64 cm for the February 1978 simulation 

(53 cm and 62 cm, if piezometers 1-1 and 14-1 are included). Table 10 compares simulated pressure heads 

from the best computer simulations with observed 

values from both the anisotropic and isotropic conditions 

for February 1976 and February 1978.

The isotropic simulations produced smaller average 

departures than the anisotropic simulations and also 

were qualitatively more reasonable in at least two 

respects: (1) they simulated negative heads at 

piezometers 1-1 and 14-1, which were dry on both dates, 

whereas the best anisotropic simulations produced 

positive heads, and (2) they simulated about the same 

heads for both dates in piezometers at test hole G, in 

agreement with observed conditions, whereas the best 

anisotropic simulations produced significantly lower 

heads for test hole G in February 1978 in response to 

the lower water level simulated in the trenches.

The final or best-fit distribution of hydraulic conductivity with depth between test hole G and Franks Creek, 

which incorporates four isotropic layers of differing 

hydraulic conductivity to reflect fracturing near the surTABLE 10. Heads observed in February 1976 and February 1978 compared with results of best-fitting computer simulations for isotropic and

anisotropic conditions^

[All values are in centimeters. Location of test holes are shown in figure 7]

Test hole 

identification

followed by

piezometer number

Calculated 

heads from best Absolute

computer simulation departure from

Observed heads with anisotropy observed heads

Calculated 

heads from best

computer simulation

with isotropic conditions

Absolute

departure from

observed heads

February 1976

G 3----------------

G 2----------------

G i_. ..............

H \.. ..............

D2 i---------------

D 2----------------

D I... ---...-......

13 i ...............

I 2 ----------------

12 1 ...............

I i ................

14 i ...............

J4 i ...............

J5 i -.-.-..........

j i ................

J2 1 -----------..-.

SI i -....-.-.......

S2 1 ---------------

.......382

-------374

....... 320

-------178

-....---47

.---...348

.......562

--------68

-------169

..-...-248

------- dry

------- dry

.......214

....... .84

.......545

-------235

....... 260

-------178

254

276

291

187

46

308

629

142

218

220

91

144

202

45

537

166

221

140

Mean absolute departures

Standard deviation

128

98

29

9

1

40

67

74

49

28

>91

>144

12

39

8

69

39

38

46

35

359

330

307

187

47

359

560

89

173

180

-79

-96

219

46

524

288

262

152

23

44

13

9

0

11

2

21

4

68

?

?

5

38

21

53

2

26

21

20

February 1978

G 3----------------

G 2----------------

G 1--.-----------..

H I.-.---------....

D2 1---------------

D 2----------------

D 1-.. -------------

13 i --..---........

I 2 ----------------

12 1 ...............

I i ................

14 1 --.....-.......

J4 i .--..-.-.......

J5 i ...............

J i ................

J2 1 ---..-.-----.-.

SI i ...............

S2 1 ---------------

-------387

-------386

-------327

..--...225

.-.....-47

----..-246

-------285

------- -39

....... 137

.......224

------- dry

------- dry

-------221

---....-75

....... 561

-------260

....... 261

-------181

179

221

277

177

26

172

322

94

155

152

67

32

200

45

526

158

221

138

Mean absolute departures

Standard deviation

208

165

50

48

21

74

37

55

18

72

>67

>32

21

30

35

102

40

43

64

53

360

329

304

188

15

220

268

73

152

158

-22

-154

220

48

520

286

262

152

27

57

23

37

32

26

17

34

15

66

?

?

i

27

41

26

1

29

29

17

1 FromPrudic, 1981.

2 Piezometers 1-1 and 14-1 were not included in the calculation of the mean absolute departure.
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 39

face and consolidation of the till with depth, is shown 

in figure 16 along with boundary conditions used to 

simulate heads of February 1976 and February 1978. 

The observed heads in the trenches and in the till on 

both dates are assumed to represent constant (steadystate) conditions. Simulated heads within the till for 

these two dates are shown in figure 17 (observed heads 

are plotted next to piezometer symbols); the only difference is the lower heads immediately next to the 

trenches in 1978, which is consistent with field 

observations.

Initially the infiltration rates were set high enough to 

saturate the till to land surface everywhere; later they 

were reduced enough to cause the uppermost nodes to 

become unsaturated at most locations. In anisotropic 

simulations, this reduction resulted in a slight lowering of heads in most nodes throughout the modeled section. In isotropic simulations, this reduction resulted in 

a large lowering of heads in all nodes beneath locations 

where infiltration from land surface was the only source 

of water but not near the constant-head nodes that 

represented the water levels in the trenches. Thus, a 

large decline in head resulted at all depths near test 

holes H and J, but little change occurred below the depth 

of the trench bottoms near test holes D and I.

WEST

430

Infiltration rates near shallow depressions were 

adjusted to just saturate the till to land surface. The 

calibrated infiltration rate near the shallow depressions 

was set at about 3 cm/yr when the horizontal hydraulic 

conductivity of the unweathered till was 6x 10 ~ 8 cm/s 

and the distribution of hydraulic conductivity in the vertical section was the same as shown in figure 16. Lowering all hydraulic conductivities by a factor of 3 to 

simulate the lower estimate in hydraulic conductivity 

of the unweathered till required that the simulated infiltration rate near the shallow depressions be lowered 

to about 1 cm/yr also a factor of 3. The calibrated infiltration rate on smooth, sloping surfaces such as near 

test holes D and I was set less than the rate near depressions to simulate a shallow unsaturated zone, as explained in the previous paragraph; a range of 1.1 to 0.4 

cm/yr was found to correspond to the estimate in 

hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered 

till-6 x 10- 8 cm/s to 2 x 10- 8 cm/s.

Transient conditions from June 1976 through May 

1977 were simulated in an attempt to reproduce observed drawdowns in piezometers near trench 5 after 

water was pumped from trenches 3 through 5 in the 

summer of 1976 and to calibrate the saturated specific 

storage of the unweathered till. Specific storage, which

EAST

111

>

< 420

HI 

CO

HI

O 

CO

cc 410

HI

IILI

O

D

P 

_J

<

400

390

Distribution of simulated infiltration rate relative to horizontal hydraulic conductivity of unweathered till 

 5-1 1.15 I 0.6-» | 0.6 M.2< 1.5 I 0.6 1 1.5 1 

Trenches: Fixed head for nodes below 

trench water level; seepage 

nodes above water level 

99 99 99 

49-636-62

C'

Constant infiltration rate 

surface

Node associated with piezometer

Fixed head (zero pressure) 0-0 o o ooo o o

25 50 75 METERS

Vertical Exaggeration x 3

FIGURE 16. Vertical section C-C through north trenches showing node arrangement, boundary conditions, relative hydraulic conductivity values, and relative infiltration rates used in best-fit simulation. Location of section is shown in figure 7 (from Prudic, 

1981).
40 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

A 

430

UJ

>

UJ

UJ c/>

UJ

O 

00

<

V)

cc

UJ 

UJ

UJ

Q

D

420 -

410 -

400

II I

III I

L.J L_J L

B

430

420 -

410 -

400 -

L-J I___I I__I I

Backfill 

vy Weathered till 

l//\ Unweathered till 

I I Till with oxidized fractures

EXPLANATION 

Computed water table

Water level in trench

 414 Simulated line of equal head. 

Interval 2 meters.

D Test hole

I

 414.0 Observed head in piezometer

0 25 50 METERS 

t_^i^I 

Vertical Exaggeration x 3

FIGURE 17. Vertical section C-C' through north trenches showing computer-simulated distribution of heads. A, February 1976. B,

February 1978. Location of section is shown in figure 7 (from Prudic, 1981).
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 41

was defined in the section "Physical and hydraulic properties of the till," is indirectly a required input to the 

model. That is, it is exactly equal to the sum of the 

modified compressibility of the till and water (terms in 

equation 2) and is essentially equal to the modified compressibility of the till because the modified compressibility of water at 10°C is 100 times less (Prudic, 1981, 

p. 229). Transient simulations that assumed a hydraulic 

conductivity of 6x 10 ~ 8 cm/s for the unweathered till 

and used the distribution of hydraulic conductivity and 

infiltration rates of the best steady-state simulation 

reproduced the observed hydraulic heads in piezometers 

in test hole D when the specific storage value of the till 

was 9 x 10~ 6 per cm (fig. 18). This value is close to the 

average specific storage of 8x10 ~ 6 per cm as determined from four laboratory consolidation tests, which 

as noted earlier ranged from 16xlO~6 per cm at a 

depth of 5.8 m to 2 x 10~ 6 per cm at a depth of 16 m. 

Additional transient simulations were run for the same 

period in which all hydraulic-conductivity values and 

infiltration rates were proportionately reduced by a factor of 3 to incorporate the uncertainty of the estimate 

in hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till as 

determined from field and laboratory tests. These 

simulations reproduced the observed hydraulic head 

distribution when the specific storage was reduced to 

3x 10 ~ 6 per cm again by a factor of 3. The transient 

simulations also indicated that only next to the trenches 

did water levels in the till decline appreciably in 

response to the pumpout of trench water (again in agreement with the observed response to the pumpout).

SOUTH TRENCHES

Head distribution along a section perpendicular to 

the south burial trenches (8-14) from test hole K through

ui ui

><0 

UI UI -I >

I- <

< CO

UI

Observed water level in trench 5

 Observed water level in piezometer

 Simulated water level in piezometer

JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY

1976 1977

FIGURE 18. Comparison of computer-simulated water levels with 

observed water levels in piezometers D-l, D-2, and D2-1 during 

8 months after pumpout of water from trench 5. Location of 

test holes is shown in figure 7 (from Prudic, 1981).

test hole N to Franks Creek (figs. 7 and 13B) was 

simulated as shown in figure 19 by assuming boundary 

conditions and hydraulic-conductivity values to be 

similar to those used in the best-fit computer model of 

section C-C/ through the north burial trenches. To improve calibration, infiltration rates were modified 

slightly from those used in model calibration of the north 

burial area (Prudic, 1981) but were similar in principlehighest in flat, shallow depressions such as near test 

hole K, lowest (50 to 60 percent less) on smooth, sloping 

surfaces (near N and L), and intermediate elsewhere (fig. 

19). The model adequately simulated heads of February 

1978; absolute departure from observed heads at the 

seven piezometers in the plane of section that had 

positive heads was 20 cm, and unsaturated conditions 

were indicated near test holes L and N (fig. 19).

LIMITATIONS AND RESULTS

In the process of model calibration, the twodimensional array of pressure heads provided a considerable constraint that helped to confirm isotropy and 

establish the thickness and relative hydraulic conductivity of various layers and lenses. Nevertheless, model 

calibration depends on four interpretations, as summarized below:

1. The till within each model layer has uniform 

hydraulic conductivity (except for individually 

modeled lenses), but infiltration rates vary laterally along the lines of section. An acceptable 

calibration might also have been achieved by 

assuming infiltration to be areally uniform and 

hydraulic conductivity to vary laterally along the 

section, but this alternative does not seem plausible for three reasons. First, smooth, graded slopes 

were observed to produce rapid runoff and to dry 

quickly after rainstorms, whereas in level areas, 

the natural soil provided prolonged storage. This 

variation would negate areally uniform infiltration 

rates. Second, no systematic areal differences in 

lithology, frequency of lenses, or hydraulic conductivity between areas of low and high pressure 

heads were recognized from cores or from slug tests 

of piezometers. Third, the mode of origin of the till 

suggests that lithologic variations are localized and 

do not occur over the entire thickness.

2. The hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till 

is between 2xlO~8 cm/s and 6xlO~8 cm/s. If 

hydraulic conductivity, infiltration rate (an 

unknown), and specific storage were all increased 

or decreased in the same proportion, the same head 

distribution would be generated by the model, and 

estimates of ground-water flow based on the model
42 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK 

A

430

UJ

3 420

UJ 

00

UJ

O

CO

oc

UJ IUJ

UJ

Q

g 400

Simulated infiltration rate relative to the horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till

-1.5 -0.6

Constant infiltration rate 

along land surface

Trenches 8-14: Fixed head for nodes ^.8 Qg

below trench- water level; seepage Constant infiltration

nodes above trench-water level. rate along land

N surface

o o ooooooooo

Node associated with piezometer

O OOO 00000000000000 O O O o OO .0

, Node

 o o390

430

K=0.85

Fixed head (zero pressure)

UJ

>

UJ

00

UJ

>

O

CO

<

00

oc

UJ

in 

Q

D

410

400

-400

0

Vertical Exaggeration x 5 L

50 

I

100 METERS 

I

Backfill, Cover 

Unweathered till 

Computed water table

EXPLANATION 

[y': : .>;.' ] Weathered till 

Y/A Till with oxidized fractures 

 Water level in trench

^422.0 Observed head in till

IX

I Test hole

 414 Simulated line of equal 

head. Interval 2 meters

FIGURE 19. Vertical section D-D' through south trenches. A, Node arrangement, boundary conditions, relative hydraulicconductivity values, and relative infiltration rates used in best-fit simulation. B, Computer-simulated distribution of 

heads for till for February 1978. Location is shown in figure 7.
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 43

would also change proportionately. However, considerable laboratory and field evidence (presented 

earlier) points to the hydraulic conductivity values 

cited. Furthermore, the fact that transient-state 

simulations incorporating these values achieved 

best fit with a specific storage value within the 

range of the four available laboratory determinations of specific storage provides some support for 

the validity of the hydraulic-conductivity estimate.

3. The till is nearly isotropic. This conclusion is important because model results are sensitive to 

anisotropy in the till. Field observations and field 

and laboratory tests of the till, presented earlier, 

support this conclusion. Futhermore, incorporating 

higher horizontal than vertical hydraulic conductivity in the till produced positive pressure heads 

in places east of trench 2, east of trench 8, and west 

of trench 14 where piezometers were dry or had 

very low pressure heads. Also, simulations of February 1978 conditions after water was pumped 

from the north trenches resulted in lower simulated heads than those observed in the field.

4. There is no flow perpendicular to the plane of the 

vertical sections modeled. Vertical sections C-C' 

and D-D were selected to cross the trenches about 

midway along their lengths. Water levels in the 

trenches are generally uniform (Prudic, 1978); 

therefore, the horizontal hydraulic gradients in the 

till beneath the trenches and parallel to them 

should be nearly zero. In general, horizontal 

hydraulic gradients in the till adjacent to the 

trenches are much smaller than the vertical gradients, which generally approach 1, and, because 

the till is nearly isotropic, the main flow direction 

of water is downward. For example, piezometers 

E-2 and F-2 on the west side of trench 5 and perpendicular to the vertical section C-C are finished in 

the till within a meter of the same altitude. The 

horizontal gradient between these piezometers is 

at least 500 times less than the vertical gradient 

at test holes D, E, and F. The horizontal hydraulic 

gradient is even lower (greater difference between 

vertical and horizontal gradients) if the difference 

in altitude between the piezometers is included in 

the calculation. Similarly, the horizontal hydraulic 

gradient between piezometers P-2 and N-2 perpendicular to the vertical section D-D (fig. 7), which 

are also finished in the till within a meter of the 

same altitude, is at least 250 times less than the 

vertical gradient in test holes M and P. Again, the 

horizontal hydraulic gradient would be less if the 

altitude difference between the two piezometers 

were included in the calculation. Flow across the 

vertical section E-E; (fig. 7) is also probably small

because the section parallels the main direction of 

flow, and hydraulic heads are probably similar at 

the same altitudes along the slope to the nearby 

stream. Thus, the assumption of zero flow across 

the vertical sections modeled is valid.

Model simulations indicated ground-water discharge 

near Franks Creek and the small stream near test hole 

G. Average seepage in these areas was calculated to be 

between 25 and 75 (cm3/d)/m2 of surface area, depending 

on the hydraulic conductivity used in the simulations, 

but this rate occurred at only one node in the model. This 

seepage would be derived largely from flow through the 

weathered till from precipitation that infiltrated along 

the slopes. Near the area of discharge are marshy areas 

that could be the result of shallow ground-water seepage, 

but the seepage rates could not be verified in the field 

because the streams bordering the site are small and 

were often dry. Presumably, most of the water that 

discharges at land surface is consumed by 

evapotranspiration.

In general, water in the trench area moves vertically 

downward through the till. The average specific flux of 

water in the vicinity of trenches 3 through 5 in February 

1976 was calculated to be between 0.5 and 2 cm/yr, and, 

for February 1978, between 0.3 and 1.5 cm/yr. These 

rates were calculated from an average uniform hydraulic 

conductivity of the unweathered till of 2xlO~8 to 

6 X10 ~ 8 cm/s. The lower rates for February 1978 reflect 

lower water levels in trenches 3 through 5. A rate of 0.3 

to 1.5 cm/yr in February 1978 in the vicinity of trenches 

8 through 14 was calculated also.

The average linear (pore) velocity is equal to the 

specific flux divided by the effective porosity and is the 

rate of advective transport of radionuclides through the 

till. Assuming an effective porosity equal to the total 

porosity of 0.3, the average linear velocity in the vicinity of trenches 3 through 5 in February 1976 would be 

between 1.7 and 6.7 cm/yr and in February 1978 between 1 and 5 cm/yr. The average linear velocity in the 

vicinity of trenches 8 through 14 in February 1978 was 

also between 1 and 5 cm/yr. However, other processes 

affect the transport of radionuclides through the till, 

such as hydrodynamic dispersion, reactions with the till 

and the original pore water, and radioactive decay. The 

processes that cause or inhibit the migration of radionuclides at this burial site are discussed in the section "Migration rates."

SEEPAGE FROM TRENCHES 

TO NEAREST STREAMS

Simulated and observed heads in the till indicate that 

water flows vertically downward from the trench floors,
44 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

through the till to the lacustrine sequence (units 8 and 

9, table 4) about 23 m below the trench floors, and then 

laterally northeastward through saturated coarse silt 

about 840 m (fig. 15) to the bluffs along Buttermilk 

Creek, where it will discharge. If some of the trench 

water could flow to one of the small streams that nearly 

surround the burial site, however, that flow path (and 

the time before radionuclides could reach land surface) 

would be much less. Although estimated flow paths from 

the trenches do not come close to these streams along 

the two sections calibrated (figs. 17 and 19) for 1976 and 

1978 conditions, several model simulations were made 

to test flow to these streams under a steeper gradient.

The shortest distance and greatest vertical relief between a trench and an adjacent stream are at the north 

end of trenches 3 and 4 (fig. 7). To evaluate this as a 

possible flow path, shallow piezometers were installed 

along the slope from trench 4 to the small stream north 

of trench 4, in line with test holes C, C2 (less than 3 m 

north of C), and an older test hole (2C) installed for an 

earlier project (fig. 7). Simulations along this vertical 

section, which assumed the same boundary conditions 

as the other sections (fig. 20) except for minor adjustments of the infiltration rates to obtain the best fit 

of computed versus observed heads, suggest that as long 

as the water level remains below the trench covers, 

water from the trench will not intersect the stream. 

Details of calibration of this vertical section are 

presented in Prudic (1981). The maximum outward 

distance that trench water would migrate through the 

upper weathered till, assuming the water level in trench 

4 to be constant and near the top of the trench indefinitely, is about 8 m before it would move downward into the unweathered till. The calculated head distribution and flow paths of water from trench 4 westward 

when the water level is near the cover is shown in figure 

20B.

Simulations were also made along vertical section 

D-D through the south trenches, assuming the trenches 

to be filled with water. Under these conditions, the maximum distance that water would flow eastward from 

trench 8 and westward from trench 14 through the 

weathered zone is between 5 and 10 m, not nearly far 

enough to intersect Franks Creek (fig. 21).

SEEPAGE THROUGH A HYPOTHETICAL 

PERMEABLE LAYER

Despite a lack of evidence of any continuous layer of 

permeable silt and sand extending from a trench to a 

nearby stream (discussed in section "Lenses of sorted 

material"), two trial simulations incorporating this condition were made. In the first simulation, the model incorporated a permeable layer approximately 2 m thick 

extending from beneath trench 8 to Franks Creek along 

the same vertical section as modeled previously (fig. 21), 

assuming a hydraulic conductivity of 6 X 10 ~ 8 cm/s for 

the unweathered till. The hydraulic conductivity of the 

permeable layer was set at 6 X 10 ~ 6 cm/s, which is at 

the upper range of the estimated hydraulic conductivity 

for distorted silt and sand lenses as determined from slug 

tests of piezometers. The infiltration rates from trench 

8 eastward to Franks Creek were the same as those used 

in the calibration of February 1978 water levels, and 

the constant head in trench 8 was set equal to the observed head of February 1978. This simulation indicated 

that water leaving trench 8 would travel about 10 m outward from the trench, then almost vertically downward 

in the till, as indicated in figure 22. Discharge from this 

hypothetical permeable layer to Franks Creek would 

consist mainly of precipitation that had infiltrated 

through the till along the slope and then into the 

permeable layer. In the second simulation, trench 8 was 

assumed to be filled with water; under such conditions 

water from trench 8 would travel as much as 18 m outward through the hypothetical layer before it 

would move vertically downward, but still it would 

not approach Franks Creek (fig. 22).

ESTIMATED TRAVELTIME

Prudic and Randall (1979, p. 881) estimated that the 

traveltime for a water particle leaving a trench to reach 

the slope near Buttermilk Creek would be about 400 

years. (In that report the hydraulic conductivity of the 

underlying lacustrine sequence was incorrectly stated 

as 1 x 10~ 2 cm/s; the value actually used was 1 x 10~4 

cm/s.) From the information presented below, the 

traveltime is estimated to be from 800 to 2,800 years.

Water moving downward through the approximate 

23 m of till beneath the trenches would take from 300 

to 2,300 years to reach the underlying lacustrine sequence, assuming a specific flux of 0.3 to 2.3 cm/yr as 

determined from computer simulations using a uniform 

hydraulic conductivity of the till between 2 x 10 ~ 8 cm/s 

and 6xlO~8 cm/s and an effective porosity of 0.3. 

Calculation of specific flux from the migration of tritium 

at four locations beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8 (see section "Radionuclide migration from trenches") ranged 

from 0.3 cm/yr to 1.2 cm/yr and depended on the amount 

of sorted material encountered in the test holes and the 

water level in the trenches. These values are within the 

range calculated from computer simulation of groundwater flow.

A water particle would take at least another 500 

years to travel the 840 m northeastward along a flow 

path (fig. 15), assuming a hydraulic conductivity of
GROUND-WATER FLOW AT THE BURIAL SITE 45

430

425

420

415

410

405

400

395

390

385

CO

UJ

O 

00

CO

oc

UJ

UJ

0

D

hSimulated infiltration rate relative to the horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till 

1.5 | 1.0 £ 

E'

Constant infiltration rate 

along land surface

OO O

-OO-OO O

-o o-

/Node 

-0- O 

i Fixed head for nodes below 

trench water level, seepage 

nodes above water level

' ° o 0

) ^ * i

o o o 

Node associated with piezometer

> ° 0 o

K=0.85

-O

Fixed head (zero pressure)

425

UJ

>

UJ

UJ 

CO

UJ

O

CO

<

CO

cc

UJ hUJ

z

O

D 

»-

405

iZ 400

EXPLANATION

Unweathered till with oxidized fractures

Unweathered till

Weathered till

Alluvium

Backfill

0 10

1___________i______

411.1

20 METERS 

i

Water level in trench 

Computed water table

Observed head in 

piezometer

Simulated line of equal 

head. Interval 1 meter

Flow path

Test hole

FIGURE 20. Vertical section E-E7 from trench 4 northward to small stream. A, Node arrangement, boundary conditions, and relative hydraulicconductivity values and relative infiltration rates used in the best-fit simulation. E, Computer-simulated distribution of heads for 

February 1976. Location of section is shown in figure 7 (from Prudic, 1981).
46 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

1 x 10 ~ 4 cm/s as a reasonable value for silt; an effective 

porosity of 0.25, and a gradient of 0.013 m/m based on 

head measurements of three piezometers. The time 

estimate is only tentative because the hydraulic conductivity of the lacustrine sequence was not determined 

from field or laboratory tests but was obtained from a 

table such as the one in Freeze and Cherry (1979, p. 25). 

The hydraulic conductivity of a silt could be between 

1X 10 ~ 2 and 1X10 ~ 6 cm/s, in which case the estimate 

of traveltime could be from 5 to 50,000 years. However, 

field observations of the silt suggest that hydraulic conductivity is probably closer to 1 x 10 ~ 4 cm/s than either 

1 X10 ~2 or 1 x 10 ~6 cm/s. In addition, the time required 

for a water particle to move vertically through the 3 m 

of unsaturated lacustrine deposits beneath the till 

should be less than through an equal depth of till; 

however, the rate cannot be estimated because neither 

the percent moisture content nor the unsaturated 

hydraulic conductivity of the silt is known.

RECHARGE TO TRENCHES

Perhaps the most significant concern with the burial 

ground in regard to the movement of radionuclides in 

the liquid phase has been the gradual rise of water in 

several of the trenches and the eventual overflow of that 

water through the covers of some. Water levels in all 

trenches have been monitored regularly since 1966 by 

Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc. Figure 23, based on their 

data to 1975 and compiled in part by E. J. Michael (New 

York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 

Bureau of Radiation, written commun., 1974), shows 

that all but trench 8 had a modest water-level rise 

shortly after completion. During the 1971 summer, 

water levels in trenches 3 through 5 began a persistent 

rise, and by March 1975, trench water had begun to seep 

out through the cover to land surface along the west side 

of trench 5 and the north end of trench 4 (Kelleher, 1979; 

Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 862). From 1975 through

430

HI

>

Ul

co 420

UJ

> 

O 

CO

<

eo

oc ui

410

Q

D

400

D'

EXPLANATION

[ '/.-:[ Weathered till 

[//] Till with oxidized fractures 

I | Unweathered till 

Backfill, cover

Water level in trench 

Computed water table

50

I

100 METERS

_ 414_ Simulated line of equal head. 

Interval 2 meters

Test hole

Vertical Exaggeration x 5

FIGURE 21. Vertical section D-D' through south trenches showing computer-simulated distribution of head, and assuming trenches to

be filled with water.
RECHARGE TO TRENCHES 47

Infiltration rate relative to the horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the unweathered till

400

B

EXPLANATION

Y /\ Till with oxidized fractures

| [ Unweathered till

[.';; I Silt and sand

[\\| Backfill, cover

PWl Weathered till t ' '.' *l

I Flow path

"414

I

Trench water level 

Computed water table

Simulated line of equal head. 

Interval 2 meters

Test hole with piezometer

10 20 METERS

FIGURE 22. Part of vertical section D-D' from trench 8 eastward to Franks Creek showing computer-simulated 

distribution of head, and assuming a permeable layer from trench to stream. A, Trench water at observed 

February 1978 level. B, Trench nearly filled with water. Location of section is shown in figure 7.
48 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

1976, the site operator removed much of the water from 

trenches 2 through 5 by pumping it into temporary 

holding ponds near the trenches, then to the wastetreatment plant near the reprocessing plant. From 

August through October 1978, water levels in these 

trenches rose again (fig. 23), probably as a result of waste 

compaction after at least 1.3 m of cover was added over 

trenches 1 through 5 during August 1978. Most of the 

south trenches (8-14) had maintained nearly constant 

water levels from the time of their completion through 

the dry summer of 1978, after which water levels in 

trenches 11 through 14 rose noticeably (fig. 23B). Several 

investigators (Matuszek and others, 1976; Giardina and

others, 1977; Kelleher, 1979; Prudic and Randall, 1979; 

and Prudic 1979b and 1980) have concluded that the 

water-level rise in many of the trenches was due to infiltration of precipitation through the covers rather than 

ground-water seepage and that differences in cover 

permeability among the trenches caused the differences 

in water-level trends. For several reasons it has been 

concluded that ground-water seepage could not have 

caused the rising water levels:

1. Piezometers near the trenches show that groundwater gradients are downward and outward from

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420

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417

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414

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Range in altitude of 

top of undisturbed 

till east of trench 2

Cover reshaped into individual 

mounds over trenches 1 -4 

(previously, one large 

umbrella mound)

Range in altitude of 

top of undisturbed 

till west of trench 5

Addition of 1.3 meters cover

/Trench 3

'Water pumped from 

trench 2 before 1966

0.6 Z

0.4

0.2 

0.0 o

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cc

Q.

FIGURE 23. Water-level trends in trenches, 1966-79. A, Trenches 2-5, 1966-79. Abrupt downtrends are due to removal of water by

pumping. Location of trenches is shown in figure 7.

1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 ' 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

C0

cc

UJ 

UJ
RECHARGE TO TRENCHES 49

the trenches except in a small region near land surface immediately west of trench 5 (see section 

"Flow within the till" or Prudic and Randall, 1979, 

and Prudic 1981).

2. There is no reason to postulate gradients toward the 

trenches in the past or between piezometers. Even 

if such gradients existed, the low hydraulic conductivity of the till would prevent water from moving 

into the trenches fast enough to cause the observed 

rises in trench-water level.

3. Trenches 5 and 14, the two westernmost trenches, 

are the most likely to be affected by ground-water 

inflow because land surface rises to the west of the 

site, and Franks Creek and its tributaries are 

below the altitude of the trench floors immediately 

to the north and east (fig. 2). However, in 1971-73, 

water levels were higher in trenches 3 and 4 than 

in trench 5 and were rising rapidly (fig. 23A), and 

in 1978-79, water levels in trenches 12 and 13 rose 

rapidly to levels higher than in trench 14 (fig. 235). 

Furthermore, water levels in trenches 5 and 14 

have shown unsteady, commonly step wise upward 

trends that corresponded more closely to precipitation patterns than to water-level fluctuations in 

piezometers finished in the till nearby, as explained in the following section.

4. During 1974-75, water levels in trenches 3 through 

5 rose into the cover, higher than the surrounding 

land surface. Ground-water heads have never been 

known to exceed land-surface altitude anywhere 

near the trenches.

CORRELATION OF PRECIPITATION

WITH WATER-LEVEL RISES

INTRENCHES

A water-level recorder was maintained on the sump in 

trench 5 from May 1975 through December 1979, and 

one to three other recorders were moved from one trench 

to another during this time to document the water-level 

rises in the trenches. In addition, a precipitation gage 

was installed 340 m to the west (near well 54-11 in fig. 

2). The correlation of the hydrographs with precipitation records was complicated by water-level fluctuations 

as large as 15 cm in some sumps in response to

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Final grade over trenches 8-10

Trench 8 4 T L , , * <. ' Trench 10N (old) (new)

 ' Trench 10S

 .._ .._.._.._..__.__.__. ^^^ ^r.:~--~-'-'\.. C--

' Trench 9 Trench 1 1 '_/ '

 ' '' ' >

/

1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

FIGURE 23.-Continued.Water-level trends in trenches, 1966-79. B, Trenches 8-14,1971-79. Abrupt 

downtrends are due to removal of water by pumping. Location of trenches is shown in 

figure 7.
50 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

barometric-pressure fluctuations. The ratio of change in 

water level to change in barometric pressure (barometric 

efficiency) was nonlinear. The ratio was greater during 

large, abrupt barometric fluctuations than during small, 

gradual ones. This nonlinear response probably is a 

result of air moving into and out of the trenches, through 

cracks in the cover or openings along sump standpipes 

above trench-water level a process that gradually 

equalizes any imbalance between trench-gas pressure 

and fluctuating atmospheric pressure at rates that apparently are a significant fraction of slow barometric 

changes. Despite this complication, it was often possible to demonstrate that abrupt, small rises in trenchwater levels corresponded to individual precipitation 

events and that seasonal average rates of rise correlated 

with precipitation trends.

The hydrograph for trench 5 from May through 

September 1975 (fig. 24A) was corrected to a constant 

atmospheric pressure by determining the average

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419.6

419.5

419.4

419.3

419.2

419.1

Corrected hydrograph, 

trench 5

Record of volume 

only (clock 

malfunctioned)

Precipitation

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21 31 15 30 15 31 15 31 15

MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT

1975

barometric efficiency over short time intervals and then 

adjusting the water levels; the result is plotted against 

precipitation. In May and June, the water levels in sump 

5 rose almost continuously but showed little correlation 

with precipitation. From July 1 to September 11, 

however, individual water-level rises corresponded 

closely to precipitation. The ratio of water-level rise to 

precipitation increased about August 1, and at the same 

time, the barometric efficiency increased from 28 to 40 

percent (Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 867). This increase 

in rate of water-level rise could have been due either to 

a greater percentage of precipitation reaching the 

trenches or to the rise of trench water into the cover. 

Because the cover has fewer large void spaces than the 

waste, any volume of recharge would saturate a greater 

thickness of the cover (Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 867). 

This increase in rate took place as the water level rose 

above an altitude of 419 m, the approximate level of the 

base of the cover (Prudic, 1980).

A hydrograph corrected to a constant atmospheric 

pressure from January through July 1976 is shown in 

figure 24B. The barometric efficiency during this time 

averaged about 20 percent, about half that measured 

between August and September 1975. This is consistent 

with the lowering of the water level to below the cover, 

which occurred between September and October 1975 

when the site operator pumped water from the trench 

and lowered the water level to an altitude of about 418

B

418.5

CO 418.4

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CO 418.3

CC

ui ILU

2

Z 418.2

418.1

Days in January-March when 

maximum temperature 

was above 0°C /v

Corrected hydrograph, 

trench 5

No record

Precipitation

Precipitation estimated from 

Franklinville records

I "*! I J I.I.I

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CC 

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4i«nlf". iii . i . i . i . i . i o.o 

1 15 31 15 29 15 31 15 30 15 31 15 30 15 31

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY

1976

FIGURE 24. Water level in trench 5 in relation to precipitation (hydrograph corrected to remove effects of barometric fluctuations). A, May 

through September 1975 (from Prudic and Randall, 1979). B, January through July 1976. Location of trench 5 is shown in figure 7.
RECHARGE TO TRENCHES 51

m. From January to April 1976, the water level in trench 

5 rose sharply during most precipitation events, and the 

average rate of rise was similar to that in August to 

September 1975. The large rises in water levels in 

February 1976 correspond to extended periods in which 

the maximum daily temperature (recorded at nearby 

Franklinville) exceeded 0°C, and especially during at 

least 7 of the last 20 days in February, when maximum 

daily temperatures exceeded 10°C. The large water-level 

rises (including those in January) may have been caused 

by the melting of snow already on the ground and were 

augmented by rain.

The correlation between precipitation and water-level 

rise in trench 5 was poor from May through June 1976 

(fig. 24B), even more so than during the same period in 

1975 (fig. 24A). Evapotranspiration may have consumed 

a large fraction of the precipitation from May through 

July 1976, which was half the precipitation recorded for 

May through June 1975. In addition, it is possible that 

the amount of void space in the trench increased between the altitudes of 418.4 and 418.5 m, but this is unconfirmed.

The initial recovery of the water level in trench 5 after 

water was pumped out in 1976 and 1977 responded in 

a manner similar to most wells after pumping recovery 

was rapid immediately after the pumping stopped, then 

slowed with time. After the initial recovery, the water 

level rose consistently but did not correlate with individual precipitation events. A plot of water-level rises 

from 1976 to 1978 is given in figure 25. One explanation is that the slug of water infiltrating downward 

through the cover was attenuated as it moved through 

the unsaturated wastes such that it reached the water 

level in the trench at a relatively constant rate.

Barometric fluctuations in the hydrograph of trench 

5 (fig. 25) after the water level was substantially lowered 

in 1976 were most common between November and May. 

The lack of barometric fluctuations in the summer suggests that the movement of air through the cover during periods of change in atmospheric pressure was more 

rapid in summer than in winter and spring. Prudic 

(1980) noted that changes in gas pressure in the unsaturated parts of several trenches responded more 

rapidly to changes in atmospheric pressure during the 

summer and fall than during winter and spring. 

Seasonal changes in the rate of movement of air through 

the cover may have been caused by the enlargement of 

cracks in the cover through drying in summer, followed 

by closing of those cracks during the winter by swelling, sealing with ice or water, or a covering of nearsurface mud. The rate of water-level rise in trench 5 did 

not increase in summer, however. Perhaps the open 

cracks were chiefly along the crest of the mounds and 

captured little recharge owing to their position. This

would explain the lack of increased recharge at the same 

time as the absence of water-level fluctuations due to 

barometric changes during and after summer storms.

Water levels began to rise in trenches 11 through 13 

(Prudic, 1979b) after the dry summer of 1978, and a continuous water-level recorder was installed on trench 12 

in March 1979. A hydrograph and precipitation graph 

for March 1979 through January 1980 is shown in figure 

26. During March and April 1979, the water level in 

trench 12 rose at a rate considerably greater than the 

rate of precipitation, as indicated in figure 26, which 

may reflect infiltration of snowmelt. A rectangular subsidence hole was discovered about 75 m south of the 

north end of trenches 11 and 12 and along the drainage 

divide between those trenches. The hole captured much 

of the runoff from the northern part of trenches 11 and 

12. After this hole was filled by the site operator in April 

1979, the water-level rise essentially ceased. Although 

the hole had probably contributed greatly to the waterlevel rise in trench 12, no holes were found on trenches 

11,13, or 14, in which water levels had also risen rapidly 

from November 1978 through August 1979 (fig. 26A). 

The rapid rise of water levels in trenches 11 through 14 

was probably caused by infiltration of precipitation 

through cracks in the cover. The origin of these cracks 

is discussed in the section "Infiltration of precipitation 

through cracks in cover."

Even after the subsidence hole was plugged, water infiltrated through the cover of trench 12, as evidenced 

by the water-level increases that in general correspond 

to precipitation events from May through September 

1979. A noticeable rise in the water level occurred after 

a storm during the middle of September (fig. 26A), and 

a similar pattern was observed in trench 14 during the 

same period (fig. 26B). From October 1979 through 

January 1980, the water level rose steadily in both 

trenches 12 and 14 without any direct correlation with 

precipitation.

After the dry summer of 1978, water levels rose in 

trenches 8 through 10 (fig. 23.B) but at a much slower 

rate than in trenches 11 through 14. The reasons are 

not understood. Measurements of the rate at which air 

moved through the trench cover in response to 

barometric-pressure fluctuations (Prudic, 1980; Lu and 

Matuszek, 1978) indicated that in July 1978 the cover 

over trench 8 was just as permeable as that over 

trenches 11 and 12. Maximum cover permeability and 

recharge might be expected in trenches having the 

greatest potential for collapse of waste. However, as 

shown in table 3, trenches 8 and 9 contain larger 

amounts of waste than later trenches, contain slightly 

more cardboard and fiberboard containers, and have had 

more time for decay, all of which would seem to favor 

more rapid collapse and development of subsidence
52 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

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C£ 

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415.05

414.95

414.85

414.75

414.65

414.55

414.45

415.35 

415.25 

415.15 

415.05 |- 

414.95 

414.85 h 

414.75

414.95

414.85

414.75

414.65

414.55

414.45

414.35

Trench 5

OCT NOV DEC 

1976

JAN 

1977

FEB MAR APR

Trench 5

MAY JUN JUL AUG 

1977

SEP OCT

Trench 5

OCT NOV DEC 

1977

JAN 

1978

FEB MAR APR

FIGURE 25. Water level in trench 5 after pumpout of water in July and September 1976 and November 1977. Trench location

is shown in figure 7.
RECHARGE TO TRENCHES 53

cracks than in the later trenches. Possibly the cardboard 

and flberboard containers were already largely compressed before the final cover grade was established 

owing to the weight of heavy machinery and temporary 

surcharge of till excavated from the next trench.

If the covers over trenches 11 through 13 were thinner 

than the rest, they might be more susceptible to 

breaching by cracks. Comparison of a topographic map 

prepared for the site operator in 1970, after topsoil was 

removed but before excavation of the south trenches 

began, with a similar map of the completed trenches in 

1977 and with logs of nearby test holes suggests that 

the cover over trenches 8 through 10 may be 30 cm 

greater than at trenches 11 through 13 and 60 cm 

A

thicker than at trench 14. However, data from pipes 

driven through the cover near the south end of the 

trenches suggest little difference in cover thickness 

between trenches 8 through 10 and trenches 11 through 

13. After data on the driving of pipes through the cover 

near the south end of each trench were evaluated, 

average cover thickness at trenches 8 through 13 was 

estimated to be 3.3 m and at trench 14 only 2.7 m 

(Prudic, 1980, table 1). If these estimates are correct, 

they help explain the rise in water level in trench 14 

but not the stable levels in trenches 8 through 10.

Prudic (1980) postulated that water levels in trenches 

8 through 10 failed to rise not because the covers were

416.05

415.95

415.85

415.75

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ai 415.65

in

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Estimated from ~

Franklinville _

records

- 1.2

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- 0.6

" 0.3

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^ 0.0

Mar Apr May June

B 

415.6

415.5

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July Aug 

1979

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan 

1980

cc

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T

Water level. Trench 14 

\

Estimated from

Franklinville

records

- 1.5

o.

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LU 

CC

a.

h 1.0

- 0.5

0.0

Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan

1979 1980

FIGURE 26. Water level in trenches 12 and 14 in relation to precipitation, March 1979 through January 1980. A, Trench 12. B, Trench

14. Trench locations are shown in figure 7.
54 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

intact but because recharge was balanced by outward 

seepage of water along silt and sand lenses known to 

be present beneath part of trench 8. However, these 

lenses are small and do not short circuit the downward 

flow of water through the till (discussed in the section 

"Lenses of sorted material"). Also, the absence of abrupt 

water-level rises from rapid recharge through the trench 

covers after individual storms, followed by gradual 

declines in the water levels due to seepage out of the 

trench makes this explanation unlikely. Thus, the 

reasons for the stability of water levels in trenches 8 

through 10 are as yet unknown.

EFFECTS OF ADDITIONAL COVER

OVER TRENCHES 1 THROUGH 5

ON WATER LEVELS

The covers over trenches 1 through 5 were regraded 

August 7 through 13, 1978, to reduce or eliminate infiltration of rain and snowmelt into the trenches. First, 

the topsoil mantling the surface was scraped away, and 

the underlying material was compacted with heavy 

machinery. At least 1.3 m of reworked till from an area 

east of trench 8 between Franks Creek and Buttermilk 

Creek (fig. 2) was then added and compacted. The water 

level in trench 5 rose almost immediately, presumably 

as a result of compaction of the waste; however, after 

the work was completed, the water level continued to 

rise until at least October 1978 in a pattern similar to 

that during the first days after a pumpout (fig. 27). A 

similar rising trend was noted at trenches 2 through 4. 

This continued rise is unexplained but may have 

resulted from the slow drainage of previously saturated 

or nearly saturated waste perched at high levels in the 

trench.

The water level in trench 5 rose only 5 cm (fig. 27) 

from January through September 1979, in contrast to 

its rise of at least 35 cm during the same months in 1977 

before the cover was reworked. Although precipitation 

during the 1979 period was 17 cm less than during the 

1977 period, this does not account for the sevenfold 

decrease in water-level rise. Similar decreases in rate 

of water-level rise were observed in trenches 2 through 

4 after the covers were regraded. It is therefore 

concluded that the recompaction and increased thickness 

of cover material reduced the rate of water-level rise in 

the trenches, a conclusion which supports other evidence 

that the principal cause of water-level rises in the 

trenches is infiltration of precipitation through the 

cover.

INFILTRATION OF PRECIPITATION 

THROUGH CRACKS IN COVER

A network of intersecting cracks was visible on the 

surface of the trench covers from the beginning of the

study. Although most cracks became obscured or filled 

with mud after thaws during the winter and early 

spring, new cracks reappeared each year, commonly in 

the same position and shape, suggesting permanent 

lines of weakness. The cracks tended to be alined 

parallel and transverse to the trench axis (Dana and 

others, 1978; Prudic and Randall, 1979). During dry 

periods, some cracks were as wide as 5 cm at land surface (Dana and others, 1979), and a steel tape could be 

pushed to depths of 30 cm in many places and 60 cm 

locally (Prudic, 1980). On the hypothesis that the cracks 

might be avenues through which water could enter the 

trenches, 2,000 L of water was siphoned into two sets 

of cracks at the south end of trenches 4 and 5 in 

September 1975. No surface outflow resulted, which suggests that these particular cracks opened downward into 

the trenches (Prudic and Randall, 1979). Siphoning 

about 110 L of water into cracks over the north end of 

trench 4 in July 1978 produced similar results. When 

several other cracks were tested in this manner, 

however, water soon began to issue from nearby cracks 

at lower altitude at a rate comparable to the rate of 

input. It was therefore concluded that some cracks, but 

not all, fully penetrated the trench covers. The cracks 

presumably result both from compaction and settlement 

of the waste and also to some extent from desiccation 

of the cover material (reworked till) during extended dry 

periods, as explained in the following paragraphs.

CRACKS CAUSED BY SETTLING OF WASTE

The contents of the buried waste containers were not 

precompacted, nor were the stacked containers compacted by heavy machinery, as is usual with municipal 

landfills. Thus, as the containers decay, the waste could 

collapse considerably. The cardboard and wooden containers, which constitute 5 to 30 percent of the waste 

(table 3), would collapse years before the metal barrels; 

and the concrete casks may remain intact for centuries. 

The gradual collapse of individual containers and the 

settlement of cover material into unfilled spaces between 

containers (Prudic, 1980, p. 20) would result in fracturing and eventual caving of the unsupported cover. 

The resulting cracks would probably propagate upward 

from the bottom of the cover. Subcircular depressions 

and holes about 1 m in diameter, some surrounded by 

concentric cracks, were observed occasionally in the 

covers, mostly on top of trenches 3 through 5 and most 

frequently after spring thaw. These features, probably 

caused by collapse, were filled with additional cover by 

the site operator as soon as practical.

Subsidence fractures could also propagate downward 

from the surface along the edges of a trench either by 

shear force (if the cover settled uniformly with time) or 

by rotation (if the crown of the cover settled more rapidly
RECHARGE TO TRENCHES 55

than the sides). Longitudinal cracks have been noted 

along the edges of individual trenches. The lack of 

noticeable displacement of land surface along these 

longitudinal cracks suggests that uniform settlement 

was not significant but does not rule out rotational 

settling.

The sharp rise in water levels in trenches 11 and 14 in 

the fall of 1978, the year after water was pumped from 

them by Nuclear Fuel Services, gave rise to speculation 

that the removal of water indirectly caused cracks in 

the covers and allowed for rapid infiltration of precipitation into the trenches. The removal of water from the 

trenches produces a loss of buoyancy in the trenches and 

subsequently may cause the waste containers to collapse, the result of which is a loss of support to the cover 

and the formation of settlement cracks. This possibility, although it cannot be totally ruled out, was thought

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00 

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415.25

415.15 -

not to be the predominant cause of the accelerated waterlevel rises observed in trenches 11 and 14 because

1. Water levels began to rise rapidly in trenches 11 

through 14 at approximately the same time (fig. 

23B), even though trench 12 was pumped a year 

earlier than trenches 11 and 14, and trench 13 was 

not pumped at all. This suggests some other 

mechanism caused the rapid rise of water levels.

2. The south trenches (including 11 and 14) were 

saturated with water only near the bottom of the 

trenches; thus, the removal of water from these 

trenches would cause collapse of containers in only 

a small part of the trenches. In contrast, trenches 

3 through 5 were saturated through their entire 

thickness and parts of the covers for at least a year

LJ

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414.85

MAY JUN JUL AUG 

1978

SEP OCT

** 1 J.fJ

415.35 

415.25

415.15 

415.05

i i i i i 

Trench 5

NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR 

1978 1979

415.45

415.35

415.25

415.15

415.05

Trench 5

MAY JUN JUL AUG 

1979

SEP OCT

FIGURE 27. Water level in trench 5 after covers of trenches 1 through 5 were regraded in August 1978.
56 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

(see fig. 23A). If the removal of water caused the 

containers to collapse and fractures to form in the 

covers, then both the water-level rises and the 

number of subsidence holes in trenches 3 through 

5 should have increased after 1976, which they did 

not, suggesting little increased collapse.

Thus, the removal of trench water does not seem to be 

the primary mechanism that caused the accelerated 

water-level rises in trenches 11 and 14 observed in the 

fall of 1978.

CRACKS CAUSED BY SEASONAL 

DRYING OF COVER

Shrinkage cracks caused by drying is a well-known 

phenomenon in fine-grained soils. Surface cracks were 

visible not only on the trench covers during summer but 

also in the till surrounding the trenches (Dana and 

others, 1978). Most of these cracks were absent during 

spring and are, therefore, assumed to be caused, or at 

least enlarged, by seasonal drying.

Numerous cracks were observed in the newly exposed 

unweathered till between Franks Creek and Buttermilk 

Creek east of the south trenches (fig. 2) in July 1979 after 

some of the till had been removed from the area and 

placed on the north trenches as cover during August 

1978. Several cracks were between 2 and 5 cm in width, 

and a steel tape (0.6 cm wide) was lowered 70 cm in a 

few places. Desiccation, or drying, of the till is the only 

plausible explanation of how these cracks formed. 

Exactly how deep the cracks penetrated the till is uncertain. Nearly vertical cracks extending to depths of 4.5 

m and having oxidized rims were detected in the undisturbed till near the trenches (Prudic and Randall, 

1979; Davis and Fakundiny, 1978, fig. II-5). However, 

it is not known whether drying during the most extreme 

droughts over the past 10,000 years caused the cracks 

to extend this deep or whether the cracks are caused by 

some other process. Nevertheless, shrinkage of the till 

during summer is a plausible explanation for at least 

the enlargement of cracks in the cover.

Comparison of changes in atmospheric pressure with 

changes in the gas pressure measured in trenches 4 and 

12 in July 1977 and July 1978 indicate that the movement of air through the cover was much faster in July 

1978 then in July 1977, particularly through the cover 

over trench 12, where the estimated cover permeability 

was 50 times greater in July 1978 then in July 1977 

(Prudic, 1980). This rapid movement of air through the 

cover of trench 12 in July 1978 was probably not caused 

by the movement of air through pores in the till matrix 

but rather through cracks that extended through the 

cover for the first time. If cracks had extended through

the cover over trench 12 before the summer of 1978, the 

change in permeability of the cover should have been 

similar to that of the trench 4 cover, which had increased 

by a factor of only 3 (Prudic, 1980). Also, if cracks had 

extended through the cover over trench 12 before the 

summer of 1978, the water level in the trench should 

not have remained stable but should have increased as 

in the fall of 1978.

Shrinkage cracks are also a plausible explanation for 

the sudden onset of rapidly rising water levels in 

trenches 3 through 5 in late 1971 and in trenches 11 

through 14 in late 1978 (Prudic, 1979b), each after an 

unusually dry summer. How deep the shrinkage cracks 

extend into the cover is uncertain. To admit water, 

however, shrinkage cracks need not penetrate through 

the cover but rather need only to intersect cracks propagating upward as a result of refuse decay or perhaps 

enlarge older cracks caused by the general settling of 

the cover. Although the mechanisms of crack development are not exactly known, it seems reasonable that 

shrinkage at least accelerated the development of cracks 

through the cover. Once these cracks extend through the 

cover, water can drain through, making the cracks less 

likely to swell shut or to become sealed with mud.

The relative dryness of the summers of 1971 and 1978 

is evident from a variety of precipitation and runoff 

records. A rain gage was installed at the site in May 

1975; comparison of 1975-79 data with records from four 

nearby long-term National Weather Service stations 

suggests that precipitation at Franklinville, 15 km 

southeast of West Valley, is the most nearly equivalent 

to that at the burial site. At Franklinville, the years 

having lowest annual precipitation since the earliest 

trenches were completed were 1971,1973, and 1978 (National Weather Service, 1966-79). Perhaps more significant is minimum precipitation during the growing 

season. Precipitation during the 60 consecutive days of 

least precipitation in each growing season was relatively 

low in 1969 and 1971, and in 1978 was by far the lowest 

(table 11). Precipitation similarly compiled for 30-day 

periods was relatively low in five summers, including

TABLE 11. Lowest 30-day and 60-day cumulative rainfall periods from 

May through October, 1968 through 1978, at Franklinville, N. Y.

[Values are in centimeters]

30-day interval 60-day interval

Year Value Dates Value Dates

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

3.91

4.04

3.18

3.63

5.31

5.31

4.88

3.56

2.54

4.83

1.78

July 1 -July 30

Aug. 4-Sept. 2

July 22-Aug. 20

May 1-May 30

Aug. 15-Sept. 13

June 29-July 28

June 30-July 29

June 21 -July 20

Aug. 9-Sept. 7

May 7-June 5

June 23-July 22

14.86

9.14

12.62

8.99

12.14

10.87

15.09

11.30

15.75

14.96

5.92

June 29-Aug. 27

Aug. 4-Oct. 2

June 23-Aug. 21

June 16- Aug. 14

July 16-Sept. 13

Aug. 3-Oct. 1

May 19-July 14

June 21-Aug. 19

Aug. 9-Oct. 7

May 6-July 4

May 23-July 21
CHEMISTRY OF TRENCH WATER 57

1971 and 1978; however, development of deep shrinkage 

cracks may require dry periods of more than 30 days. 

Average precipitation during the growing period (May 

through October) at the four National Weather Service 

stations was relatively low in 1971,1974, and 1978, with 

1971 by far the lowest; the same is true of lowest mean 

flow of Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda for 30- or 60-day 

periods (table 12). (Low flow reflects the combined effects 

of rainfall, evapotranspiration, and storage over a large 

area.) Thus it can be concluded that water levels in 

trenches 3 through 5 began to rise rapidly after the first 

unusually dry summer (1971) following the regrading 

of the trenches in 1969 (see table 2). Similarly, water 

levels in trenches 11 through 14 began to rise rapidly 

after their first unusually dry summer (1978), following 

the regrading of the trenches from 1973 to 1975 (table 

2). This pattern strongly supports the hypothesis that 

cracks in the trench cover, caused partly by shrinkage 

and partly by collapse, are the most important avenues 

of recharge.

TABLE 12. Low flow of Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda Station 

04-213500

[Values are in cubic meters per second]

Lowest average 

consecutive-day flow

Year

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

30 days

2.32

2.66

2.27

3.48

4.90

3.26

4.39

6.43

60 days

2.78

2.95

2.66

3.77

5.35

3.77

4.90

8.30

Year

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

Lowest average 

consecutive-day flow

30 days

2.92

5.21

4.30

3.79

5.41

4.98

7.08

3.88

60 days

3.20

6.51

4.67

3.96

6.66

7.79

9.06

4.13

CHEMISTRY OF TRENCH WATER

As explained previously, water has accumulated in 

the burial trenches since their beginning, saturating at 

least the lower part of the buried waste and slowly percolating outward and downward from the trenches into 

the till. The advection and dispersion of dissolved constituents within the water probably are the principal 

methods of subsurface transport of radionuclides. 

Because of the abundant decaying organic matter and 

the variety of wastes, solvents, and cleaning agents 

buried in the trenches, the chemical environment within 

the trenches is complex and has potential for a variety 

of chemical and biological processes that may influence 

the solubility or sorption of individual radionuclides.

This investigation did not include detailed study of 

trench-water chemistry. Interpretations of radionuclide 

migration are based largely on the distribution of radionuclides in cores collected from alongside and beneath 

the trenches and comparison with the radionuclide content of trench water as reported by others. Concurrent 

investigations by Brookhaven National Laboratory 

(Weiss and Colombo, 1980) and the Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory of the New York State Department of Health 

(Husain and others, 1979) have included sophisticated 

sampling of trench water and detailed organic, inorganic, and radiochemical analyses of samples to provide data that may lead ultimately to a better 

understanding of the processes involved in radionuclide 

transport.

SAMPLING METHODS

While each trench was being filled with waste, water 

that accumulated on the downward sloping trench floor 

in front of the waste was periodically pumped out and 

analyzed for tritium, gross beta, and gross alpha (table 

13). Initially the trench water was pumped into the nearby streams, but by the time trench 8 was completed, and 

perhaps sooner, the water was pumped into a lagoon, 

then to the wastewater-treatment plant to have most of 

the radionuclides removed (except tritium) before being 

discharged into a tributary to Franks Creek. The trench 

water was derived from precipitation on the exposed 

waste and on the 15 m or so of open trench ahead of the 

waste, plus any water draining from waste in previously 

covered segments of the trench. Trench-water samples 

in 1973 were collected by lowering a glass bottle into 

the trench standpipes (Matuszek and others, 1976) and 

were analyzed for several radionuclides (Duckworth and 

others, 1974). These early samples may have underrepresented the radionuclide concentration of trench 

water (see table 13) because both the standpipes and the 

trenches were open to the atmosphere and to rain.

The Radiological Sciences Laboratory of the New 

York State Department of Health and Brookhaven National Laboratory collected several samples of trench 

water for analysis during 1976-79. Samples in 1976-77 

were collected with flexible polyvinyl chloride tubing 

and a peristaltic pump (Davis and Fakundiny, 1978; 

Dana and others, 1978; Husain and others, 1979; Colombo and Weiss, 1979). The tubing was lowered nearly 

to the bottom of the well or standpipe. After 20 to 60 

liters of water had been pumped into a container to 

remove most of the water that was in or near the standpipe or well, 1- to 2-L samples were collected in a 

polyethylene or glass jar. All samples were exposed to 

air and within minutes changed from green-gray to 

orange-red (Colombo and Weiss, 1979). Beginning in 

November 1977, 4- to 20-L samples were collected by a 

technique that did not expose them to air (Colombo and 

Weiss, 1979). The new technique included in-line 

measurements of pH, Eh, and temperature, and in 1978, 

dissolved oxygen and specific conductance were also
58 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

measured. The samples were taken only after the 

measurements had stabilized to ensure that most or all 

of the water being pumped was from the trench and not 

from the well or standpipe. Gross alpha and gross beta 

determinations, as well as the concentration of tritium, 

increased from the time when water was first sampled 

in the trenches (table 13) to the sample collection during 

1975-78 (table 13). However, the earlier samples may 

not accurately represent the composition of the trench 

water because of the method of collection.

COMPOSITION OF TRENCH WATER

Representative chemical and radiochemical analyses 

of water from several trenches are shown in tables 14 

and 15. The concentrations of nonradioactive chemical 

species are within the range found in water from wells 

screened at or just below the base of refuse in municipal 

landfills in Illinois (Hughes and others, 1971) and Indiana (Pettijohn, 1977). Chemical concentrations in 

leachate from municipal refuse recovered at or above the 

water table and analyzed in the field and laboratory 

commonly exceed the largest values of many constituents in table 14 (Apgar and Langmuir, 1971; Ehlke, 

1979, A. D. Randall, U.S. Geological Survey, written 

commun., 1973; and Qasim and Burchinal, 1970). Most 

concentrations listed in table 14 are equal to or greater 

than those in water from the radioactive-waste burial 

trenches at Maxey Flats, Ky. (Colombo and others, 

1978a, b), and Sheffield, 111. (Weiss and Colombo, 1980). 

The sodium and potassium concentrations in table 14 

exceed those in most samples from landfills described 

in these references. Although no attempt was made to 

determine the migration rate of trench water from the 

migration rate of a stable isotope such as chloride, this 

procedure should be possible because of the large concentration differences of certain dissolved substances 

between the trench water and native water from the till. 

(Compare tables 1 and 14.)

Tritium was the most common radionuclide in all 

trenches, followed by 90Sr and 14C. Concentrations listed 

in table 15 are similar to those in trench water from 

Maxey Flats, Ky. (Weiss and Colombo, 1980). The concentrations of radioactive species were roughly the same 

in all trenches from which samples were collected, except that 90Sr in trench 4 was at least 10 times higher 

than in the other trenches, and 238Pu in trenches 8 and 

10 was about 1,000 times higher than in the others.

RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION 

FROM TRENCHES

Nearly 400 segments of cores from test holes drilled 

near, between, and beneath the trenches as part of this

study were submitted to the Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory of the New York State Department of Health 

for radiochemical analysis. Each was analyzed for 

tritium; some with elevated tritium content were analyzed for other radionuclides. The analytical technique 

is described by Matuszek and others (1976) and Dana 

and others (1980). In general, the water was vacuum 

distilled from each sample and analyzed for tritium; the 

remaining dry sample was analyzed for other radionulcides. Therefore, tritium concentrations are 

reported in jnCi/mL, whereas other radionulcides are 

reported in jnCi/g and represent the total concentration 

in the water and soil.

Matuszek and others (1976) analyzed cores from 17 

test holes augered in 1973-74 around the perimeter of 

the trenches and noted that tritium peaked at depths 

between 1 and 3 m and that other radionuclides peaked 

closer to land surface. The cores were obtained by a 5-cm 

split-spoon sampler lowered to the bottom of the hole 

through hollow-stem augers. They concluded that 

although lateral migration from the trenches is a possible explanation for these shallow peaks at some locations, the contamination at other locations was entirely 

above historic water levels in nearby trenches and that 

the best explanation would therefore be some combination of surface processes such as (1) spills during 

emplacement of refuse or during removal of excess water 

from trenches, (2) redistribution of contaminated water 

by excavation equipment that entered the trenches, or 

(3) fallout from the stack at the nearby fuel-reprocessing 

plant. Data from the present study support this conclusion; near the south trenches and also east of trench 2, 

peak values of tritium and the presence of other artificial 

radionuclides were found above the highest water levels 

recorded in adjacent trenches. In trenches 3 through 5, 

water levels have been high enough that lateral seepage 

cannot be ruled out as an explanation for peak tritium 

concentrations near land surface in nearby test holes, 

but such migration could have been entirely through the 

cover material rather than through undisturbed till.

In an attempt to find evidence of radionuclide 

migration along fractures, the chemically altered till 

bordering prominent oxidized fractures in five cores was 

trimmed from the unaltered matrix for separate 

radiochemical analysis. Values of gross alpha and gross 

beta in fracture trimmings and matrix were nearly identical, and most individual isotopes in the trimmings 

were below detection limits. Thus, the concept that fractures are a major pathway for radionuclide migration 

remains unsupported. (Details are provided by Prudic 

and Randall, 1979, p. 880.)

Although one or more piezometers were usually 

installed in each test hole drilled in 1975-79 as part of 

this study, few water samples were submitted for
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 59

TABLE 13. Changes in concentration of tritium and gross alpha and gross beta determinations in trenches 4, 5, and 8 with time 

[Results are in microcuries per milliliter. Exponents expressed in scientific notation, e.g., 1.6E-06 means 1.6x 10-6; means values not determined]

Date of sample 

collection Gross alpha Gross beta Tritium Source of data

Trench 4

Dec. 1966 ------------------- _

June 1967 ------------------- 9.2E-07

Nov. 1973 ------------------- <1.0E-07

Oct. 1975 -------------------- 1.0E-06±40%

June 1976 ------------------- 9E-07±67%

Sept. 1976 ------------------- 8E-07±88%

July 1977 -------------------- <2.0E-07

Nov. 1977 ------------------- 6.3E-07±6%

Oct. 1978 -------------------- 1.4E-06±11%_____

Jan. 1969 -------------------- 4.5E-07

Nov. 1973 ------------------- <2.0E-08

Mar. 1975 ------------------- _

Sept. 1975 ------------------- 1.1E-06±36%

Oct. 1975 -------------------- 

Oct. 1975 -------------------- 7.1E-05±4%

June 1976 ------------------- 1.3E-06±3%

Sept. 1976 ------------------- 1.5E-05±3%

July 1977 -------------------- 6.0E-06±18%

Nov. 1977 ------------------- 4.9E-07±6%

Oct. 1978 -------------------- 8.9E-07±11%_______

Aug. 1970 ------------------- 2.05E-06

Nov. 1973 ------------------- <4.0E-08

July 1977 -------------------- 6.3E-05±4%

Nov. 1977 ------------------- 6.9E-05±2%

Oct. 1978 --..---------------- 1.3E-04±2%_______

1 Based on analyses of water pumped from the open trenches into a lagoon.

1.8E-06

4. IE-04

9.8E-03±3%

1.5E-02±3%

2.8E-02±3%

2.4E-02±1%

3.8E-02±1%

1.7E-02±1%

2. IE-03 Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., written

	comm., 1980.1 

 Do.

1.4E-01 Duckworth and others, 1974.

5.99E-01 ±3% Davis and Fakundiny, 1978.

2.83E-01±3% Do.

3.83E-01±3% Do.

4.5E-01 ± 1% Colombo and Weiss, 1979.

3.0E-01 ± 1% Weiss and Colombo, 1980.

3.0E-01±1% Do.

Trench 5

1.97E-06 

2.7E-05 

2.75E-04±3%

6.6E-04+5 

5.1E-04±5 

7.7E-04±5 

6.5E-04±i 

1.4E-03±: 

4.7E-04 + :

7.9E-02 Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., written

comm., 1980.1

3.1E-01 Duckworth and others, 1974. 

1.97 ± 3% Husain and others, 1979. 

2.20 ± 2% Davis and Fakundiny, 1978. 

1.73-2.06 Davis and Fakundiny, 1978; and 10

samples collected during trench

pumpout.

1.56±3% Davis and Fakundiny, 1978. 

1.82 ±3% Do. 

1.73 ±3% Do.

1.4 ± 1% Colombo and Weiss, 1979. 

9.5E-01 ± 1% Weiss and Colombo, 1980. 

2.3±1% Do.

Trench 8

4.85E-05

4.7E-05 

4.5E-04±1% 

4.2E-04±1% 

4.7E-04±1%

1.25E-01 Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc., written

comm., 1980.1

7.1E-01 Duckworth and others, 1974. 

4.01 ± 1% Colombo and Weiss, 1979. 

2.9 ± 1% Weiss and Colombo, 1980. 

3.7 ±1% Do.

TABLE 14. Chemical quality of water in trenches1 

[Concentrations in milligrams per liter except for pH, temperature, and specific conductance. Trench locations are shown in fig. 7]

Trench number

Constituent/property

pH2 ------------

Temperature (°C)2 - 

Specific conductances 

Barium -----------

Calcium -----------

Cesium -----------

Iron --------------

Lithium -----------

Magnesium --------

Manganese ---------

Potassium ---------

Sodium -----------

Strontium ---------

Chloride -----------

Fluoride -----------

Nitrogen 

NH3 ------------

N02 + N03 -------

Phosphate ---------

Silica -------------

Sulfate -----------

Inorganic carbon -----

Dissolved organic carbon 

Hardness as CaCOs

Calcium-magnesium - 

Alkalinity as CaC03 - -- 

Dissolved solids ------

C)

7.7 

11.7 

6,700 

<1 

72 

<0.1 

13 

0.87 

220 

<0.1 

330 

900

0.9 

470 

4.1

230

<0.05

<1

15

<5 

670 

200

1,100

3,120

3,070

7.3 

10.5 

7,600 

70 

150 

<0.1 

56

2.0 

180

0.3 

320 

1,000

0.2 

1,300 

1.8

300

1.6

2.9

2.0

26

95

1,700

1,100

1,730

5,140

6.5 

13.5 

14,200 

2,900 

250 

<0.1 

150

0.39 

190

1.5 

820 

1,100

7.7 

2,100 

0.4

130 

0.87 

8.0 

13

<5

130

630

1,500

800

1,240

6.7 

10.5 

6,750 

100 

300 

<0.1 

540

0.98 

200

2.3 

270 

690

0.5 

820

2.0

180 

1.1 

3.4 

9.2 

<5 

10 

2,900

1,700

2,300

5,310

6.9 

12.5 

5,900 

570 

200 

<0.1 

130

0.16 

240

0.5 

300 

1,700

1.6 

870 

0.6

290 

<0.02 

5.8 

10 

<5 

70 

2,900

1,400

2,000

5,600

6.7 

13.5 

3,400 

<1 

130 

<0.1 

57

1.3 

150 

0.2 

91 

430 

0.5 

82 

1.8

84

<0.02

12

14

<5

120

1,700

930

1,600

3,850

1 Values from Weiss and Colombo (1980, p. 82-85).

2 Values determined in field.
TABLE 15. Radionuclide content of water in trenches!

[Results in microcuries per milliliter. Exponents expressed in scientific notation (e.g., 1.6E-06 means 1.6x 10-6; numbers following ± are percentages; N.D., not detected;-

trench locations are shown in fig. 7 ]

-, trench sample not anal

Trench number and date of sample collection

Radionuclide

QAC!«.

"C (total)3 -----------

OQQ'Dii

24iAm --------------

22Wa

40R ----------------

60CO- ---------------

i33Ba ---------------

134CS ---------------

1

June 1976

- - - 1.6E-06±25

rj /»17 r\a . Q

--- 3.11E 04±3

- - - 4.5E-06±9

--- 2.1E-06±17

--- 1.9E-09±52

- - - N.D.

--- 1.4E 08±64

- - - N.D.

M n

- - - N.D.

- - - N.D.

- - - N.D.

2 

November 1977

1.6E-07±1 

8.0E-05±2 

8.9E-02±1 

3.4E-05±10 

2.4E-05±5

3.3E-08±24 

1.9E-07±10 

N.D. 

N.D. 

4.7E-07+35

3.3E-07±12 

N.D. 

N.D. 

2.7E-05±1

3 

October 1978

7.3E-07±14 

2.9E-03±1 

4.8E-01 + 1 

8.5E-04±10

7.6E-08±14 

8.1E-08±12 

N.D. 

1.5E-07±40 

4.5E-07±72 

7.0E-05±1 

N.D. 

N.D. 

1.0E-03±1

4 

October 1978

1.4E-06±11 

1.7E-02±1 

3.0E-01 + 1 

8.6E-03+10 

3.4E-05±5

9.8E-09 + 40 

1.5E-08±32 

N.D. 

1.3E-07±21 

1.5E-06±20 

9.9E-07±6 

9.3E-08±65 

6.4E-08±49 

1. IE-05 ±1

5 

October 1978

8.9E-07±11 

4.7E-04±1 

2 3+ 1

1.5E-04±10 

7.4E-05±5

1.3E-07±10 

8.1E-08±12 

N.D. 

4.3E-07±8 

N.D. 

3.9E-07±10 

2.7E-07±57 

1.7E-06±3 

3.3E-05±1

8 

October 1978

1.3E-04±1 

4.7E-04±1 

3.7±1 

1.4E-04+10 

5.2E-04±5 

1.8E-05±5 

1.6E-04±10 

3.4E-07±20 

2.0E-07+57 

2.7E-07±11 

3.9E-07±53 

2.0E-07 + 18 

4.5E-07±23 

9.4E-07±6 

1.4E-04+1

9 10 

October 1978 August 1979

2.7E-07±15 1.33E-03±3 

1.2E-04±3 1.42E-04±4 

4.6E-01 + 1 4.27 ±3 

3.8E-05+10 6.8E-04±5 

8.4E-05±5 

2.2E-05+5 3.32E-05+5 

2.8E-07±10 2.8E-04±15 

<3.0E-09 6.0E-07±35 

N.D. N.D. 

3.9E-07±9 2.13E-05±5 

3. IE-07 ±62 N.D. 

9.7E-07±6 3.1E-07±45 

8.0E-08±52 

9.6E-07±5 2.1E-06±14 

2.6E-05 + 1 5.46E-05±4

11 

August 1979

8.2E-02±3

2.77 ±3 

1.61E-04 + 3

2.44E-04+5 

3. IE-08 ±19 

5.0E-09±37 

2.1E-08+31 

1.47E-06±12 

N.D. 

6.7E-07±19

3.3E-06±9 

4.23E-04±3

12 

June 1977

1.8E-05±11 

2.3E-03+1 

3.6E-01±1

3.6E-04±5 

5.8E-06±5

N.D. 

1.1E-06±24

6.2E-06±6

1.3E-05 + 6 

9.0E-04±1

i Data from following sources: Trench 1, Davis and Fakundiny (1978, table IV-6); trenches 2-9, Weiss and Colombo (1980, table 5.30); trenches 10 and 11, Dana and others (1980, table 5); trench

(1980, table 4.10).

2lncorporated in molecules of water (HTO). Some additional tritium may be present in methane (CH4) and other more complex organic molecules. 

3 Analyses by the New York State Department of Health, Radiological Sciences Laboratory, from samples collected in September 1977 except trenches 10 and 11, which are reported in Dana and o
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 61

radiochemical analysis. The need for head measurements precluded frequent sampling because most piezometers required several weeks to return to static water 

level, even after withdrawal of only 300 mL. Also, water 

in piezometers installed from 1975-78 was affected by 

the grout seal between piezometers, as indicated by pH 

values between 10 and 12. Furthermore, the rates of flow 

through the till calculated in this study imply that about 

10 years would be required for the flow system to flush 

from the piezometer the remaining water from which 

a sample had been withdrawn. Frequent sampling would 

distort the flow system and draw to the piezometer water 

that would not otherwise have reached it.

OUTWARD MIGRATION

In 1975, test holes were drilled at 16 locations near 

the burial ground, 12 of which were within 5 m of the 

trench boundaries (holes A-G, I-N, and P-R in fig. 7). 

Prudic and Randall (1979) described drilling and sampling techniques and presented profiles of tritium 

distribution with depth (fig. 28). Tritium concentrations 

were highest (generally 10~5 tolO~3 pCi/mL) near land 

surface, generally within the reworked till covering the 

trenches and vicinity and less commonly within 

weathered inplace till, but declined rapidly with depth 

in the zone of oxidized fractures. In the unweathered till 

below, concentrations were generally less than 1 x 10 ~ 6 

^Ci/mL. Analysis of a few cores for radionuclides other 

than tritium disclosed detectable quantities only at or 

near land surface, and gross-gamma and gammaspectral logging of several holes detected 60Co and 137Cs 

only in thin depth intervals within or at the base of the 

cover (Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 881).

In three of the test holes drilled in 1975 (B, D, and 

E, fig. 7), striking peaks in tritium concentration 10 to 

100 times higher than samples immediately above or 

below the peaks (fig. 28) were detected in the till below 

the zone of oxidized fractures and at or below the 

estimated altitude of the nearby trench bottoms. These 

peaks were attributed to outward and downward migration of tritium from the trenches (Prudic and Randall, 

1979), probably in part along lenses of silt whose 

permeability permitted more rapid flow and whose 

orientation may have favored lateral movement. The 

peaks in test holes D and E, just west of trench 5 (fig. 

7), suggest that if the position of the trench wall were 

estimated correctly, tritium had migrated about 2.5 m 

in 6.5 years, and the peak in test hole B suggested a 

migration distance of at least 12 m in 11 years much 

farther than any other documented subsurface migration and farther than would be predicted from average 

ground-water flow rates.

To verify whether the peak tritium concentration in 

test hole B (fig. 7) could be due to migration from nearby trenches rather than from surface contamination, two 

additional test holes were drilled by the U.S. Geological 

Survey between hole B and the end of trenches 2 and 

3 in July 1978 (fig. 29). These holes were drilled and 

cores collected in a manner similar to that described by 

Prudic (1979a) for collecting cores beneath the trenches. 

The holes were backfilled with a bentonite-cement grout 

to a depth of 1 m, and till cuttings were then packed into 

the hole to land surface. In both holes, gravel was encountered near the estimated altitude of the trench bottoms, and the tritium concentration was less than 

6 X 10 ~ 7 ^Ci/mL in the entire section below the zone 

of oxidized fractures, including the gravel lenses, except 

in a single sample of till, in which the concentration was 

about 1 x 10~ 6 fiCi/mL (fig. 29). Therefore, the 

hypothesis of downward and outward flow along a 

permeable lens from trench 2 or 3 seems inadequate to 

explain the high tritium concentration below the 409-m 

altitude at hole B.

Two of the three samples from test hole B that yielded 

anomalous tritium concentrations were among the few 

that could not be extracted from core liners in the field 

and were submitted to the laboratory without the usual 

trimming (Prudic and Randall, 1979, p. 868). A few 

meters west of hole B, a hole was augered by a contractor for Nuclear Fuel Services in 1973 from which cores 

were collected at 1.5-m intervals (hole 3 in fig. 7); all 

cores below an altitude of 414 m contained less than 

6x 10~ 7 ^Ci/mL tritium. The hole was allowed to collapse upon completion, and it is remotely possible that 

it became an avenue of vertical migration from contaminated soil near land surface.

A silty gravel about 1 m thick was penetrated in test 

hole B, and a sandy clayey silt and clayey silty gravel 

about 0.3 m thick was penetrated in test hole B3; both 

were about 1 m below pre-trench land surface and may 

perhaps continue northward beneath a nearby shallow 

depression (figs. 12A and 29). The similarity of the high 

tritium concentrations in the shallow gravel in test holes 

B and B3 suggests that trench water may have migrated 

laterally along the unit from trench 3 to hole B when 

the water in trench 3 was above an altitude 416 m. 

However, the unit seems to become thinner and finer 

grained toward trench 3. Whether or not the unit actually intersects the wall of trench 3 is uncertain. Alternatively, the tritium peaks could have been caused by 

surface contamination that gradually migrated 

downward into the gravelly unit.

In summary, the drilling or augering of 29 test holes 

at distances of 2.5 to 5 m from the trenches in 1973-75 

has disclosed only two sites where tritium has migrated 

laterally 2.5 m or more through the unweathered till. 

The lack of widespread lateral migration of tritium supports the conclusion that water leaving the trenches 

moves mostly downward. An outward lateral flow component next to the trenches occurs only when water
62 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

422

A, North of north trenches.

LITHOLOGY

C, C2

C 

C2

Fine Sand 

Sandy gravel 

Till

95-percent confidence limits for tritium 

activity, where larger than test-hole symbol

Tritium activity less than detectable:

test-hole symbol plotted at 

half of maximum 

confidence limit

iW>. VW

Trench 4, March 1975 ^ 

Trench 3, March 1975

Trench 3, 4, October 

1975

Water 

level

Cover

Oxidized till,

and till with oxidized fractures 

_2_ Trench 2, March and

October 1975, water level

ram Trenches 2, 3, 4 (?), bottom

B, West side of trench 5.

FT

LITHOLOGY

EXPLANATION 

Test holes

Discontinuous silt wisps 

__ m till abundant 

l = : I Silt and very fine sand beds

CUT

 i 95-percent confidence limits for tritium 

activity, where larger than test-hole symbol

Tritium activity less than detectable: 

test-hole symbol plotted at half of maximum 

confidence limit

4X10' 1

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

FIGURE 28. Changes in tritium concentrations with depth in test holes near the burial site. Location of test holes is shown in figure 

7 (from Prudic and Randall, 1979). A, North of north trenches. B, West side of trench 5.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 63

422

C, East side of trench 2.

420 -

UJ

>

UJ

_l

<

HI 

(/>

UJ

>

O 

00

CC 

ui hUl

UI

G

D

415

UJ

>

UJ

_i 

<

UI (/>

UJ

>

O 

00

QC 

ui hLU

UJ

G

Dh420 -

415

410

406

12 13

LITHOLOGY

EXPLANATION 

st ! Silt and very fine sand beds 

CH Till

95-percent confidence limits for tritium 

activity, where larger than test-hole symbol

Tritium activity less than detectable: 

test-hole symbol plotted at half of 

maximum confidence limit

Cover

Oxidized till, and till with 

oxidized fractures

 Trench 2, March and 

October 1975, water level

Ttnr Trench 2, bottom

D, Vicinity of south trenches.

Test holes O] Silt

LilJ Sandy gravel 

EElsand

95-percent confidence limits for tritium 

activity, where larger than test-hole symbol 

Tritium activity less than detectable: 

test-hole symbol plotted at half of 

maximum confidence limit

I

Cover

Oxidized till, and till with 

oxidized fractures

Water levels 

March and October 1975

-"-Trench 8, 10N, 14 -

-*- Trench 9

mrr Trench 8, bottom

10' 1 fl- 10- 10-

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

FIGURE 28 . Continued. Changes in tritium concentrations with depth in test holes near the burial site. Location of test holes is shown

in figure 7. C, East side of trench 2. D, Vicinity of south trenches.
64 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

E, Outlying test holes.

423

420

LU 

>

LJU

HI 

CO

HI

O 

00

<

CO

oc

LU

ILU

LU 

Q

D

415

410

405

403

LITHOLOGY

Test holes EXPLANATION

* G E=] Silt

 K P^l Fine Sand

a 

 195-percent confidence limits for tritium 

activity, where larger than test-hole symbol

 « "Tritium activity less than detectable: 

test-hole symbol plotted at half of maximum 

confidence limit

u

10-8 10-7 10'1 10'= 10,-4 10-3 10-2

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

FIGURE 28. Continued. Changes in tritium concentrations with depth in test holes near the burial site. Location of test holes is

shown in figure 7. E, Outlying test holes.

levels in the trenches are high enough to intersect the 

more permeable weathered till or the reworked till used 

to cover the trenches.

DOWNWARD MIGRATION

In November and December 1977, several cores were 

collected beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8 from test holes 

driven through the trenches. The test holes were constructed by (1) driving a string of casing through the 

trench, (2) deciding when the casing had just penetrated 

the trench floor, (3) removing a retractable point from 

the end of the casing, and (4) collecting the first core with 

either a split-spoon or a solid tube sampler (Prudic, 

1979a). A final estimate of the depth to bottom of the 

trench at sites 4-4 and 8-1 was prepared from a count 

of blows on the casing as it was driven through the 

trench, from geophysical logging inside the casing after 

it had been advanced well beyond the bottom, and from 

trench-construction records. The estimate of the depth 

to the bottom of the trench at site 8-1 was judged accurate only within 0.3 m. The pipe at site 4-4 seems to 

have penetrated either the side up the trench or

collapsed waste two m above the projected trench floor 

from site 4-3. The uncertainty in the trench floor depth 

at site 4-4 cannot be estimated from the available data. 

At sites 5-2 and 8-2, auxilliary casings were driven and 

points removed above the trench floor so that a core 

could be collected starting just above the trench floor. 

At hole 5-2E, the auxilliary casing was driven into 

backfilled or collapsed till above the trench floor, 

whereas at hole 8-2B, the point was opened while in the 

waste materials, as evidenced by the uppermost core 

sample, which included plastic, metal, and cardboard 

from above the unweathered till. A second core was collected below the trench floor in each auxilliary hole even 

though trench water was in the casing during the sampling. Estimates of the trench-floor depth were within 

0.12 m at site 5-2 and 0.07 m at site 8-2. The result was 

to substantially reduce the error in the estimated depth 

of the trench floor.

A detailed description of the drilling and coring 

techniques as well as detailed geologic logs of each test 

hole are given in Prudic (1979a); complete results of 

radiochemical analyses are presented by Dana and 

others (1979, 1980). Naturally occurring radionuclides
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 65

420

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

EXPLANATION

Hole B 

Hole B2 

Hole B3

95-percent confidence limits 

for tritium activity, where 

larger than hole symbol

Silt or clayey silt

Sand

Gravel

Till

Tritium activity less than detectable;

hole symbol plotted at half of upper confidence limit

B3

Monument

Trench 3

10 8 6 4 2 0

B2^ _____

Trench 2

10 

i

METERS -V 

LOCATION MAP 4

FIGURE 29. Tritium concentrations in till at north end of trenches 2 and 3.

of uranium, potassium, and thorium were detected in TRITIUM

all cores, but only a few other radionuclides that could 

be attributed to wastes in the trenches were detected 

below the upper part of the top core in each hole. 

Analyses for several radionuclides other than tritium 

are presented in table 16, including the weathered cardboard collected in hole 8-2B; tritium profiles are shown 

in figure 30. Both are evaluated in the following 

paragraphs.

Tritium was by far the most mobile radionuclide and 

was detected to a depth of 2 m beneath the estimated 

trench-floor altitude in till and to about 3 m in the silt 

underlying the south end of trench 8 (Prudic, 1979a). 

Distribution of tritium beneath the trenches is shown 

in figure 30 with a brief geologic log of each hole.
TABLE 16. Concentration of selected radionuclides beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8, November-December 19771

[All radionuclides are in microcuries per grams. Trench locations are shown in figure 7. Exponents expressed in scientific notation, wherel.IE-07 means 1.1 x 10-7; numbers following± are percen

particular radionuclide]

Depth interval 

below 

land surface 

(meters)

9.63-9.66 

9.66-9.70 

9.70-9.74 

9.74-9.79 

10.00-10.03 

10.06-10.21 

11.26-11.38

8.21-8.29 

8.33-8.37 

8.42-8.45 

8.57-8.59 

8.59-8.63 

8.63-8.65 

8.65-8.71 

8.71-8.73 

8.73-8.78 

8.91-8.95 

9.03-9.07 

9.15-9.18

8.60-8.636 

8.63-8.66 

8.88-8.92 

9.16-9.28 

9.77-9.89 

10.35-10.47 

10.88-10.94

Depth of sample 

midpoint below 

trench floors 

(centimeters)

65 

68 

72 

77 

102 

113 

232

5 

5 

5 

8

12 

14 

18 

22 

26 

43±12 

55±12 

67±12

16±12 

19 + 12 

44±12 

76±12 

137±12 

197±12 

245±12

14C4

1.8E-07 + 25 

2.8E-07±20 

<2.9E-07 

6. IE-07 ±74 

1.5E-07±42 

5.4E-07 + 59 

1.3E-06+28

1.62E-05+6 

9.8E-06+9 

1.2E-06 + 30 

5.9E-06 + 11 

2.31E-06±19 

1.2E-06±30 

9.0E-07±49 

l.OE-06+45 

6.8E-07 + 24 

8.1E-07±15 

1.6E-06+9 

1.41E-06+7

7.0E-07±14 

6.3E-07 + 13 

5.3E-07±31 

9.4E-07 + 27 

4.2E-07±18 

<5E-07 

<5E-07

90Sr

4.5E-06 + 6 

2.12E-06 + 6 

< IE-07 

<1.4E-07 

<1.2E-07

7.7E-06±17 

2.7E-07+31 

9E-08±80 

<9E-08 

1. IE-07 ±80 

9E-08+80 

<7E-08 

<6E-08 

<5E-08 

<6E-08 

<6E-08 

<6E-08

<2E-07 

<7E-08 

<8E-08

238Fu

Trench 4,

1.4E-08±61 

<2E-10 

<9E-09

Trench 5,

<1.9E-08 

8E-09±58

<9.5E-09 

<1.1E-08 

<6.2E-07

Trench 5,

<1.4E-08 

1.1E-08±78

239,240Pu

test hole 4-4A

<4E-09 

<2E-10 

<1.8E-08

test hole 5-2E

<6E-10 

5E-09±64

<1.9E-09 

<2.5E-09 

<1.1E-07

test hole 5-2D

<4.2E-09 

1.6E-08 + 51

60Co

<1.5E-07 

<1.5E-07

<1.5E-07

<1.8E-07

<1.7E-07

1.4E-07±65 

<1.8E-07 

1.5E-07 + 89 

<1.5E-07 

<8E-08

<1.5E-07 

<1.7E-07 

<1.3E-07

134CS

<3E-09 

<3E-09

<1.4E-07

<3E-09

<7E-09

<3E-09 

l.OE-07 + 38 

<3E-09 

<9E-09 

< IE-08

6.2E-08+26 

<1.4E-08 

<1.7E-07

137C

<6E-0

<7E-0

8E-0

4.9E-0

<1.0E-0

<4E-0

2.8E-0

<4E-0

<4E-0

<4E-0

5.7E-0

<6E-0

<1.3E-0
TABLE 16. Concentration of selected radionuclides beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8, November-December 19771 Continued

[All radionuclides are in microcuries per gram2. Trench locations are shown in figure 7. Exponents expressed in scientific notation, where 1.1E-07means 1.1 x 10-7; numbers following± are perce

particular radionuclide]

Depth interval 

below 

land surface 

(meters)

9.22

9.22-9.24

9.24-9.30

9.30-9.37

9.53-9.58 

9.58-9.63 

9.63-9.68 

9.68-9.72

9.96-9.996

9.99-10.02

10.02-10.06

10.09-10.18

10.27-10.30 

10.31-10.43

10.09-10.11

10.11-10.14

10.19-10.29

10.29-10.38

10.38-10.40

10.53-10.66

Depth of sample 

midpoint below 

trench floors 

(centimeters)

0

1

5

12

34±7 

39±7 

44±7 

48±7

76±7

79±7

82±7

92±7

106±7 

115±7

80±30

83 ±30

94 ±30

104±30

109±30

130±30

<3E-07

3.4E-07±29

7E-07±88

<1.6E-07 

<5E-07

1.3E-07±69

<9E-08

<4.5E-07

2.9E-07±31

<5E-07

1.85E-04±5

2.02E-05±3

1.17E-05±6

3.88E-06±4

<6E-08 

2.5E-07±31 

3.2E-07±23 

1.15E-06±10

<1. IE-07

<9E-08

<5E-08

<6E-08 

<3E-08

<1.5E-07

<1.2E-07

<1.4E-07

238Pu

Trench 8,

Trench 8,

_

<2.8E-09

2. IE-07 ±13

Trench 8,

1.4E-07±16

3.0E-08±40

1.7E-08±88

1.5E-08±91

1.1E-08±46

239,240Pu

test hole 8-2B?

test hole 8-2A

<3E-09

2.0E-08±38

test hole 8-1C

<5E-07

< IE-09

<5E-09

<5E-09

<1E-09

1.67E-04±4

7.2E-07±22

2.4E-07±33

<6E-08

<6E-08 

<5E-08 

<5E-08 

1.5E-07±60

1.26E-05±7

<1.5E-07

<1.6E-07

<8E-08

<1.5E-07

<1.5E-07

<1.5E-07

134CS

8E-06±25

3E-07±37

3.9E-07±34

<5E-08

<4E-08 

<4E-08 

<4E-08 

<9E-08

<3E-09

<4E-09

<4E-08

<4E-07

<1. IE-08

<4E-09

137

4.5E-

1.52E-

2.6E-

4.6E-

1.0E-

4E-

2.5E-

1.75E-

<5E-

<6E-

<7E-

<5E-

<7E-

<5E-

<7E-

1 Radionuclide analyses by New York State Department of Health, Radiological Sciences Laboratory, Albany, N.Y.; Analyses reported in Dana and others (1979,1980).

2 Error associated with each value above detection limit represents Gaussian standard error for that value at 95-percent confidence interval. When standard error exceeds 

background count, values are considered below detection limits and are reported as less than the standard error.

STJncertainty as to the exact depth at which the trench floor was penetrated by most holes (Prudic, 1979) results in uncertainty in sample depth, as indicated by + values. F

samples are in centimeters below horizontal projection of the trench floor penetrated by nearby hole 4-3A; uncertainty in trench-floor depth cannot be estimated from drilling 

1979), but tritium profiles discussed in this report suggest the depths given are minimum values.

4 Includes both inorganic and organic carbon.

5 Above undisturbed trench floor.

6 Core sample with impression of retractable point.

i Sampling device lowered through trench water before being driven into trench floor to collect these samples.
68 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

COBALT AND CESIUM

In general, concentrations of cobalt and cesium were 

below detection limits. Both were detected in the uppermost samples from most test holes, probably as a result 

of contact with the retractable point that had been 

driven through the refuse (Prudic, 1979a). Cesium was 

also detected in a few deeper cores at test hole 5-2E;

A. TRENCHES 4, 5 

8

LU

o

LL.

OC

I

LU 

CO 

V) 

QC

LUhLU

5

12

10

11

a. LU Q

13

Hole5-2E.^ Water at floor 

\i of trench 5

Water at floor 

of trench 4

EXPLANATION

| | Till m SiltyClay 

li-r-rj Silt to clayey silt

Collapsed till overlying 

trench floor

95-percent confidence limits for tritium activity 

where larger than test-hole symbol

Tritium activity less than detectable; test-hole 

symbol plotted at half of maximum confidence limit

Range in depth that sample may represent 

where larger than test-hole symbol

T m

* *

« 0

o i

i

10-6 10' 1 10- 10 3 10 2 10- 10°

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

vt 

O

I

LU 

CO 

V) 

QC

B, TRENCH 8 

8

10

11

12

13

Water from hole 8-2B 

floor of trench 8

Water from well 

8-1B at floor of 

trench 8

EXPLANATION

I I Till Hi SiltV ClaV 

[^Cl Silt to clayey silt

95-percent confidence limits for tritium activity 

where larger than test-hole symbol

Tritium activity less than detectable; test-hole 

symbol plotted at half of maximum confidence limit

Range in depth that sample may represent 

where larger than test-hole symbol 

_____ I ________ i ________ i ________ L

10'6 10'5 10'4 10'3 10'2 10' 1 10° 10 1 

TRITIUM CONCENTRATION, IN MICROCURIES PER MILLILITER

FIGURE 30. Tritium concentration beneath selected trenches. A, Trenches 4 and 5. Concentration in trench 4 is based 

on a sample from sump 4, 30 m south of test hole 4-4A (Davis and Fakundiny, 1978). Concentration in trench 5 

is the average of samples from wells 5-2B and 5-2C (Husain and others, 1979), both within 1.5 m of hole 5-2D. B, 

Trench 8. Concentrations in trench 8 are based on samples collected from well 8-1B (Colombo and others, 1978a), 

about 1 m from test hole 8-1C and test hole 8-2B.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 69

these cores included backfill that had collapsed onto the 

trench floor, as well as disturbed lacustrine material 

within the till (unit 5 of table 4) beneath the trench floor. 

Migration of cesium through these lacustrine deposits 

seems plausible, particularly if the deposits intersect the 

trench floor (Prudic, 1979a).

Cobalt and cesium were also detected in test hole 

8-2B, the purpose of which was to determine the exact 

depth of the trench floor. 137Cs showed the deepest migration, about 48 cm (table 16). The second core in hole 8-2B 

penetrated disturbed beds of silt, clay, and fine sand, 33 

to 50 cm below the trench floor, that contained more 

60Co, 137Cs, and 90Sr than the overlying till. It is possible 

that the radionuclides migrated along these more 

permeable layers, particularly if the layers intersect the 

trench floor, but it seems more plausible that trench 

water in the casing was squeezed into these more 

permeable materials during sample collection. Contamination of the first core seems unlikely because the 

till is so fine-grained that water probably could not be 

squeezed into it. Both cores were recored and trimmed 

so that the samples analyzed were at least 6 mm less 

in diameter than the original core.

In test hole 8-2B, 134Cs was detected to only a depth 

of 5 cm below the trench floor, whereas 137Cs was 

detected to a depth of 48 cm, as noted above. The water 

in trench 8 contained about 1,000 times more 137Cs than 

134Cs (table 15), which made the latter more difficult to 

detect in the limited samples available and probably explains the difference in possible migration distances of 

these two radionuclides.

STRONTIUM

90Sr was detected beneath the trenches in only a few 

sections of core. 90Sr was detected in the till about 14 

cm beneath the floor of trench 5, but in concentrations 

close to detection limits. In test hole 8-2B, at trench 8, 

90Sr was detected to a depth of 12 cm in the till below 

the trench floor and also in the disturbed layers of silt, 

clay, and fine sand that occur between 33 and 50 cm 

below the trench floor. It is possible that the presence 

of 90Sr in the disturbed layers of sediments is the result 

of migration along the more permeable layers. More 

likely, however, it is the result of contamination of these 

particular samples by trench water, because the test hole 

was opened above the trench floor.

The only other detectable 90Sr concentrations were 

in the upper two samples from test hole 4-4A (table 16); 

these samples originated about 70 cm beneath the 

estimated trench-floor depth (Prudic, 1979a). However, 

test hole 4-4A seems to have either penetrated the side 

of trench 4 some distance above the floor or tapped uncontaminated refuse and (or) collapsed backfill (Prudic,

1979a, and fig. 31) because natural gamma logs of the 

hole indicate background radiation 2 m above the 

estimated trench floor. Furthermore, the 90Sr in hole 

4-4A cores was in an interval of distorted layers of silt 

and sand; concentrations in the till immediately below 

were less than detectable limits. The distribution of 90Sr 

may, therefore, reflect any of the following.

1. Downward migration through about 2.6 m of undisturbed till below the sloping trench sidewall;

2. Downward migration through nearly 2 m of uncontaminated waste or collapsed backfill, then 0.7 m 

of undisturbed till, or

3. Downward migration along dipping silt and sand 

layers for 0.7 m and lateral migration for an 

unknown distance from the trench floor.

Deeper migration of 90Sr beneath trench 4 than beneath 

trenches 5 or 8 seems reasonable because trench water 

in trench 4 contains 60 times more 90Sr (table 15) and 

because trench 4 was completed 2 years before trench 

5 and 3 years before 8 (table 2).

CARBON

Beneath trench 5, 14C was detected in several cores in 

concentrations considerably above detection limits (table 

16), indicating that 14C had migrated downward from 

that trench, perhaps as much as 1 m (see table 16, test 

hole 5-2D). However, the 14C front could not be determined as precisely as that of tritium because (1) the cores 

were divided into small segments to better define the 

tritium front, but the small sample size increased the 

uncertainty in the measurement of 14C, and (2) the large 

but variable amounts of nonradioactive natural isotopes 

of carbon in these sediments resulted in dilution of 14C 

and in difficulty in selecting the proper equipment size 

for analysis.

PLUTONIUM

Plutonium was near or below detection limits in most 

core segments from beneath the trenches. In general, 

finite values of 238Pu and 239> 24°pu were limited to 

samples from within or immediately below the silt and 

sand layers, and from backfill material above the trench 

floor.

The uppermost sample in hole 8-1C, from a depth of 

about 80 cm beneath the estimated trench floor, contained 238Pu in a concentration far above the detection 

limit; concentrations in deeper samples were all close 

to the detection limit. Relatively high concentrations of 

238Pu were also noted 106 cm below the floor of trench 

8 at test hole 8-2A; this sample was from a thin lens of 

clay and silt, but the tritium profile for this hole (fig. 

SOB) did not suggest more rapid water movement along
70 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIO ACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

the silt lens. Most other radionuclides were below detection limits in all these samples. It is possible that 238Pu 

might have migrated downward as much as 1 m below 

trench 8, in which the water contains 3 to 4 orders of 

magnitude more 238Pu than in most other trenches.

Evidence of plutonium migration has been reported 

from Oak Ridge, Tenn., where plutonium was detected

in water seeping through soil from a radioactive-waste 

burial ground (Bondietti and others, 1975), and in Idaho, 

where soil cores contained plutonium 75 to 100 cm below 

solid radioactive waste buried in a pit (Humphrey and 

Tingey, 1978). However, the detectable concentrations 

of 238Pu reported in table 16 could also be an artifact of 

the drilling or of counting statistics. Even though the

CO

111 u -1

0

LL

D ^ "

{/)

Q

Z

< 4 -

§

O

w 6 -

CO

QC

H 8 -

in

2

Z

10 -

X

1-

0.

ill

Q 12 J

"" "---- _ - ~~ 

Cover

Trench 3

I I

/ \

/ \

"^\^/ \

/' ^

/ Undisturbed till \

\

1 N

/

.

/

/

_/ «'^"i" 7 ..»' "'It

Silt

7

Till

Trench 4

S

i

\

^--~

Waste

Wateriy

\

"^

\

-A

 - 

level

r_~?

Cored interval

A. Drive pipe penetrates through trench wall

111

o 

<

u.

QC 

D 

M

Q

Z 

<

_l

O

-J 

111

00

M

QC 

111

ILU

^

X

O. 

Ill

Q

°° 1

O

1

Q _

4 -

6 -

8 -

10 -

Cored interval

12 -

12 -1

r - - -\ 

I \

I Undisturbed till \

Uncontaminated 

compacted waste

Cored interval

B. Drive pipe penetrates through collapsed till C. Drive pipe penetrates through uncontaminated wastes

01234 56 METERS

FIGURE 31. Inferred trench geometry near test holes 4-3A and 4-4A (from Prudic, 1979a, figure 17.) A, Drive pipe penetrates 

through sloping trench wall; trench wall is 1.5 m closer to hole 44A than originally assumed. B, Drive pipe penetrates 

through collapsed till from trench wall. C, Drive pipe penetrates through uncontaminated wastes. Undisturbed 

till between trenches is assumed to be centered below topographic low, in accordance with engineering plans.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 71

upper few millimeters of the top core from hole 8-1C 

were trimmed away upon collection, the remaining sample might have been in contact with the retractable point 

before coring began and, if so, might easily have become 

contaminated by the point, which had been driven 

through the trench. Also, the 95-percent confidence level 

incorporated in the counting statistics used to measure 

radionuclide concentrations permits an occasional 

positive value, even though the concentration of the radionuclide is actually below detectable quantities.

In summary, migration of radionuclides away from 

the trenches is extremely slow. Tritium is the most 

mobile radionuclide and was detected to depths of 3 m 

beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8 in the 7 to 11 years after 

they were completed to fall 1977, when the samples were 

collected. The next most mobile radionuclide is 14C, 

which may have migrated as much as 1 m during the 

same period. Other radionuclides migrated less than 1 

m, and even that distance must be considered an 

overestimate if the sporadic appearance of the positive 

values (except for 137Cs in hole 8-2B) is attributed to contamination during the sample collection, to accidents of 

counting statistics, or perhaps to migration through 

disturbed, discontinuous lenses of silt and sand.

DISTRIBUTION COEFFICIENTS OF 

SELECTED RADIONUCLIDES

The distribution coefficient describes the partitioning 

of adsorbed species between the solute and solid phases 

in the flow system. This partitioning causes the center 

of mass of a solute moving from a point source while 

undergoing adsorption to be lagged or retarded behind 

the mass of a nonadsorbing solute. The distribution coefficient (commonly called Krf) is equal to the mass of 

solute on the solid phase per unit mass of solid phase 

divided by the concentration of the solute in solution and 

is generally expressed in milliliters per gram (mL/g).

Samples of till and trench water were tested at 

Brookhaven National Laboratory to compare the 

distribution of radionuclides attached to the solid phase 

and within the solute (Weiss and Colombo, 1980, p. 

145-187). The batch method, in which samples of till and 

trench water were mixed together and allowed to reach 

equilibrium, was used to determine the distribution 

coefficient.

Weiss and Colombo (1980) determined the extent to 

which batch Krf values for several radionuclides were 

affected by methods of sample handling, experimental 

procedures, and equipment. They observed that when 

till samples were disaggregated by ultrasonic methods 

(which probably has little effect on the natural grainsize distribution) and the trench water was maintained 

in a strictly anoxic condition, Krf values were much

lower (adsorption was much less) than when mechanical 

disaggregation or oxidized trench water were used. 

Distribution coefficients for four isotopes, derived from 

a test with anoxic trench water and ultrasonic disaggregation, follow. In the batch tests, 85Sr was evaluated 

rather than 90Sr to facilitate analyses. Presumably the 

distribution coefficients of the two isotopes are nearly 

identical.

Radionuclides

Distribution coefficient 

(mL/g)

'Cs-

"Co6.9 ± 0.4 

49 ± 6.0 

48 ± 5.0

1

1 From Weiss and Colombo (1980, p. 173). K^ is reported as an average ± 

1 standard deviation of observed results, based on laboratory batch tests 

with anoxic water from trench 2 and ultrasonic disaggregation of 

unweathered till from test, hole A2. Mixing time was 100 hours in glass containers. Equilibrium K^ values would require longer mixing times and 

would be somewhat larger.

Weiss and Colombo (1980, p. 172) speculate that, as 

trench water migrates away from the burial trenches, 

admixture with oxygen-bearing ground water might 

result in higher distribution coefficients and further adsorption of radionuclides. However, the dissolved-oxygen 

concentration of ground water several tens of meters 

below the water table is small, commonly approaching 

zero, as revealed by the reduction of sulfate and increase 

in dissolved iron (table 1; also LaSala, 1968, p. 60). Furthermore, reducing conditions have been observed for 

hundreds of meters downgradient from strongly 

reducing sources such as landfills (Kimmel and Braids, 

1980).

MIGRATION RATES

The migration of radionuclides in ground water is 

dependent on several processes, mainly convection 

ground-water flow, hydrodynamic dispersion (the sum 

of mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion), and 

chemical reaction (including reactions between two different fluids, reactions between solutes in the fluid and 

the earth material, and radioactive decay). Detailed 

descriptions of these processes are presented by Grisak 

and Jackson (1978). Because movement of ground water 

and radionuclides at the burial site has been 

predominantly in one direction (downward from the 

trenches), a rather simple one-dimensional solute-
72 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

transport equation was used to quantify the factors that 

control radionuclide migration. The equation includes 

convective transport, hydrodynamic dispersion, radioactive decay, and instantaneous equilibrium-controlled 

reversible sorption. It assumes that (1) density variations 

are negligible regardless of changes in solute concentration, (2) rate of infiltration and water content of soil are 

constant, (3) hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient is constant, and (4) linear isotherm conditions prevail.

The basic equation may be written as follows:

(5)

_d 

3t ox fdx

where

0 = water content of the porous medium, 

dimensionless;

GI = concentration of nuclide dissolved in 

water, ML~3 ;

GI = concentration of nuclide attached to the 

solid, ML~ 3 ;

P m = dry bulk density or dry unit weight, 

ML- 3 ;

D' = hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, 

L2 ?1 - 1 ;

q = specific flux, LT -1;

x = distance from source, L;

t = time, T ;

ki = radioactive decay term, In 2 , T - 1 ; and

th 

tfr = radionuclide half life, T.

The concentration of the radionuclide attached to the 

solid can be approximated in equation 5 for equilibrium 

reactions with linear adsorption isotherms as:

Kd (6)

where

Kd = the distribution coefficient, L3M~ 1 .

Hydrodynamic dispersion (Z/) is the sum of 

mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion. 

Mechanical dispersion is the spreading of a solute with 

respect to the average flow produced by velocity variations in the pore space; molecular diffusion is the movement of a solute from regions of higher concentrations 

to regions of lower concentrations and occurs even in the 

absence of fluid motion (Bear, 1972). The Peclet number 

was used to determine which of the processes

predominates in the till and is defined as follows (Bear, 

1972):

where

Pe = 

d

D d =

= [(V0) d]/Dd

Peclet number, dimensionless;

mean grain size or any other 

characteristic medium length, L;

coefficient of molecular diffusion of a 

solute in the liquid phase, L?T -1; and

average linear (pore) velocity, _# , LT ~ l.

The Peclet number of the till at the burial site was 

estimated to be between 10~ 5 and 10~6 and is based on 

(1) an average linear velocity of 1 to 8 cm/yr as determined from specific fluxes obtained from computer 

simulations of ground-water flow and an effective 

porosity of 0.3, (2) a mean grain size of 0.0006 cm as 

determined from 16 particle-size analyses, and (3) a 

reasonable molecular diffusion coefficient of major ions 

in water between 315 cmVyr and 630 cmVyr (Robinson 

and Stokes, 1955).

According to Bear (1972), a Peclet number less than 

1 indicates the zone where molecular diffusion 

predominates and mechanical dispersion is negligible. 

Thus, the coefficient of hydrodynamic dispersion in equation 5 was modified from Sherwood and others (1975, 

p. 40) as shown below:

= Dd' = 0)d (8)

where

T = tortuosity factor, dimensionless, and

Dd' = effective diffusion coefficient through the 

 f-iii T 2rr i

1111, Li 1

The tortuosity factor was incorporated to allow for (1) 

the fact that the distance traveled between two points 

through the till is greater than a straight line, and (2) 

the presence of tiny orifice restrictions in solids of complex structure.

Estimates of the diffusion coefficients of a radionuclide through water were obtained from the 

literature. The water content (porosity) was determined 

from laboratory tests of the till and averaged 0.3. Thus, 

the only unknown in equation 8 is the tortuosity factor; 

it was determined by repeated adjustment along with 

the average linear (pore) velocity of ground-water flow 

until calculated concentrations of a selected radionuclide 

approximated the observed values from samples collected beneath trenches 4, 5, and 8.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 73

Lu (1978) developed the following solution to solve the 

basic one-dimensional equation (5) that was used to 

model migration of radionuclides beneath the trenches:

?i (x,t) _ __a 

Cn

exp[[a-(&/D)*]*]erfc[ - (b/t)*] +

erfc[

£ (L)t) (9)

where

x = distance from the base of the trench, L;

t = time, T;

D = (Pd/OVd + P-m^); d°)

 rr

(11)

(12)

(13)

V = VJ (1 +

a = W(2D);

b = (ki + a2D ); and

the term (1 + m d ) is known as the retardation 

u

factor (Freeze and Cherry, 1979).

The boundary and initial conditions are:

Q (x,0) = 0 for 0 < x < oo and (14) 

q (0,*) C0 = - Dd' dC I dx (Q,t ) + q (Q,t ) Q (0,0 (15)

where

C0 = concentration of radionuclide at 

x = 0, ML- 3 .

Results of calculating the migration of selected radionuclides beneath the trenches are discussed in the 

following paragraphs.

TRITIUM

The migration of tritium through the till is thought 

to occur in the form of tritiated water. The analytical 

solution previously described was used to simulate the 

tritium profile beneath trenchs 5 and 8, assuming that 

both the rate of ground-water flow across the trench floor 

and the tritium concentration in the trench remain constant. In addition, the distribution coefficient of tritiated 

water is assumed to be zero, which results in a retardation factor of 1. The diffusion coefficient of tritiated 

water through water was determined experimentally to 

be about 475 cm2/yr at 10°C (Wang and others, 1953, 

p. 468). The radioactive half-life of tritium is 12.3 yr 

(Thatcher and others, 1977), and the porosity is constant 

at 0.3. Thus, only the average linear velocity and the 

tortuosity factor were adjusted such that the simulated

concentrations of tritium approximated the measured 

values in the till.

Test holes 8-2A and 8-2B were initially chosen to 

simulate the tritium profile beneath trench 8 because 

(1) the trench-floor depth was known more accurately 

than at the other sites (Prudic, 1979a), (2) the test holes 

penetrated fairly uniform till, and (3) the water level in 

trench 8 had remained nearly constant since the trench 

was completed. (Trenches 4 and 5 experienced large 

variations in trench-water levels during the same 

period.) An acceptable fit to the observed tritium profile was obtained from a specific flux value between 0.30 

and 0.45 cm/yr, which is within the lower range determined from computer simulations of ground-water flow 

(average linear velocity of 1 to 1.5 cm/yr) and a range 

of tortuosity from 2.4 to 2.7 (fig. 32A). The effective diffusion coefficient of tritiated water through the till based 

on equation 8 and a porosity of 0.3 is between 53 and 

59 cm2/yr.

Phillips and Brown (1968) measured the diffusion 

coefficient of tritiated water through both montmorillonite and kaolinite clays in laboratory experiments and noted that the presence of the clay 

systems reduced the diffusion coefficient of tritiated 

water through water by 0.20 to 0.45 of its value. The 

reduction in the effective diffusion coefficient of tritiated 

water through the till when compared to the diffusion 

coefficient of tritiated water through water was between 

0.11 and 0.13. However, the diffusion coefficients 

measured in the laboratory decreased with increasing 

(dry) bulk density. The measured diffusion coefficient 

through kaolinite clay decreased from 344 cmVyr at a 

bulk density of 0.99 g/cm3 to 167 cm2/yr at a bulk density of 1.4 g/cm3 . A similar decrease was noted from the 

experiments on montmorillonite clay. In addition, the 

laboratory experiments were done at a temperature of 

18°C, whereas the temperature of water in the trenches 

and in the till is closer to 10°C. Wang and others (1953) 

showed that a reduction in temperature also reduces the 

diffusion coefficient of tritiated water through water. 

Thus, the greater (dry) bulk density of the till (1.82 

g/cm3 ) than of the laboratory samples, and the lower 

temperature, probably results in a lower effective diffusion coefficient through the till than those determined experimentally by Phillips and Brown (1968). This 

suggests that the estimates of the effective diffusion coefficient of tritiated water through the till probably are 

reasonable.

In the calculations presented in this report, the concentration of tritium in the trench water was assumed 

constant from the time the trench was closed to the time 

the samples were collected. The reasonable fit between 

the calculated and observed values of tritium migration 

beneath trench 8 at holes 8-2A and 8-2B (as shown in 

fig. 32A), based on reasonable values for specific flux, 

porosity, and tortuosity, suggests that the concentration
74 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

A, Holes 8-2A and 8-2B B, Hole 8-1C with changes in specific flux

101

10°

10"

10,-2

10-3

10"

10

OBSERVED TRITIUM

CONCENTRATIONBar represents uncertainty 

in sample location with 

respect to trench floor

OBSERVED TRITIUM 

CONCENTRATION -

Bar represents uncertainty 

in sample location with 

respect to trench floor

Contacts between the 

lithologic units are 

uncertain with respect 

to the trench floor 

l± 30 centimeters!

silt and \ \ 

fine sand \ \

40 80 120 160 200 240 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR. IN CENTIMETERS

C, Hole 8-1C with changes in tortuosity D, Holes 5-2D and E

DC IU 1

LLJ

H

3

1 10°

DC

LLJ

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O

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DC

m-6

i i i i i i i i i i i i i

\^ 1 . 1 OBSERVED TRITIUM

~ %s q-10cm/yr CONCENTRATIONN> / Bar represents uncertainty

NV / ln sample location with

N> N respect to trench floor

i .- >

N. N X

,. ___ . i __ i.

q = 1 .0 cm/yr \ x

7" =2.4 _-^ \ \

"\ l

JVN,

t \ \

K \

>~~\t ^

Contacts between the \ \ 

lithologic units are \ \

uncertain with respect \ \

to the trench floor hr r '

(± 30 centimeters) K \ K , 

; \ I Clay with 

; Silt mterbedded ' ; wisps^.

Tl H ; with a silty clay ^of i i

 and fine sand i>silt and

> fine sand

1 1 1 1 1 1 III O Vi 1 1

q = 1 cm/yr 

T= 24

OBSERVED TRITIUM v v 

CONCENTRATION- X(i\ 

Bar represents uncertainty s \ 

in sample location with .\. 

respect to trench floor

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 0 40 80 120 160 200 240

DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR, IN CENTIMETERS

FIGURE 32. Comparison of observed tritium concentrations with those calculated from an analytical equation with 

a constant-flux boundary. A, Beneath trench 8 in test holes 8-2A and 8- 2B. B, Beneath trench 8 in test hole 

8-1C with changes in specific flux. C, Beneath trench 8 in test hole 8-1C with changes in tortuosity. D, Beneath 

trench 5 in test holes 5-2D and E. Location of holes is shown in figure 7.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 75

of tritium in the trench water has probably remained 

constant since shortly after the trench was completed 

in 1971. This contrasts somewhat with the results given

in table 13; however, the earli 

sent the true concentration o

sr samples may not repretritium in trench water

because they were collected from either an open trench

or an open standpipe, as expla

"Sampling methods."

The calculation of the tritium profile at hole 8-1C (fig.

32fi, O suggests that the spec 

(average linear velocity is 2.c 

tuosity factor ranges from 1. 

ranges are larger than those

holes 8-2A and 8-2B, they se 

least 2 m of disturbed 1 

penetrated in hole 8-1C about

;m reasonable in that at 

custrine material was 

L m below the trench floor

(Prudic, 1979a). The higher permeability of this material

should permit greater distan

particularly if the lens intersects the trench floor in the

vicinity of hole 8-1C. The si 

values are probably related 

through the lacustrine mater 

Conversely, it is possible tha 

tuosity factor and the specif! 

of estimating the migration r

ghtly smaller tortuosity 

to a less tortuous path 

al than through the till, 

the higher range in torflux may be an artifact 

ite of tritium by a simple

one-medium model (till), wher 

has at least two media. Thus,

stant tortuosity and a constant specific flux may not be 

completely valid for this site.

Simulations of tritium migration beneath trench 5 at 

holes 5-2D and 5-2E suggest t lat the specific flux is between 0.6 and 1.0 cm/yr (average linear velocity of 2 to

3.3 cm/yr), and the tortuositj 

32D). The range in the tortuos 

calculated for the till beneath 

8-2B. The specific flux is high

trench 8 at holes 8-2A and 8-'5B and is consistent with

the differences between trenc

5 and 8. The water level in 1 rench 8 has been consistently low since completion o

water level in trench 5 has fl actuated by more than 4

m. The specific flux range of 0

an average rate over the 9 years from trench completion to sample collection in t 

The distance between the 

top of the tritium profile ben 

known as exactly as for trench

On the basis of estimates used to calculate tritium 

migration beneath trench 5, t le distance from the floor 

of trench 4 to the top of the f 

85 cm.

Tritium concentations in t

to remain constant at the cone

ned in the earlier section

fie flux is 0.7 to 1.2 cm/yr 

to 4 cm/yr), and the tor- 

> to 2.4. Although these 

calculated for the till at

:es of tritium migration,

at hole 8-1C, the system 

the assumption of a confactor of 2.4 to 2.7 (fig. 

ty factor is similar to that 

rench 8 at holes 8-2A and 

ir beneath trench 5 than

i-water levels in trenches

the trench, whereas the

6 to 1.0 cm/yr represents

st holes 5-2D and 5-2E. 

loor of trench 4 and the 

ath it in hole 4-4A is not 

is 5 and 8 (Prudic, 1979a).

irst core sample is about

ench water are unlikely 

sntrations measured from

1975-79 for more than 70 years. Kelleher and Michael 

(1973) estimated from records kept by Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc. that more than 10,000 curies of tritium were 

buried in containers in trench 5, but this estimate does 

not include the approximate 10,000 curies of mixed 

tritium and 14C nor the 23,000 curies of mixed and 

miscellaneous radionuclides. Assuming that tritium is 

the predominant radionuclide in these other categories, 

the tritium content could be as high as 40,000 curies. 

The estimated tritium content in trench water before 

trench 5 was pumped in 1975 was approximately 2,000 

curies, as computed from an estimated trench volume 

of 8.5 x 106 L, a porosity of 0.25 (Prudic, 1980), and a 

tritium concentration in trench water of 1 jwCi/mL. After 

the 1980 pumpout of water, the total tritium content in 

the water was estimated to be 600 curies because of the 

lesser volume of water. For the tritium content in the 

trench water to remain constant, tritium in the waste 

must leach into the water at a rate equal to the decay 

of tritium in the water, assuming little addition of water 

to the trench. However, even assuming a tritium content of 40,000 curies in the waste in 1980, this value 

after 72 years will have decreased to 600 curies by 

radioactive decay. If the volume of water in the trench 

remains constant at the amount estimated in 1980, the 

maximum tritium concentration of trench water after 

120 years could be 6xlO~2 ^Ci/mL and, after 200 

years, it could be only 5 x 10~4 jiGi/mL, assuming that 

all tritium in the waste leaches into the water.

The maximum distance tritium would migrate 

beneath trench 5 after 100 years and still be detected 

(concentrations greater than 5 x 10 ~ 7 jiGi/mL) is about 

10 m, assuming that (1) the tritium in the waste leaches 

into the trench water at a rate equal to the decay of 

tritium in the water; (2) the water level in the trench 

remains constant; (3) the specific flux of water through 

the till is constant at a rate of 0.7 cm/yr; (4) the effective porosity is 0.3; and (5) the tortuosity factor is 2.4. 

Tritium profiles beneath trench 5 after 10 and 100 years 

are shown in figure 33.

If a specific flux used in the simulation of the tritium 

profile is 2 cm/yr (the upper limit of the range in specific 

flux estimated for the till beneath the trench), the maximum distance tritium could migrate after 100 years at 

detectable concentrations is about 14 m below the trench 

floor. Thus, tritium is unlikely to migrate through the 

till to points of discharge unless the trenches fill with 

water and overflow through the covers. The amount of 

tritium that reaches the surface environment in the liquid phase is considerably less than the estimated 

amount of tritiated gases that migrate through the cover 

or out of open standpipes in the trenches (Lu and 

Matuszek, 1978).
76 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

10 1

oc

LU

CC 

LU 

O. 

CO 

LU

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D 

O 

O 

CC 

O

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LU 

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O

D 

H

CCh10-

10 2

10-3

10,-4

10-5

10-6

02468 10 12

DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR, IN METERS

FIGURE 33. Predicted tritium concentrations beneath trench 5 after 

10 and 100 years, assuming a constant concentration of 1.44 

^Ci/mL in trench water; a constant water level in the trench; 

a porosity (6) of 0.3; a specific flux (q) of 0.7 cm/yr; a tortuosity 

factor (r) of 1.6; a diffusion coefficient (Dd) of water 475 cnrVyr.; 

a distribution coefficient (Kj) of 0.0 mL/g.

STRONTIUM

The mitration rate of 90Sr was much less than that 

of tritium, as determined from analyses of core samples 

from beneath the trenches. The lower rate is attributed 

to sorption of 90Sr onto the till matrix and perhaps to 

a smaller diffusion coefficient.

The simulated migration of 90Sr was compared to 

observed radionuclide concentrations in core samples of 

till from beneath trench 8 at test hole 8-2B. The same 

analytical equation that was used in the simulation of 

tritium migration was used to simulate 90Sr migration. 

The analytical equation assumes a constant flow rate 

at the trench boundary, negligible density variations 

due to changes in solute concentration, a constant 

specific flux and diffusion coefficient, a constant concentration of 90Sr in the trench water, and linear isotherm 

conditions.

Simulations of 90Sr migration beneath trench 8 

assumed a specific flux of 0.45 cm/yr and a tortuosity 

value of 2.4. These values were derived from the simulation of tritium migration and were assumed constant for 

90Sr. The porosity (water-filled void volume) was 0.30, 

and the dry bulk density was 1.82 g/cm3 ; both are 

averages from laboratory tests. The distribution coefficient of strontium used in the analyses was 6.9 mL/g 

(Weiss and Colombo 1980), the value listed in the section "Distribution coefficients of selected radionuclides." 

A half-life of 28.1 years for 90Sr was obtained from Ames 

and Rai (1978).

The diffusion rate of 90Sr through the till depends 

on the concentrations of dissolved chemical constituents 

in the trench water as well as in the pore water in the 

till and the adsorption of 90Sr from the solute to the till. 

The diffusion coefficient of several salts in aqueous solutions at temperatures from 10 °C to 25 °C ranged from 

0.4xlO~5 to 2.3xlO~5 cmVs (Sherwood and others, 

1975). The interaction of ions in a multi-ion system may 

affect results significantly when the several ion conductances differ greatly, but where ion conductances are 

similar, no significant error is introduced by the use of 

"molecular" diffusion coefficients for the species present 

(Sherwood and others, 1975). Assuming that the ion conductances in the trench water are similar and that the 

mutual diffusion of SrCl2 salt is similar to that of CaCl2 , 

the diffusion coefficient of 90Sr in aqueous solutions is 

about 1X 10 ~ 5 cm2/s, or 315 cmVyr. The effective diffusion coefficient (Dd') of 90Sr in the till is then about 39 

cmVyr assuming a value of tortuosity equal to 2.4.

Concentrations of 90Sr measured in the till beneath 

the trenches (table 16) are the sum of the quantities 

dissolved in the water and adsorbed to the till; thus, to 

compare the observed results with calculated values, the 

analytical solution of Lu (1978, p. 40) was modified to 

calculate total concentrations rather than dissolved concentations at any given point along the flow path. A profile of 90Sr concentration beneath trench 8 at hole 8-2B 

was simulated from the values and assumptions 

previously explained. The simulated profile approximated the observed 90Sr data for the first 30 cm below 

the trench floor (fig. 34) but did not reproduce the secondary peak indicated between 40 to 50 cm below the 

trench floor. The secondary peak was probably caused 

by contamination of the sample during collection 

because the samples were collected in the presence of 

trench water, as previously explained in the section 

"Downward migration." As a result of probable sample 

contamination, and also because of the uncertainty of 

some analyses with respect to the trench-floor depth, the 

simulations suggest that the distribution coefficient 

could range from 1 to 7 mL/g and that the effective diffusion coefficient could vary by at least a factor of 2 and 

still partly reproduce the observed data in the first 30 

cm below the trench floor.
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION FROM TRENCHES 77

Because data on migration of 90Sr beneath trench 4 

in hole 4-4A were limited, the effective diffusion coefficients used to simulate 90Sr migration beneath trench 

8 were used to simulate the 90Sr migration beneath 

trench 4. Estimates of the distance from the trench floor 

to where the samples were collected in hole 4-4A were 

obtained from an estimate of the trench-floor altitude 

(Prudic, 1979a) and from simulation of the observed 

tritium concentrations in hole 4-4A from values of 

specific flux and tortuosity obtained in the simulations 

of tritium concentrations in holes 5-2D and 5-2E beneath 

trench 5. The simulated 90Sr concentrations beneath 

trench 4 approximated the field data when a distribution coefficient of 1 mL/g, a specific flux of 1.2 cm/yr, 

and a tortuosity factor of 2.4 were used (fig. 35), but 

because of the uncertainty in the distance between the 

trench floor and the sample-collection point, the distribution coefficient could range from 1 to 3 mL/g, the specific 

flux could range from 0.3 to 1.2 cm/yr, and the tortuosity factor could range from 1.6 to 2.4. The range in

an effective diffusion coefficient (Dd ' ) is from 39 to 59 

cnrVyr.

The maximum distance that 90Sr could migrate 

downward beneath trench 4 and still be detected in the 

till is about 6 m (fig. 36), assuming that (1) the 90Sr in 

the wastes in trench 4 leaches into the trench water at 

a rate equal to radioactive decay of strontium in the 

water for 500 years; (2) the water level in trench 4 remains constant; (3) the specific flux is constant at a rate 

of 1 cm/yr; (4) the effective porosity (water-filled void 

volume) is 0.3; (5) the tortuosity factor is constant at 1.6, 

which results in an effective diffusion coefficient of 90Sr 

in the till of 59 cnrYyr; (6) the distribution coefficient is 

constant at 1 mL/g; (7) the dry bulk density is 1.82 g/cm3 ; 

and (8) the radioactive half life of 90Sr is 28.1 years. The 

actual distance that 90Sr will migrate through the till 

is probably less then the estimate of 6 m because (1) the 

concentration of 90Sr will not remain constant over a 

500-year period radioactive decay will greatly reduce 

the amount of 90Sr in the wastes and in the trench water;

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T = o7 A \ , \(-

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T ; i i

Kd =7.0mUg\^\ \ " 

^^~~^ \ i ^ r _...^ .

C Q = 0.3 cm/yr -.\

T =2.7 \ \\

/C,= 3.0 mL/g . \\

d . ,\ \\

0 10 20 30

\

\

1 \ 1

i i i i i

> Weathered cardboard

-

v\

 \

'\. .-- q = 0.45 cm/yr 

- YV S T= 2.4

^-. ^= 1mL/9 

\ »\ X .

^v \ v ^""v. \ \

>^ . - I T^

h Q = 0.45 cm/vyr \ \ ' ~

\

'

i - <..-> \

K =7.0 mL/g \ \ ^-^ T i 

" . \ | 31; i ,

_ ^ 

\ \- . \ \ T ^ .

q = 0.45 cm/yr \ . \ | \

T 1 6 ' H 1~l

/f^- 7.0 mL/g \ . ^ T = 2A

\ K. = 3.0 mL/g 

i i \ i \ i i \

40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 6C

T

1

DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR. IN CENTIMETERS

EXPLANATION

MEASURED 90SR IN TILL

90e Vertical bar represents 95-percent confidence limits for 3USr activity.

Horizontal bar represents the uncertainty in location of sample with respect to the trench floor.

FIGURE 34. Comparison of observed and calculated 90Sr concentrations beneath trench 8 in test hole 8-2B assuming a constant concentration of '"Sr in trench water, a constant water level in the trench, a porosity (6) of 0.3, and a dry bulk density (pm) of 1.82 g/cm3 . A, 

Specific flux (q) is constant at 0.3 cm/yr while the distribution coefficient (Kd) ranges from 1.0 to 7.0 mL/g and the tortuosity factor 

(r) ranges from 2.4 to 2.7. B, Specific flux (q) is constant at 0.45 cm/yr while the distribution (Kd) ranges from 1.0 to 7.0mL/g and the 

tortuosity factor (T) ranges from 1.6 to 2.4.
78 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

(2) the estimate of the effective diffusion coefficient of 

90Sr in the till is the upper limit of the range estimated 

for 90Sr; and (3) the distribution coefficient is the lower 

limit estimated from scant data of 90Sr concentrations 

in the till. For example, if the tortuosity factor is increased to 2.4 and the distribution coefficient is increased to 3 mL/g, the estimated distance that 90Sr would 

migrate is less than 3 m after 500 years. These calculations therefore indicate that 90Sr will not migrate by 

ground water through the till to points of discharge.

CARBON

In general, most of the longer lived radionuclides in 

trench water such as 239.24°pu, 129I, and 241Am are present only in very small amounts (table 15; also Davis and 

Fakundiny, 1978; Husain and others, 1979; Dana and

others, 1979 and 1980; Weiss and Colombo, 1980). Most 

longer lived radionuclides are unlikely to migrate far 

from the trenches and still be detectable because (1) their 

concentration in the trench water is low and diffusion 

will not be effective, and (2) they have an affinity to the 

clay particles in the till. The only longer lived radionuclide having a concentration considerably above 

detection limits in trench water is 14C.

Trench water contains both inorganic and organic carbon. The concentration of organic 14C is about 10 times 

higher than that of inorganic 14C (table 15). However, 

much of the organic carbon in the trench water is converted by bacterial decomposition into methane and carbon dioxide gases (Lu and Matuszek, 1978; and Kunz, 

1982).

Analyses of cores from beneath trench 5 indicate that 

14C has migrated beneath that trench (table 16). 

However, the distance that 14C can migrate through till

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EXPLANATION

Measured^Sr in till: vertical bar represents 

95-percent confidence limits for ^Sr 

activity.

Depth below trench floor based on drilling 

information; horizontal bar represents 

uncertainty in location of sample with 

respect to the trench floor.

Depth below trench floor as estimated from 

tritium concentrations.

100

DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR, IN CENTIMETERS

120

FIGURE 35. Comparison of observed and calculated 90Sr concentrations beneath trench 4 in test hole 4-4A assuming a constant concentration of 90Sr in trench water, a constant water level in trench, a porosity (d) of 0.3, a dry bulk density (Pm) of 1.82 g/cm3 , a specific 

flux (q) that ranges from 0.7 to 1.0 cm/yr, a tortuosity factor (T) that ranges from 1.6 to 2.4, and a distribution coefficient (Kd) that 

ranges from 1.0 to 7.0 mL/g.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 79

can be only roughly estimated because the diffusion coefficient of its various forms and its mechanisms of exchange or reaction with the till matrix or the pore water 

are unknown.

Laboratory experiments to determine the distribution 

coefficients of 14C in the till were conducted by the New 

York State Health Department, Radiological Sciences 

Laboratory (Charles Kunz, 1981, written commun.). The 

first step was to vigorously mix 100 mL of anoxic trench 

water from trenches 5 and 8 with 20 g of uncontaminated till for 24 hours in an argon atmosphere. The 

samples were then filtered. A fourth of the filtrate was 

used for analysis, and the remainder was mixed with 

another 20 g of uncontaminated till for 24 hours and 

then analyzed. The organic 14C showed little exchange 

with the till (K^ values ranged from 0.7 to 1.1 mL/g); 

the inorganic 14C showed somewhat more exchange (K^ 

values ranged from 3 to 12 mL/g).

The analytical equation and assumptions that were 

used to simulate tritium and ^Sr migration beneath the 

trenches were also used to simulate the migration of 14C 

beneath trench 5. An estimate of the time required for 

a detectable concentration (approximately 1 x 10'7 /iCi/g) 

of 14C in the till to migrate vertically 23 m through the 

till to the underlying lacustrine sequence is between 

1,500 and 20,000 years, assuming that (1) the diffusion 

coefficient of 14C through water in the form of bicarbonate is 315 cnrVyr; (2) the tortuosity factor ranges from 

1.6 to 2.4; (3) the distribution coefficient ranges from 1 

mL/g to 3 mL/g; (4) the specific flux ranges from 0.3 to 

2.0 cm/yr; (5) the water level in the trench and the heads 

in the till remain constant; (6) the effective porosity is 

0.3; (7) the dry bulk density is 1.82 g/cm3 ; and (8) the 

radioactive half life of 14C is 5,730 years (Thatcher and 

others, 1977). The time required for 14C to migrate from 

there laterally through the saturated silts in the 

lacustrine sequence to points of ground-water discharge 

is unknown but would add considerably to the length 

of time that 14C is isolated from the surface environment.

The amount of 14C that might eventually migrate 

through the till to points of discharge is far less than 

the amount estimated to migrate through the trench 

cover or open standpipes in the form of methane and carbon dioxide gases (Lu and Matuszek, 1978; Matuszek, 

1980; and Kunz, 1982), or the amount that could migrate 

through the trench covers once the trenches become 

filled with water.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

About 67,000 m3 of low-level radioactive waste is 

buried in western New York in a clay-rich till containing 

few stones. The till is a valley facies that is widely 

distributed in Cattaraugus Creek basin below the level

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DISTANCE BELOW TRENCH FLOOR, IN METERS

FIGURE 36.-Predicted 90Sr concentrations in till beneath trench 4 

after 10,100, and 500 years assuming a constant concentration 

of 8.6 juCi/mL in trench water, a constant water level in the 

trench, a porosity (6 ) of 0.3, a dry bulk density (Pm) of 1.82 g/cm3 , 

a specific flux (q) of 1.0 cm/yr, a tortuosity factor (r) of 1.6, a 

diffusion coefficient CD^) of ""Sr of 315 cmVyr, a distribution coefficient (Krf) of 1 mL/g, and a detection limit of 90Sr in the till 

of 1x10 8 M Ci/mL.

of saddles in the drainage divide south of the burial 

ground and was probably deposited by an ice sheet 

partly suspended in ponded water. At the burial site, 

the till is about 28 m thick and overlies a lacustrine sequence, 10 to 20 m thick, of layered fine sand and silt 

that is locally capped by a gravel. The upper part of the 

lacustrine sequence is unsaturated, at least east and 

south of the burial ground. Bedrock may be as deep as 

150 m below land surface. The till contains about 7 percent severly deformed, discontinuous beds of silt to very 

fine sand and, rarely, coarser sand and gravel. Fractures
80 RADIONUCLIDES AT A COMMERCIAL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE BURIAL SITE, CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK

and root tubes with oxidized and (or) reduced till in their 

walls extend as much as 5 m below the original land surface. Late-glacial fluvial gravel caps the till over much 

of Buttermilk Creek valley but is mostly absent at the 

burial ground.

Most precipitation at the site either runs off to nearby streams or returns to the atmosphere by 

evapotranspiration. The small amount that infiltrates 

the till moves predominantly downward, even beneath 

small streams bordering the site. Low heads occur 

within the till where steep and (or) smooth slopes and 

lack of vegetation cause rapid runoff; higher heads occur where water accumulates on top of the till, primarily 

in natural depressions and in remnants of late-glacial 

fluvial gravel, but also beneath trenches that have had 

a history of water-level rises.

Computer simulation of ground-water flow at the 

burial ground indicates that the hydraulic conductivity of the till decreases with depth as a result of consolidation from overburden pressures and the lack of fracturing with depth. Simulated decreases in hydraulic conductivity due to overburden pressures were consistent 

with consolidometer tests of four core samples that showed a decrease in hydraulic conductivity while applied 

pressure was increased. The specific flux of ground water 

is between 0.3 and 2.3 cm/yr, with perhaps slightly 

higher rates in the weathered till along the slopes bordering the burial site.

Computer simulations indicate that water seeping out 

of the trenches would not intersect any of the nearby 

streams. However, if the water level in the trenches were 

to rise into the reworked till covering them, the trench 

water could seep out through the cover to land surface. 

Geohydrologic data indicate little chance that the 

bedded silt and sand just below the floor of trench 8 extends as far as Franks Creek, 75 m west of the trench. 

Computer simulations suggest that even if this layer 

were extensive and the trench were filled with water 

to the base of the cover, water seeping outward through 

the trench walls would not move more than 18 m laterally through the silt before it would begin to move 

downward. Calculations suggest that water leaving the 

trench would take between 300 and 2,300 years to travel 

23 m downward through the till to the underlying 

lacustrine unit. From there, the shortest distance to surface discharge would be about 840 m, which would 

perhaps require an additional 500 years of lateral flow 

through silt.

In the older (north) trenches, water began to collect 

after the dry summer of 1971, overflowed briefly from 

two trenches in 1975, and was pumped out of several 

trenches during 1975-77. Water levels rose abruptly during major rainstorms in mid-1975 in trench 5, which indicates rapid infiltration through cracks in the cover

material. The newer (south) trenches, except trench 14, 

maintained low water levels until after the dry summer 

of 1978, when water levels began to rise noticeably in 

four of the seven trenches. The water-level rise in these 

trenches does not seem related to ground-water inflow 

but rather to increased infiltration of precipitation 

through the trench cover. The increase in infiltration 

rate is attributed to inflow through cracks, which during the dry summer of 1978 were enlarged by 

desiccation.

Tritium, the most abundant and mobile radionuclide 

in the trenches, migrated at most 3 m outward and 

downward from the trenches 4,5, and 8 during the first 

7 to 11 years after the trenches were completed. Calculations of tritium migration beneath the trenches suggests 

that molecular diffusion controls the migration rate. The 

distance that detectable concentrations of tritium could 

migrate downward from the trenches is predicted to be 

between 10 and 14 m. Other radionuclides have 

migrated lesser distances. Calculations of ^Sr migration 

beneath the trenches suggests that it may migrate between 3 and 6 m in the till in 500 years. The only longer 

lived radionuclide in trench water having a concentration considerably above detection limit is 14C. The time 

for detectable concentration of 14C to migrate through 

the 23 m of till is estimated to be 1,500 to 20,000 years.

Subsurface migration of radionuclides from the 

trenches is severely limited by (1) the topographic setting of the burial ground, which controls recharge; (2) 

the deeper lacustrine sequence, which acts as a drain 

to the till; (3) the isotropy and low hydraulic conductivity 

of the till; and (4) the ion exchange of many of the radionuclides with the clays in the till. In conclusion, radionuclides are far less likely to reach the environment 

through subsurface migration than by the saturation 

and overflow of the trenches, which can occur when 

cracks breach the cover and serve as avenues of rapid 

recharge, or by the migration of tritium and 14C in the 

form of carbon dioxide and methane gases through the 

covers or open standpipes in the trenches.

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