Email RIS file
Bookmark
Report an Issue

The role of plants on isolation barrier systems [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1994.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
53 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online

Availability

I Want It
I Want It

Finding items...

Restrictions on Access
Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
Summary
Surface barriers are used to isolate buried wastes from the environment. Most have been built for short-term isolation. The need to isolate radioactive wastes from the environment requires that the functional integrity of a barrier be maintained for thousands of years. Barrier function strongly depends on vegetation. Plants reduce wind and water erosion and minimize drainage, but may transport contaminants if roots extend into buried wastes. Our review of the function of plants on surface barriers focuses on the role of plants across mesic to arid environments and gives special consideration to studies done at Hanford. The Hanford Barrier Development Program was created to design and test an earthen cover system to inhibit water infiltration, plant and animal intrusion, and wind and water erosion, while isolating buried wastes for at least 1000 years. Studies at the Hanford have shown that plants will significantly interact with the barrier. Plants transpire soil water back into the atmosphere. Deep-rooted perennials best recycle water; soil water may drain through the root zone of shallow-rooted annuals. Lysimeter studies indicate that a surface layer of fine soil with deep-rooted plants precludes drainage even with three times normal precipitation. The presence of vegetation greatly reduces water and wind erosion, but deep-rooted plants pose a threat of biointrusion and contaminant transport. The Hanford barrier includes a buried rock layer and asphalt layer to prevent biointrusion.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:pnl-sa--24159
E 1.99: conf-941124--18
conf-941124--18
pnl-sa--24159
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
11/01/1994.
"pnl-sa--24159"
" conf-941124--18"
"DE95007756"
33. Hanford symposium on health and the environment: symposium on in-situ remediation--scientific basis for current and future technologies,Richland, WA (United States),7-11 Nov 1994.
Waugh, W.J.; Link, S.O.; Downs, J.L.
Funding Information
AC06-76RL01830
View MARC record | catkey: 14415562