Re-evaluation of a subsurface injection experiment for testing flow and transport models

The current preferred method for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) at the Hanford Site is to vitrify the wastes so they can be stored in a near-surface, shallow-land burial facility (Shord 1995). Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) managed the PNL Vitrification Technology Development (PVTD) Project to assist Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) in designing and assessing the performance of a disposal facility for the vitrified LLW. Vadose zone flow and transport models are recognized as necessary tools for baseline risk assessments of stored waste forms. The objective of the Controlled Field Testing task of the PVTD Project is to perform and analyze field experiments to demonstrate the appropriateness of conceptual models for the performance assessment. The most convincing way to demonstrate appropriateness is to show that the model can reproduce the movement of water and contaminants in the field. Before expensive new experiments are initiated, an injection experiment conducted at the Hanford Site in 1980 (designated the ``Sisson and the Lu experiment``) should be completely analyzed and understood. Briefly, in that test, a solution containing multiple tracers was injected at a single point into the subsurface sediments. The resulting spread of the water and tracers was monitored in wells surrounding the injection point. Given the advances in knowledge, computational capabilities, and models over the last 15 years, it is important to re-analyze the data before proceeding to other experiments and history-matching exercises.