Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Biodegradation of Organic Contaminants in the Shallow Vadose Zone of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex

Waste material buried in drums in the shallow subsurface at the Radioactive Waste Management Facility (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) contained significant amounts of organic compounds including lubricating oils and chlorinated solvents. CO{sub 2} concentrations in pore gas samples from monitoring wells in the vicinity of the disposal pits are 3 to 5 times higher than the concentrations in nearby background wells. The stable carbon isotope ratios ({delta}{sup 13}C values) of CO{sub 2} from the disposal pits averaged 2.4. less than CO{sub 2} from the background wells, indicating that the elevated CO{sub 2} concentrations around the pits were derived from source materials with {delta}{sup 13}C values in the range of -24{per_thousand} to -29{per_thousand}. These {delta}{sup 13}C values are typical of lubricating oils, but higher than most solvents. The radiocarbon ({sup 14}C) contents of CO{sub 2} across most of the site were significantly elevated above modern concentrations due to reactor blocks buried in a subsurface vault at the site. However, several samples collected from the high-CO{sub 2} zone on the far side of the RWMC from the reactor blocks had very low {sup 14}C contents (less than 0.13 times modern), confirming production from lubricating oils manufactured from fossil hydrocarbons. The magnitude of the CO{sub 2} anomaly observed at the site is consistent with intrinsic biodegradation rates on the order of 0.5 to 3.0 metric tons of carbon per year.