Final Hazard Categorization for the Remediation of Six 300-FF-2 Operable Unit Solid Waste Burial Grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. D. Ludowise

2006-12-12

This report provides the final hazard categorization (FHC) for the remediation of six solid waste disposal sites (referred to as burial grounds) located in the 300-FF-2 Operable Unit (OU) on the Hanford Site. These six sites (618-1, 618-2, 618-3, 618-7, 618-8, and 618-13 Burial Grounds) were determined to have a total radionuclide inventory (WCH 2005a, WCH 2005d, WCH 2005e and WCH 2006b) that exceeds the DOE-STD-1027 Category 3 threshold quantity (DOE 1997) and are the subject of this analysis. This FHC document examines the hazards, identifies appropriate controls to manage the hazards, and documents the FHC and commitments for themore » 300-FF-2 Burial Grounds Remediation Project.« less

Hydrology of the solid waste burial ground as related to potential migration of radionuclides, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barraclough, Jack T.; Robertson, J.B.; Janzer, V.J.; Saindon, L.G.

1976-01-01

A study was made (1970-1974) to evaluate the geohydrologic and geochemical controls on subsurface migration of radionuclides from pits and trenches in the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) solid waste burial ground and to determine the existence and extent of radionuclide migration from the burial ground. A total of about 1,700 sediment, rock, and water samples were collected from 10 observation wells drilled in and near the burial ground of Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, formerly the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS). Within the burial ground area, the subsurface rocks are composed principally of basalt. Wind- and water-deposited sediments occur at the surface and in beds between the thicker basalt zones. Two principal sediment beds occur at about 110 feet and 240 feet below the land surface. The average thickness of the surficial sedimentary layer is about 15 feet while that of the two principal subsurface layers is 13 and 14 feet, respectively. The water table in the aquifer beneath the burial ground is at a depth of about 580 feet. Fission, activation, and transuranic elements were detected in some of the samples from the 110- and 240-foot sedimentary layers. (Woodard-USGS)

Habitat requirements and burrowing depths of rodents in relation to shallow waste burial sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gano, K.A.; States, J.B.

1982-05-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature and summarize information on factors affecting habitat selection and maximum recorded burrowing depths for representative small mammals that we consider most likely to inhibit waste burial sites in arid and semi-arid regions of the West. The information is intended for waste management designers who need to know what to expect from small mammals that may be present at a particular site. Waste repositories oculd be designed to exclude the deep burrowing rodents of a region by creating an unattractive habitat over the waste. Summaries are given formore » habitat requirements of each group along with generalized modifications that could be employed to deter habitation. Representatives from the major groups considered to be deep burrowers are discussed. Further, detailed information about a particular species can be obtained from the references cited.« less

Permeability of covers over low-level radioactive-waste burial trenches, West Valley, Cattaraugus County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.

1980-01-01

Among the facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, near the hamlet of West Valley in the northern part of Cattaraugus County, N.Y., is a State-licensed burial ground for commercial low-level radioactive wastes. The 11-acre burial ground contains a series of trenches excavated in a silty-clay till of low permeability that contains scattered pods of silt, sand, and gravel. Gas pressure in the unsaturated parts of radioactive waste burial trenches responds to fluctuations in atmospheric pressure. Measurements of atmospheric pressure and the differential pressure between the trench gas and the atmosphere on several dates in 1977-78 were used to calculate hydraulic conductivity of the reworked silty-clay till that covers the trenches. Generally the hydraulic conductivity of covers over trenches that had a history of rapidly rising water levels are higher, at least seasonally, than covers over trenches in which the water level remained low. This supports the hypothesis that recharge occurs through the cover, presumably through fractures caused by desiccation and (or) subsidence. Hydraulic conductivities of the cover as calculated from gas- and air-pressure measurements at several trenches were 100 to 1,000 times greater than those calculated from the increase in water levels in the trenches. This difference suggests that the values obtained from the air- and gas-pressure measurements need to be adjusted and at present are not directly usable in ground-water flux calculations. The difference in magnitude of values may be caused by rapidly decreasing hydraulic conductivity during periods of recharge or by the clogging of fractures with sediment washed in by runoff. (USGS)

Groundwater monitoring in the Savannah River Plant Low Level Waste Burial Ground

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlton, W.H.

1983-12-31

This document describes chemical mechanisms that may affect trace-level radionuclide migration through acidic sandy clay soils in a humid environment, and summarizes the extensive chemical and radiochemical analyses of the groundwater directly below the SRP Low-Level Waste (LLW) Burial Ground (643-G). Anomalies were identified in the chemistry of individual wells which appear to be related to small amounts of fission product activity that have reached the water table. The chemical properties which were statistically related to trace level transport of Cs-137 and Sr-90 were iron, potassium, sodium and calcium. Concentrations on the order of 100 ppM appear sufficient to affectmore » nuclide migration. Several complexation mechanisms for plutonium migration were investigated.« less

Installation of water and gas-sampling wells in low-level radioactive-waste burial trenches, West Valley, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.

1978-01-01

A low-level radioactive-waste burial site, West Valley, N.Y., operated from 1963 to 1975, contains 12 refuse-filled trenches about 20 feet deep in till. Twenty-eight wells, 1.25 inch in diameter, were driven to selected depths in 11 of the 12 trenches to obtain gas and water samples for chemical and radiochemical analysis, water-level measurements for evaluation of trench-cover permeability. Gas from unsaturated refuse above the trench water level was detected in nearly all wells. Rapid water-level response in most wells to pumping of water from trench sumps 20 to 275 feet distant showed the refuse to be highly permeable. Described in detail are the methods and equipment used to (1) install the wells, (2) collect gas and water samples, and (3) monitor radiation and methane concentrations while driving wells into trenches. A record of each well driven into the burial trenches is included. (Woodard-USGS)

The effectiveness of Hong Kong's Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme.

PubMed

Hao, Jane L; Hills, Martin J; Tam, Vivian W Y

2008-12-01

The Hong Kong Government introduced the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme in December 2005 to ensure that disposal of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is properly priced to reduce such waste. The charging scheme is not only intended to provide an economic incentive for contractors and developers to reduce waste but also to encourage reuse and recycling of waste material thereby slowing down the depletion of limited landfill and public filling capacities. This paper examines the effectiveness of the charging scheme 1 year after implementation. A survey was conducted at Tseung Kwan O Area 137 and Tuen Mun Area 38, and daily C&D waste records were collected from landfills and public filling facilities between January 2006 and December 2006. The results of the survey show that waste has been reduced by approximately 60% in landfills, by approximately 23% in public fills, and by approximately 65% in total waste between 2005 and 2006. Suggestions for improving the scheme are provided.

Shallow land burial of low-level radioactive wastes. A selected, annotated bibliography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fore, C.S.; Vaughan, N.D.; Tappen, J.

1978-06-01

The data file was built to provide information support to DOE researchers in the field of low-level radioactive waste disposal and management. The scope of the data base emphasizes studies which deal with the ''old'' Manhattan sites, commercial disposal sites, and the specific parameters which affect the soil and geologic migration of radionuclides. Specialized data fields have been incorporated into the data base to improve the ease and accuracy of locating pertinent references. Specific radionuclides for which data are presented are listed in the ''Measured Radionuclides'' field, and specific parameters which affect the migration of these radionuclides are presented inmore » the ''Measured Parameters'' field. The 504 references are rated indicating applicability to shallow land burial technology and whether interpretation is required. Indexes are provided for author, geographic location, title, measured parameters, measured radionuclides, keywords, subject categories, and publication description. (DLC)« less

Data for wells at the low-level radioactive-waste burial site in the Palos Forest Preserve, Illinois

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olimpio, J.C.

1982-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey is studying the geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical properties of the glacial drift and underlying bedrock at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site in the Palos Forest Preserve, 22 kilometers southwest of Chicago. Data collected from the 33 test wells drilled into the drift plus data from 4 wells drilled into the underlying dolomite bedrock are presented. Data include maps showing the location of the test wells, a general description of the drift, well-construction information, and lithologic descriptions of cores from the wells finished in the drift.

Nonlocal continuum electrostatic theory predicts surprisingly small energetic penalties for charge burial in proteins.

PubMed

Bardhan, Jaydeep P

2011-09-14

We study the energetics of burying charges, ion pairs, and ionizable groups in a simple protein model using nonlocal continuum electrostatics. Our primary finding is that the nonlocal response leads to markedly reduced solvent screening, comparable to the use of application-specific protein dielectric constants. Employing the same parameters as used in other nonlocal studies, we find that for a sphere of radius 13.4 Å containing a single +1e charge, the nonlocal solvation free energy varies less than 18 kcal/mol as the charge moves from the surface to the center, whereas the difference in the local Poisson model is ∼35 kcal/mol. Because an ion pair (salt bridge) generates a comparatively more rapidly varying Coulomb potential, energetics for salt bridges are even more significantly reduced in the nonlocal model. By varying the central parameter in nonlocal theory, which is an effective length scale associated with correlations between solvent molecules, nonlocal-model energetics can be varied from the standard local results to essentially zero; however, the existence of the reduction in charge-burial penalties is quite robust to variations in the protein dielectric constant and the correlation length. Finally, as a simple exploratory test of the implications of nonlocal response, we calculate glutamate pK(a) shifts and find that using standard protein parameters (ε(protein) = 2-4), nonlocal results match local-model predictions with much higher dielectric constants. Nonlocality may, therefore, be one factor in resolving discrepancies between measured protein dielectric constants and the model parameters often used to match titration experiments. Nonlocal models may hold significant promise to deepen our understanding of macromolecular electrostatics without substantially increasing computational complexity. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Performance assessment for the disposal of low-level waste in the 200 West Area Burial Grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wood, M.I.; Khaleel, R.; Rittmann, P.D.

1995-06-01

This document reports the findings of a performance assessment (PA) analysis for the disposal of solid low-level radioactive waste (LLW) in the 200 West Area Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds (LLBG) in the northwest corner of the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. This PA analysis is required by US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5820.2A (DOE 1988a) to demonstrate that a given disposal practice is in compliance with a set of performance objectives quantified in the order. These performance objectives are applicable to the disposal of DOE-generated LLW at any DOE-operated site after the finalization of the order inmore » September 1988. At the Hanford Site, DOE, Richland Operations Office (RL) has issued a site-specific supplement to DOE Order 5820.2A, DOE-RL 5820.2A (DOE 1993), which provides additiona I ce objectives that must be satisfied.« less

Evaluation of Elevated Tritium Levels in Groundwater Downgradient from the 618-11 Burial Ground Phase I Investigations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dresel, P.E.; Smith, R.M.; Williams, B.A.

2000-05-01

This report describes the results of the preliminary investigation of elevated tritium in groundwater discovered near the 618-11 burial ground, located in the eastern part of the Hanford Site. Tritium in one well downgradient of the burial ground was detected at levels up to 8,140,000 pCi/L. The 618-11 burial ground received a variety of radioactive waste from the 300 Area between 1962 and 1967. The burial ground covers 3.5 hectare (8.6 acre) and contains trenches, large diameter caissons, and vertical pipe storage units. The burial ground was stabilized with a native sediment covering. The Energy Northwest reactor complex was constructedmore » immediately east of the burial ground.« less

Cleanup Verification Package for the 118-F-6 Burial Ground

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

H. M. Sulloway

2008-10-02

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action for the 118-F-6 Burial Ground located in the 100-FR-2 Operable Unit of the 100-F Area on the Hanford Site. The trenches received waste from the 100-F Experimental Animal Farm, including animal manure, animal carcasses, laboratory waste, plastic, cardboard, metal, and concrete debris as well as a railroad tank car.

Annual Status Report (FY2017): Performance Assessment for the Disposal of Low-Level Waste in the 200 East Area Burial Grounds.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichols, Will E.; Mehta, S.; Nell, R. M.

This annual review provides the projected dose estimates of radionuclide inventories disposed in the active 200 East Area Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds (LLBGs) since September 26, 1988. The estimates are calculated using the original dose methodology developed in the performance assessment (PA) analysis (WHC-SD-WM-TI-7301). The estimates are compared with performance objectives defined in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requirements (DOE O 435.1 Chg 1,2 and companion documents DOE M 435.1-1 Chg 13 and DOE G 435.1-14). All performance objectives are currently satisfied, and operational waste acceptance criteria (HNF-EP-00635) and waste acceptance practices continue to be sufficient to maintain compliance withmore » performance objectives. Inventory estimates and associated dose estimates from future waste disposal actions are unchanged from previous years’ evaluations, which indicate potential impacts well below performance objectives. Therefore, future compliance with DOE O 435.1 Chg 1 is expected.« less

Annual Status Report (FY2017): Performance Assessment for the Disposal of Low-Level Waste in the 200 West Area Burial Grounds.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichols, Will E; Nell, R. M.; Mehta, S.

This annual review provides the projected dose estimates of radionuclide inventories disposed in the active 200 West Area Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds (LLBGs) since September 26, 1988. These estimates are calculated using the original dose methodology developed in the performance assessment (PA) analysis (WHC-EP-06451). These estimates are compared with performance objectives defined in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requirements (DOE O 435.1 Chg 12 and its companion documents DOE M 435.1-1 Chg 13 and DOE G 435.1-14). All performance objectives are currently satisfied, and operational waste acceptance criteria (HNF-EP-00635) and waste acceptance practices continue to be sufficient to maintain compliancemore » with performance objectives. Inventory estimates and associated dose estimates from future waste disposal actions are unchanged from previous years’ evaluations, which indicate potential impacts well below performance objectives. Therefore, future compliance with DOE O 435.1 Chg 1 is expected.« less

A quantitative analysis of municipal solid waste disposal charges in China.

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Zhang, Weiqian; Xu, Jiaxuan; Che, Yue

2015-03-01

Rapid industrialization and economic development have caused a tremendous increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in China. China began implementing a policy of MSW disposal fees for household waste management at the end of last century. Three charging methods were implemented throughout the country: a fixed disposal fee, a potable water-based disposal fee, and a plastic bag-based disposal fee. To date, there has been little qualitative or quantitative analysis on the effectiveness of this relatively new policy. This paper provides a general overview of MSW fee policy in China, attempts to verify whether the policy is successful in reducing general waste collected, and proposes an improved charging system to address current problems. The paper presents an empirical statistical analysis of policy effectiveness derived from an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) test on panel data of China. EKC tests on different kinds of MSW charge systems were then examined for individual provinces or cities. A comparison of existing charging systems was conducted using environmental and economic criteria. The results indicate the following: (1) the MSW policies implemented over the study period were effective in the reduction of waste generation, (2) the household waste discharge fee policy did not act as a strong driver in terms of waste prevention and reduction, and (3) the plastic bag-based disposal fee appeared to be performing well according to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Based on current situation of waste discharging management in China, a three-stage transitional charging scheme is proposed and both advantages and drawbacks discussed. Evidence suggests that a transition from a fixed disposal fee to a plastic bag-based disposal fee involving various stakeholders should be the next objective of waste reduction efforts.

Tribo-charging properties of waste plastic granules in process of tribo-electrostatic separation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Jia, E-mail: weee@sjtu.edu.cn; Wu, Guiqing; Xu, Zhenming

Highlights: • The cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. • The small particle size was better changed than large ones and was more suitable recycled by TES. • The drying pretreatment is good for improving the short-term charging effect. - Abstract: Plastic products can be found everywhere in people’s daily life. With the consistent growth of plastic consumption, more and more plastic waste is generated. Considering the stable chemical and physics characteristics of plastic, regular waste management methods are not suitable for recycling economic strategy of each government, which has become a serious environmental problem. Recyclingmore » plastic waste is considered to be the best way to treat it, because it cannot only deduce the waste but also save the energy to produce new virgin plastic. Tribo-electrostatic separation is strongly recommended for plastic separation as it can preserve the original properties of plastic and has little additional pollution. In this study, plastic granules are generated by crushing plastic waste in waste electric and electronic equipment. The tribo-charging properties of plastic waste were studied by vibrating tribo-charging and cyclone tribo-charging. The triboelectric series obtained by vibrating was: (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+), while the triboelectric series obtained by cyclone was (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+). Further, the cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. The impact factors experiments showed that small particle size was better changed than large ones and were more suitable recycled by tribo-electrostatic separation. High relative humidity was identified as impede charging effect. The results of this study will help defining the operating parameters of subsequent separator.« less

Low-level radioactive-waste burial at the Palos Forest Preserve, Illinois; geology and hydrology of the glacial drift, as related to the migration of tritium

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olimpio, Julio C.

1984-01-01

A low-level radioactive-waste burial site is located in Palos Forest Preserve, about 22 kilometers southwest of Chicago, Illinois. Between 1943 and 1949 the site, named Plot M, was filled with radioactive waste from the first Argonne National Laboratory and from the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory. Since 1973, tritium concentration levels up to 14 nanocuries per liter have been measured in water samples collected from a well 360 meters from the burial site. The U.S. Geological Survey is studying the geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical properties of the glacial drift and underlying bedrock at the Plot M site to determine the factors that control the movement of radionuclides. Test wells were drilled into the drift to collect water and core samples for laboratory analysis, to gather geologic and hydrologic data, and to conduct geophysical surveys. Plot M is located in drift that ranges in thickness from 25 to 45 meters. The drift is a stratified sequence of clay- and silt-rich sediments that contain thin, interstratified sand layers. The silt content of the drift increases with depth. The permeability of the drift, as indicated by field and laboratory hydraulic conductivity tests, ranges from 1.0 x 10 -6 to 1.0 ? 10 -8 centimeters per second. A tritium plume, the contaminated zone in the drift in which tritium concentration levels exceed 10 nanocuries per liter of water, extends horizontally northward from Plot M at least 50 meters and vertically downward to bedrock. The center of the plume, where tritium concentration levels are as high as 50,000 nanocuries per liter, is approximately 15 meters beneath the burial site. The size, shape, and 'bull's-eye' concentration pattern indicate that the plume is a single slug and that the site no longer releases tritium into the drift. The leading edge, or front, of the plume (the 10 nanocuries per liter boundary) left the burial site in either the late 1940's or the early 1950's and intersected the underlying

Workplan/RCRA Facility Investigation/Remedial Investigation Report for the Old Radioactive Waste Burial Ground 643-E, S01-S22 - Volume I - Text and Volume II - Appendices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Conner, K.R.

This document presents the assessment of environmental impacts resulting from releases of hazardous substances from the facilities in the Old Radioactive Waste Burial Ground 643-E, including Solvent Tanks 650-01E to 650-22E, also referred to as Solvent Tanks at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.

Tribo-charging properties of waste plastic granules in process of tribo-electrostatic separation.

PubMed

Li, Jia; Wu, Guiqing; Xu, Zhenming

2015-01-01

Plastic products can be found everywhere in people's daily life. With the consistent growth of plastic consumption, more and more plastic waste is generated. Considering the stable chemical and physics characteristics of plastic, regular waste management methods are not suitable for recycling economic strategy of each government, which has become a serious environmental problem. Recycling plastic waste is considered to be the best way to treat it, because it cannot only deduce the waste but also save the energy to produce new virgin plastic. Tribo-electrostatic separation is strongly recommended for plastic separation as it can preserve the original properties of plastic and has little additional pollution. In this study, plastic granules are generated by crushing plastic waste in waste electric and electronic equipment. The tribo-charging properties of plastic waste were studied by vibrating tribo-charging and cyclone tribo-charging. The triboelectric series obtained by vibrating was: (-)-PE-PS-PC-PVC-ABS-PP-(+), while the triboelectric series obtained by cyclone was (-)-PE-PS-PC-PVC-ABS-PP-(+). Further, the cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. The impact factors experiments showed that small particle size was better changed than large ones and were more suitable recycled by tribo-electrostatic separation. High relative humidity was identified as impede charging effect. The results of this study will help defining the operating parameters of subsequent separator. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An exploration into municipal waste charges for environmental management at local level: The case of Spain.

PubMed

Puig-Ventosa, Ignasi; Sastre Sanz, Sergio

2017-11-01

Municipal waste charges have been widely acknowledged as a crucial tool for waste management at the local level. This is because they contribute to financing the costly provision of waste collection and treatment services and they can be designed to provide an economic stimulus to encourage citizens and local businesses to improve separate collection and recycling. This work presents a methodology to evaluate a sample of 125 municipal waste charges in Spain for the year 2015, covering 33.91% of the Spanish population. The qualitative benchmarking of municipal waste charges shows that flat fees are frequent, whereas variable fees are set according to criteria that are weakly related to waste generation. The average fee per household is €82.2 per year, which does not provide full cost recovery. The current configuration of municipal waste charges penalises taxpayers contributing to source separation of waste, while subsidising less environmentally friendly behaviours. In this sense, municipal waste charges in Spain are far from applying the polluter pays principle. Furthermore, it is argued that municipal waste charges are ineffective for promoting the proper application of the so-called 'waste hierarchy'.

Hydrologic and micrometeorologic data from an unsaturated zone study at a low-level radioactive waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, K.F.; McMahon, P.B.

1985-01-01

Two years of selected hydrologic and micrometeorologic data collected at a low-level radioactive waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina are available on magnetic tape in card-image format. Hydrologic data include daily measurements of soil-moisture tension, soil-moisture specific conductance, and soil temperature at four monitoring site locations. Micrometeorlogic data include hourly measurements for the following parameters: dry- and wet-bulb temperatures, soil temperatures, soil heat flux, wind speeds and direction, incoming and reflected short-wave solar radiation, incoming and emitted long-wave radiation, net radiation and precipitation. (USGS)

Radioactive Waste.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaylock, B. G.

1978-01-01

Presents a literature review of radioactive waste disposal, covering publications of 1976-77. Some of the studies included are: (1) high-level and long-lived wastes, and (2) release and burial of low-level wastes. A list of 42 references is also presented. (HM)

Characterization of the Hanford 300 area burial grounds. Task IV. Biological transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fitzner, R.E.; Gano, K.A.; Rickard, W.H.

The characteristics of radioactive waste burial sites at the 300 area burial grounds on the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, southeastern Washington were studied. The potential vectors of radionuclide transport studied were vegetation and animals. The overall results showed a low potential for uptake and transport of radionuclides from the 300 area sites. However, additional methods to control physical and biological mechanisms may contribute to the effectiveness of waste burial practices. From the results, the Biological Transport task recommended field studies which include reduction of soil erosion and addition of biobarriers to plants and animals. Vegetation plays a major rolemore » in reducing soil erosion, and thereby maintaining the backfill over the burial sites. Of the several species found on the 300 area sites, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) appears to be the most desirable as a cover. Besides retarding erosion, it has a shallow root system (does not easily penetrate buried material); it has a low affinity for radionuclide uptake; and its tissues are not easily blown away. Small mammals (specifically, mice) appear to have the most potential for radionuclide exposure and uptake. Small mammals were live-trapped within 10 x 10-meter trap grids. Each animal trapped was surgically implanted with a thermoluminescent dosimeter. When the animal was recaptured, the dosimeter was removed and read for exposure. Exposures were reported in milli-Roentgens. The most consistently trapped small mammals were the Great Basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Results from the dosimeter readings showed that some of those animals had higher than background exposures. Biobarriers to animals could be considered as a mechanism to reduce the potential for radionuclide transport.« less

20 CFR 416.1231 - Burial spaces and certain funds set aside for burial expenses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Burial spaces and certain funds set aside for burial expenses. 416.1231 Section 416.1231 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Resources and Exclusions § 416.1231 Burial...

An investigation into waste charges in Ireland, with emphasis on public acceptability.

PubMed

Dunne, Louise; Convery, Frank J; Gallagher, Louise

2008-12-01

There are 34 local authorities in Ireland with legal responsibility to deal with waste arising in their jurisdictions. In 2003 the National government introduced legislation that allows local authorities to recover the costs of waste collection and disposal, and to do so by 'executive function', i.e., not requiring support or agreement by the relevant local political representatives. The year 2005 was set as the date by which implementation of a pay by weight or volume was to be introduced. The local authorities were given autonomy as to how they addressed this challenge, so we have - in theory - 34 potentially different experiences from which to learn. This paper examines the pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) waste system in Ireland as it develops in line with EU and National demands, with a view to assessing economic and environmental efficiency. All local authorities were surveyed and thirteen responded. While this only represents about 38% of the total number, it includes jurisdictions that contribute in total more than 50% of waste arising. Key figures in the policy and business community were also interviewed in order to identify how the charging schemes were implemented, and to what effect. These insights and parallel investigations are used to review the potential for problems regarding public acceptability of environmental taxes and examine the evidence for economic and environmental efficiency, as well as problem areas, using data from each of the responding local authority jurisdictions. Concentrating on the incentives and drivers across households, municipalities and private waste contractors, the variations in charging system, annual charges and landfill charges are compared where information was available. The various jurisdictions are also examined in terms of relative successes and problems encountered in the transition from fixed charge or free waste collection to PAYT systems. The Irish situation is placed in the context of the international literature on

78 FR 76574 - Burial Benefits

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-18

...The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to clarify, reorganize, and rewrite in plain language its regulations that govern entitlement to monetary burial benefits, which include burial allowances for service-connected and non-service-connected deaths, a plot or interment allowance, and reimbursement of transportation expenses. The amendments would also establish rules to support VA's automated payment of burial allowances to surviving spouses, conversion to flat-rate burial and plot or interment allowances that are equal to the maximum benefit authorized by law, and priority of payment to non- spouse survivors.

Sediment Burial Intolerance of Marine Macroinvertebrates.

PubMed

Hendrick, Vicki J; Hutchison, Zoë L; Last, Kim S

2016-01-01

The marine environment contains suspended particulate matter which originates from natural and anthropogenic sources. Settlement of this material can leave benthic organisms susceptible to smothering, especially if burial is sudden i.e. following storms or activities such as dredging. Their survival will depend on their tolerance to, and their ability to escape from burial. Here we present data from a multi-factorial experiment measuring burial responses incorporating duration, sediment fraction and depth. Six macroinvertebrates commonly found in sediment rich environments were selected for their commercial and/or conservation importance. Assessments revealed that the brittle star (Ophiura ophiura), the queen scallop (Aequipecten opercularis) and the sea squirt (Ciona intestinalis) were all highly intolerant to burial whilst the green urchin (Psammichinus miliaris) and the anemone (Sagartiogeton laceratus), showed intermediate and low intolerance respectively, to burial. The least intolerant, with very high survival was the Ross worm (Sabellaria spinulosa). With the exception of C. intestinalis, increasing duration and depth of burial with finer sediment fractions resulted in increased mortality for all species assessed. For C. intestinalis depth of burial and sediment fraction were found to be inconsequential since there was complete mortality of all specimens buried for more than one day. When burial emergence was assessed O. ophiura emerged most frequently, followed by P. miliaris. The former emerged most frequently from the medium and fine sediments whereas P. miliaris emerged more frequently from coarse sediment. Both A. opercularis and S. laceratus showed similar emergence responses over time, with A. opercularis emerging more frequently under coarse sediments. The frequency of emergence of S. laceratus increased with progressively finer sediment and C. intestinalis did not emerge from burial irrespective of sediment fraction or depth. Finally, and perhaps

Modern deposition rates and patterns of organic carbon burial in Fiordland, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, Michael T.; Allison, Mead A.; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Cui, Xingqian; Savage, Candida; Schüller, Susanne E.; Smith, Richard W.; Vetter, Lael

2016-11-01

Fjords are disproportionately important for global organic carbon (OC) burial relative to their spatial extent and may be important in sequestering atmospheric CO2, providing a negative climate feedback. Within fjords, multiple locally variable delivery mechanisms control mineral sediment deposition, which in turn modulates OC burial. Sediment and OC sources in Fiordland, New Zealand, include terrigenous input at fjord heads, sediment reworking over fjord-mouth sills, and landslide events from steep fjord walls. Box cores were analyzed for sedimentary texture, sediment accumulation rate, and OC content to evaluate the relative importance of each delivery mechanism. Sediment accumulation was up to 3.4 mm/yr in proximal and distal fjord areas, with lower rates in medial reaches. X-radiograph and 210Pb stratigraphy indicate mass wasting and surface-sediment bioturbation throughout the fjords. Sediment accumulation rates are inversely correlated with %OC. Spatial heterogeneity in sediment depositional processes and rates is important when evaluating OC burial within fjords.

Organic carbon burial in global lakes and reservoirs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mendonça, Raquel; Müller, Roger A.; Clow, David W.; Verpoorter, Charles; Raymond, Peter; Tranvik, Lars; Sobek, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Burial in sediments removes organic carbon (OC) from the short-term biosphere-atmosphere carbon (C) cycle, and therefore prevents greenhouse gas production in natural systems. Although OC burial in lakes and reservoirs is faster than in the ocean, the magnitude of inland water OC burial is not well constrained. Here we generate the first global-scale and regionally resolved estimate of modern OC burial in lakes and reservoirs, deriving from a comprehensive compilation of literature data. We coupled statistical models to inland water area inventories to estimate a yearly OC burial of 0.15 (range, 0.06–0.25) Pg C, of which ~40% is stored in reservoirs. Relatively higher OC burial rates are predicted for warm and dry regions. While we report lower burial than previously estimated, lake and reservoir OC burial corresponded to ~20% of their C emissions, making them an important C sink that is likely to increase with eutrophication and river damming.

40 CFR 229.1 - Burial at sea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Burial at sea. 229.1 Section 229.1... Burial at sea. (a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to... location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the -following...

40 CFR 229.1 - Burial at sea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Burial at sea. 229.1 Section 229.1... Burial at sea. (a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to... location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the -following...

40 CFR 229.1 - Burial at sea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Burial at sea. 229.1 Section 229.1... Burial at sea. (a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to... location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the -following...

40 CFR 229.1 - Burial at sea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Burial at sea. 229.1 Section 229.1... Burial at sea. (a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to... location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the -following...

40 CFR 229.1 - Burial at sea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Burial at sea. 229.1 Section 229.1... Burial at sea. (a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to... location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the -following...

Urban Stream Burial Increases Watershed-Scale Nitrate Export.

PubMed

Beaulieu, Jake J; Golden, Heather E; Knightes, Christopher D; Mayer, Paul M; Kaushal, Sujay S; Pennino, Michael J; Arango, Clay P; Balz, David A; Elonen, Colleen M; Fritz, Ken M; Hill, Brian H

2015-01-01

Nitrogen (N) uptake in streams is an important ecosystem service that reduces nutrient loading to downstream ecosystems. Here we synthesize studies that investigated the effects of urban stream burial on N-uptake in two metropolitan areas and use simulation modeling to scale our measurements to the broader watershed scale. We report that nitrate travels on average 18 times farther downstream in buried than in open streams before being removed from the water column, indicating that burial substantially reduces N uptake in streams. Simulation modeling suggests that as burial expands throughout a river network, N uptake rates increase in the remaining open reaches which somewhat offsets reduced N uptake in buried reaches. This is particularly true at low levels of stream burial. At higher levels of stream burial, however, open reaches become rare and cumulative N uptake across all open reaches in the watershed rapidly declines. As a result, watershed-scale N export increases slowly at low levels of stream burial, after which increases in export become more pronounced. Stream burial in the lower, more urbanized portions of the watershed had a greater effect on N export than an equivalent amount of stream burial in the upper watershed. We suggest that stream daylighting (i.e., uncovering buried streams) can increase watershed-scale N retention.

Urban Stream Burial Increases Watershed-Scale Nitrate Export

PubMed Central

Beaulieu, Jake J.; Golden, Heather E.; Knightes, Christopher D.; Mayer, Paul M.; Kaushal, Sujay S.; Pennino, Michael J.; Arango, Clay P.; Balz, David A.; Elonen, Colleen M.; Fritz, Ken M.; Hill, Brian H.

2015-01-01

Nitrogen (N) uptake in streams is an important ecosystem service that reduces nutrient loading to downstream ecosystems. Here we synthesize studies that investigated the effects of urban stream burial on N-uptake in two metropolitan areas and use simulation modeling to scale our measurements to the broader watershed scale. We report that nitrate travels on average 18 times farther downstream in buried than in open streams before being removed from the water column, indicating that burial substantially reduces N uptake in streams. Simulation modeling suggests that as burial expands throughout a river network, N uptake rates increase in the remaining open reaches which somewhat offsets reduced N uptake in buried reaches. This is particularly true at low levels of stream burial. At higher levels of stream burial, however, open reaches become rare and cumulative N uptake across all open reaches in the watershed rapidly declines. As a result, watershed-scale N export increases slowly at low levels of stream burial, after which increases in export become more pronounced. Stream burial in the lower, more urbanized portions of the watershed had a greater effect on N export than an equivalent amount of stream burial in the upper watershed. We suggest that stream daylighting (i.e., uncovering buried streams) can increase watershed-scale N retention. PMID:26186731

Micromorphology of two prehistoric ritual burials from Yemen, and considerations on methodological aspects of sampling the burial matrix - work in progress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usai, Maria-Raimonda; Brothwell, Don; Buckley, Stephen; Ai-Thour, Kalid; Canti, Matthew

2010-05-01

Introduction In the central area of Yemen, two burial sites placed high in the crevices of vertical cliff face of Cretaceous sandstone (Tawilah Group) provided evidence of human remains and yielded burial soils. Radiocarbon dating indicated c.2500-2900 years BP for the burials. In other local comparable sites the deep horizontal crevices yielded Bronze Age human remains, in exceptional state of preservation Questions: What was the nature of the burial matrix? Are other human influences superimposed on the soils derived from it? Is it simply decomposed crevice rock, scraped together at the time of burial, or the result of a more complex burial practice? Such questions are also relevant to a variety of other burials of different periods and world regions. Methods Seven matrix samples from Cliff Burials (A) Talan (Layers 4,10,12,14,18,20 and 22, from top to bottom) and (B) Shiban Kawkaban (Layer 1 and 9) were analysed with micromorphology, supplemented by SEM microprobe, X-ray diffraction, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results Cliff Burial Site Talan. The presence of cholesterol was confirmed in the lower sample. The second layer contained darker earth with fibrous plant material. A hard calcareous upper capping contrasted with the other levels of matrix, and it displayed a highly birefingent material with a significant component of uric acid. The other levels had variable organic content and plant inclusions, and possibly pollen. In Layer 10, aromatic acids indicative of balsam and sugar markers suggested plant gum. Cholesterol was the major sterol in Layers 10 and 22, but whilst in Layer 10 its oxidation products were present and cholestanol was abundant as normally in soils, it was only a minor component of Layer 22 where, rather, a significant amount of coprostanol indicated faecal input, and cholesterol oxidation products were absent. Cliff Burial Site Shiban Kawkaban. Although no stratification was visible to the naked eye, variation was observed at a

Indien Personhood III: Water Burial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Jay

2005-01-01

Water burial is a way to return a body to its key primal element. It revives and transforms both the soul and the person. Sometimes water burial leads to a new life floating in a womb. Sometimes it disperses to provide a moist and nutrient-rich medium for a vast variety of other lives, making a contribution to the much larger whole. In this…

Identification and Tracing Groundwater Contamination by Livestock Burial Sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, K.; Ha, K.; Park, S.; Kim, Y.; Lee, K.

2011-12-01

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease is a severe plague for animal farming that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. Since it is highly infectious and can be easily proliferated by infected animals, contaminated equipments, vehicles, clothing, people, and predators. It is widely known that the virus responsible for FMD is a picornavirus, the prototypic member of the genus Aphthovirus. A serious outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, leading to the stamping out of 3.53 millions of pigs and cattle and the construction of 4,538 burial sites until 15th March, 2011. The build-up of carcass burial should inevitably produce leachate by the decomposition of buried livestock affecting the surround environment such as air, soil, groundwater, and surface water. The most important issues which are currently raised by scientists are groundwater contamination by leachate from the livestock burial sites. This study examined the current status of FMD outbreak occurred in 2010-2011 and the issues of groundwater contamination by leachate from livestock burial sites. The hydrogeochemical, geophysical, and hydrogeological studies were executed to identify and trace groundwater contamination by leachate from livestock burial sites. Generally livestock mortality leachate contains high concentrations of NH3-N, HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-, K+, Na+, P along with relative lesser amounts of iron, calcium, and magnesium. The groundwater chemical data around four burial sites showed high NH3-N, HCO3-, and K+ suggesting the leachate leakage from burial sites. This is also proved by resistivity monitoring survey and tracer tests. The simulation results of leachate dispersion showed the persistent detrimental impacts for groundwater environment for a long time (~50 years). It is need to remove the leachate of burial sites to prevent the dispersion of leachate from livestock burial to groundwater and to monitor the groundwater quality. The most important

The impact of sediment burial and erosion on seagrasses: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabaço, Susana; Santos, Rui; Duarte, Carlos M.

2008-09-01

The available information from experimental and descriptive studies on the effects of sediment burial and erosion on seagrasses was compiled to synthesize the information regarding the species-specific impacts and to relate them to plant characteristics. Burial thresholds (i.e. the burial levels causing 50% and 100% shoot mortality) and mortality-burial curves were estimated for the 15 seagrass species where the effects of experimental burial have been tested. All the species investigated reached 50% shoot mortality at burial levels ranging from 2 cm ( Halophila ovalis) to 19.5 cm ( Posidonia australis). P. australis was the most tolerant seagrass species to burial, while Thalassia testudinum was the most tolerant species to erosion. The relationships among plant size, growth, biomass and density with burial thresholds were examined. There were significant relationships between the burial thresholds and the shoot mass, the rhizome diameter, the aboveground biomass, the horizontal rhizome elongation and the leaf length of seagrass species. The leaf size and the rhizome diameter are the best predictors of the capacity of seagrasses to withstand burial. The burial thresholds estimated for seagrass species were in many cases in agreement with the burial impacts described by field observations (bioturbation), while in some cases was related to the species long-term colonization capacity (dune migration). Most human-induced impacts result in important changes of the sedimentary environment, with permanent negative effects on seagrass meadows (regression and complete destruction), whereas natural events, whether extreme (hurricane) or regular (dune migration), allow the recovery and/or adaptation of seagrasses to the burial/erosion sediment dynamics. The extent of the effects of burial and erosion on seagrasses is species-specific and strongly size-dependent.

Evaluation method of leachate leaking from carcass burial site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, S.; Kim, H.; Lee, M.; Lee, K.; Kim, S.; Kim, M.; Kim, H.; Kim, T.; Han, J.

2012-12-01

More than 150,000 cattle carcasses and 3,140,000 pig carcasses were buried all over the nation in Korea because of 2010 outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD). Various disposal Techniques such as incineration, composting, rendering, and burial have been developed and applied to effectively dispose an animal carcass. Since a large number of carcasses should be disposed for a short-term period to prevent the spread of FMD virus, most of the carcasses were disposed by mass burial technique. However, a long-term management and monitoring of leachate discharges are required because mass burial can cause soil and groundwater contamination. In this study, we used key parameters related to major components of leachate such as NH4-N, NO3-N, Cl-, E.coli and electrical conductivity as potential leachate contamination indicator to determine leachate leakage from the site. We monitored 300 monitoring wells in both burial site and the monitoring well 5m away from burial sites to identify leachate leaking from burial site. Average concentration of NH3-N in 300 monitoring wells, both burial site and the well 5m away from burial sites, were 2,593 mg/L and 733 mg/L, respectively. 24% out of 300 monitoring wells showed higher than 10 mg/L NH4-N, 100 mg/L Cl- and than 800 μS/cm electrical conductivity. From this study, we set up 4 steps guidelines to evaluate leachate leakage like; step 1 : High potential step of leachate leakage, step 2 : Middle potential step of leachate leakage, step 3 : Low potential step of leachate leakage, step 4 : No leachate leakage. On the basis of this result, we moved 34 leachate leaking burial sites to other places safely and it is necessary to monitor continuously the monitoring wells for environmental protection and human health.

Large increases in carbon burial in northern lakes during the Anthropocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heathcote, Adam J.; Anderson, N. John; Prairie, Yves T.; Engstrom, Daniel R.; Del Giorgio, Paul A.

2015-11-01

Northern forests are important ecosystems for carbon (C) cycling and lakes within them process and bury large amounts of organic-C. Current burial estimates are poorly constrained and may discount other shifts in organic-C burial driven by global change. Here we analyse a suite of northern lakes to determine trends in organic-C burial throughout the Anthropocene. We found burial rates increased significantly over the last century and are up to five times greater than previous estimates. Despite a correlation with temperature, warming alone did not explain the increase in burial, suggesting the importance of other drivers including atmospherically deposited reactive nitrogen. Upscaling mean lake burial rates for each time period to global northern forests yields up to 4.5 Pg C accumulated in the last 100 years--20% of the total burial over the Holocene. Our results indicate that lakes will become increasingly important for C burial under future global change scenarios.

Impact of Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme on work practices at construction sites in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yu, Ann T W; Poon, C S; Wong, Agnes; Yip, Robin; Jaillon, Lara

2013-01-01

Waste management in the building industry in Hong Kong has become an important environmental issue. Particularly, an increasing amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is being disposed at landfill sites. In order to reduce waste generation and encourage reuse and recycling, the Hong Kong Government has implemented the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme (CWDCS) to levy charges on C&D waste disposal to landfills. In order to provide information on the changes in reducing waste generation practice among construction participants in various work trades, a study was conducted after 3 years of implementation of the CWDCS via a structured questionnaire survey in the building industry in Hong Kong. The study result has revealed changes with work flows of the major trades as well as differentiating the levels of waste reduced. Three building projects in the public and private sectors were selected as case studies to demonstrate the changes in work flows and the reduction of waste achieved. The research findings reveal that a significant reduction of construction waste was achieved at the first 3 years (2006-2008) of CWDCS implementation. However, the reduction cannot be sustained. The major trades have been influenced to a certain extent by the implementation of the CWDCS. Slight improvement in waste management practices was observed, but reduction of construction waste in the wet-finishing and dry-finishing trades has undergone little improvement. Implementation of the CWDCS has not yet motivated subcontractors to change their methods of construction so as to reduce C&D waste. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transmutation prospect of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge electron beam from laser plasma accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X. L.; Xu, Z. Y.; Luo, W.; Lu, H. Y.; Zhu, Z. C.; Yan, X. Q.

2017-09-01

Photo-transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste induced by a high-charge relativistic electron beam (e-beam) from a laser plasma accelerator is demonstrated. A collimated relativistic e-beam with a high charge of approximately 100 nC is produced from high-intensity laser interaction with near-critical-density (NCD) plasma. Such e-beam impinges on a high-Z convertor and then radiates energetic bremsstrahlung photons with flux approaching 1011 per laser shot. Taking a long-lived radionuclide 126Sn as an example, the resulting transmutation reaction yield is the order of 109 per laser shot, which is two orders of magnitude higher than obtained from previous studies. It is found that at lower densities, a tightly focused laser irradiating relatively longer NCD plasmas can effectively enhance the transmutation efficiency. Furthermore, the photo-transmutation is generalized by considering mixed-nuclide waste samples, which suggests that the laser-accelerated high-charge e-beam could be an efficient tool to transmute long-lived nuclear waste.

Modern Deposition Rates and Patterns of Carbon Burial in Southern Fiordland, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, M. T.; Allison, M. A.; Vetter, L.; Cui, X.; Bianchi, T. S.; Smith, R. W.; Savage, C.; Schüller, S.

2016-02-01

Fjords have been recognized as a hotspot of organic carbon burial, as they accumulate a disproportionate quantity of organic carbon given their areal extent in comparison to other marine settings. However, organic carbon is buried in context with other biogenic and mineral sediments, so localized sedimentation processes play a critical role in determining rates of organic carbon burial. Therefore, it is important to assess the local sources and processes responsible for depositing inorganic sediment as a control on the burial of organic carbon. Here we evaluate three fjords in southern New Zealand that are not glaciated, with a sedimentary system that is dominantly controlled by terrigenous input at fjord heads, reworking of sediments over fjord-mouth sills, and landslide events from the steep fjord walls. Sediment cores were collected throughout the three southernmost fjord systems of Fiordland, New Zealand, and analyzed to determine sedimentary fabric, mass accumulation rates, and organic carbon content. Sediment mass accumulation rates from 210Pb geochronology range up to 500 mg/cm2/yr in proximal and distal areas of the fjords, with lower rates (below 200 mg/cm2/yr) in medial reaches, where terrestrial and marine sediment input is minimal. X-radiographs and 210Pb downcore activity trends show evidence of both mass wasting and surface-sediment bioturbation operating throughout the fjords. Percent organic carbon displays a negative correlation with mass accumulation rate and thickness of the sediment surface mixed layer. Rates of organic carbon accumulation ranged from 3.97 to 21.59 mg/cm2/yr, with a mean of 13.41 mg/cm2/yr. Organic carbon accumulation rates are dependent on the sediment accumulation rate and the percent organic carbon of the sediment. Our results highlight the importance of spatial variability in sedimentation processes and rates within fjords when evaluating organic carbon burial in these systems.

Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bedinger, Marion S.; Stevens, Peter R.

1990-01-01

In the United States, low-level radioactive waste is disposed by shallow-land burial. Low-level radioactive waste generated by non-Federal facilities has been buried at six commercially operated sites; low-level radioactive waste generated by Federal facilities has been buried at eight major and several minor Federally operated sites (fig. 1). Generally, low-level radioactive waste is somewhat imprecisely defined as waste that does not fit the definition of high-level radioactive waste and does not exceed 100 nCi/g in the concentration of transuranic elements. Most low-level radioactive waste generated by non-Federal facilities is generated at nuclear powerplants; the remainder is generated primarily at research laboratories, hospitals, industrial facilities, and universities. On the basis of half lives and concentrations of radionuclides in low-level radioactive waste, the hazard associated with burial of such waste generally lasts for about 500 years. Studies made at several of the commercially and Federally operated low-level radioactive-waste repository sites indicate that some of these sites have not provided containment of waste nor the expected protection of the environment.

Impact of Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme on work practices at construction sites in Hong Kong

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Ann T.W., E-mail: bsannyu@polyu.edu.hk; Poon, C.S.; Wong, Agnes

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A significant reduction of construction waste was achieved at the first 3 years of CWDCS implementation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer However, the reduction cannot be sustained. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Implementation of the CWDCS has generated positive effects in waste reduction by all main trades. - Abstract: Waste management in the building industry in Hong Kong has become an important environmental issue. Particularly, an increasing amount of construction and demolition (C and D) waste is being disposed at landfill sites. In order to reduce waste generation and encourage reuse and recycling, the Hong Kong Government has implemented the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme (CWDCS)more » to levy charges on C and D waste disposal to landfills. In order to provide information on the changes in reducing waste generation practice among construction participants in various work trades, a study was conducted after 3 years of implementation of the CWDCS via a structured questionnaire survey in the building industry in Hong Kong. The study result has revealed changes with work flows of the major trades as well as differentiating the levels of waste reduced. Three building projects in the public and private sectors were selected as case studies to demonstrate the changes in work flows and the reduction of waste achieved. The research findings reveal that a significant reduction of construction waste was achieved at the first 3 years (2006-2008) of CWDCS implementation. However, the reduction cannot be sustained. The major trades have been influenced to a certain extent by the implementation of the CWDCS. Slight improvement in waste management practices was observed, but reduction of construction waste in the wet-finishing and dry-finishing trades has undergone little improvement. Implementation of the CWDCS has not yet motivated subcontractors to change their methods of construction so as to reduce C and D waste.« less

Relationship between plant traits and resistance to burial by marly sediment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burylo, M.; Rey, F.; Dutoit, T.

2009-04-01

In marly lands of the French Southern Alps, harsh soil erosion results in sediment movements during intensive rainfall events. Plants can be submitted to sediment burial in their early stages of development and their protective function may be reduced. In a context of land restoration, it is important to know species resistance to environmental disturbances and to be able to predict it, in particular from plant traits (height, biomass, sugar and starch accumulation). However, few studies about woody species tolerance to burial by sediment have been carried out. Seedlings of five woody species were buried in marly sediment at three different depths in pot experiment during eight weeks: no burial (control), partial burial (50% stem height) and complete burial (100% stem height). Height through time, biomass and survival rates were measured to assess species resistance to burial. Results show that among the five species, only one (Acer campestre) survived complete burial. All plants survived partial burial, but there were significant differences in height and biomass between buried plants and control, and significant differences between species responses. Three different responses to disturbance were identified: negative (Hippophae rhamnoides, Ononis fruticosa), neutral (Robinia pseudo acacia, Pinus nigra) and positive (Acer campestre). Results finally suggest that species resistance to burial by marly sediment is related to sugar accumulation in plant stems.

Criticality assessment of TRU burial ground culverts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winn, W.G.

1990-09-26

An effort to assess the criticality risks of {sup 239}Pu in TRU Burial Ground Culverts has been underway for several years. The concern arose from discrepancies in two types of monitors that have been used to assay the {sup 239}Pu waste prior to storage in 55-gallon drums that are placed in the culverts. One type is the solid waste monitor (SWM), which is based on gamma-ray measurements; the other is the neutron coincidence monitor, which is based on neutron measurements. The NCC was put into routine service after 1985 and has generally yielded higher 239 Pu assays than the SWM.more » Culverts with pre-1986 waste only had SWM assays of {sup 239}Pu; thus, it was questioned whether their actual {sup 239}Pu loadings could be high enough to pose criticality concerns. Studies to characterize the culvert criticality potential have included appraisal of NCC vs SWM, neutron measurements atop the culverts, gamma-ray measurements atop the culverts, and probabilistic risk analyses. Overall, these studies have implied that the culverts are critically safe; however, their results have not been examined collectively. The present report uses the collective information of the preceding studies to arrive at a more complete assessment of the culvert criticality aspects. A conservative k{sub eff} is estimated for an individual suspicious culvert and a PRA is evaluated for its {open_quotes}worst{close_quotes} drum. These two pieces of information form the basis of the appraisal, but other evidence is also included as support.« less

New Mexicans debate nuclear waste disposal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lepkowski, W.

1979-01-01

A brief survey of the background of the Waste Isolation Plant (WIPP) at Carlsbad, New Mexico and the forces at play around WIPP is presented. DOE has plans to establish by 1988 an underground repository for nuclear wastes in the salt formations near Carlsbad. Views of New Mexicans, both pro and con, are reviewed. It is concluded that DOE will have to practice public persuasion to receive approval for the burial of wastes in New Mexico.

URBAN STREAM BURIAL INCREASES WATERSHED-SCALE NITRATE EXPORT

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) uptake in streams is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of streams in stormwater pipes in urban watersheds. We predicted that stream burial reduces the capacity of streams to remove nitrate (NO3-) from the water column by in...

Superfund record of decision (EPA region 10): Idaho National Engineering Lab, (USDOE) Operable Unit 26 (Stationary Low-Power Reactor-1 and Boiling Water Reactor Experiment-I Burial Grounds), Idaho Falls, ID, December 1, 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-03-01

This document presents the selected remedial action for the Stationary Low-Power Reactor-1 (SL-1) burial ground, the Boiling Water Reactor Experiment-I (BORAX-I) burial ground, and 10 no action sites in Waste Area Group 5. Actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from the SL-1 and BORAX-I burial grounds, if not addressed by implementing the response action selected in this Record of Decision, may present a current or potential threat to public health, welfare, or the environment. The 10 no action sites do not present a threat to human health or the environment.

Effects of sediment burial on tropical ruderal seagrasses are moderated by clonal integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ooi, Jillian Lean Sim; Kendrick, Gary A.; Van Niel, Kimberly P.

2011-12-01

Seagrasses are clonal plants that grow submerged in dynamic sedimentary environments where burial is a common occurrence. Clonal organisms may respond to burial in very different ways depending on how strongly integrated they are through horizontal rhizomes, but the effect of clonal integration under conditions of stress such as burial is poorly studied for seagrasses. We test the effect of burial on tropical seagrasses that occur in multispecific meadows by subjecting plants in mixed stands to burial of 0, 2, 4, 8 and 16 cm for 27 days. Treatments were divided into those where rhizomes were severed and those where rhizomes were left intact. We hypothesize that species withstand burial better if clonal integration is maintained (intact rhizomes). Results showed that all species tolerated burial of up to 4 cm without adverse effects but significant reductions in shoot density and biomass become evident at 8 cm of burial. Furthermore, Cymodocea serrulata and Syringodium isoetifolium were strong integrators, i.e. they provide support for buried shoots, whereas Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis were weak integrators that did not show evidence of subsidizing buried shoots. Vertical elongation was observed for C. serrulata and H. uninervis as a response to burial only when rhizomes were severed, leading us to speculate on whether species rely on vertical elongation as an escape strategy only in the absence of resource translocation. Our distinction between the responses of treatments with intact rhizomes from those with severed rhizomes may be extended to an interpretation of burial scale (intact rhizomes=broad spatial-scale burial; severed rhizomes=fine spatial-scale burial). We concluded that broad spatial-scale burial exceeding 4 cm leads to rapid loss or reduction of all species. However, fine spatial-scale burial exceeding 4 cm, such as those caused by shrimp mounds (bioturbation), is expected to favor C. serrulata and S. isoetifolium, while H. ovalis and H

Experimental assessment of critical anthropogenic sediment burial in eelgrass Zostera marina.

PubMed

Munkes, Britta; Schubert, Philipp R; Karez, Rolf; Reusch, Thorsten B H

2015-11-15

Seagrass meadows, one of the world's most important and productive coastal habitats, are threatened by a range of anthropogenic actions. Burial of seagrass plants due to coastal activities is one important anthropogenic pressure leading to the decline of local populations. In our study, we assessed the response of eelgrass Zostera marina to sediment burial from physiological, morphological, and population parameters. In a full factorial field experiment, burial level (5-20cm) and burial duration (4-16weeks) were manipulated. Negative effects were visible even at the lowest burial level (5cm) and shortest duration (4weeks), with increasing effects over time and burial level. Buried seagrasses showed higher shoot mortality, delayed growth and flowering and lower carbohydrate storage. The observed effects will likely have an impact on next year's survival of buried plants. Our results have implications for the management of this important coastal plant. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Chemical Indicators of Groundwater Contamination Near the Carcass Burial Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H.; Choi, J.; Kim, M.; Choi, J.; Lee, M.; Lee, H.; Jeon, S.; Bang, S.; Noh, H.; Yoo, J.; Park, S.; Kim, H.; Kim, D.; Lee, Y.; Han, J.

2011-12-01

A serious outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza (AI) led to the culling of millions of livestock in South Korea from late 2010 to earlier 2011. Because of the scale of FMD and AI epidemic in Korea and rapid spread of the diseases, mass burial for the disposal of carcass was conducted to halt the outbreak. The improper construction of the burial site or inappropriate management of the carcass burial facility can cause the contamination of groundwater mainly due to the discharges of leachate through the base of disposal pit. The leachate from carcass burial contains by products of carcass decay such as amino acids, nitrate, ammonia and chloride. The presence of these chemical components in groundwater can be used as indicators demonstrating contamination of groundwater with leachate from carcass. The major concern about using these chemical indicators is that other sources including manures, fertilizers and waste waters from human or animal activities already exist in farming area. However, we lack the understanding of how groundwater contamination due to mass burial of carcass can be differentiated from the contamination due to livestock manures which shows similar chemical characteristics. The chemical compositions of the leachate from carcass burial site and the wastewater from livestock manure treatment facilities were compared. The chemical compositions considered include total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate, organic nitrogen (Organic nitrogen =TN-Ammonium Nitrogen- Nitrate nitrogen), ammonia, chloride, sodium, potassium and amino acids (20 analytes). The ratios of concentrations of the chemical compositions as indicators of contamination were determined to distinguish the sources of contamination in groundwater. Indicators which showed a linear relationship between two factors and revealed a distinct difference between the carcass leachate and livestock manure were chosen. In addition, the background level of the

Sediment burial stimulates the growth and propagule production of Spartina alterniflora Loisel.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zifa; An, Shuqing; Zhao, Congjiao; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Changfang; Zhi, Yingbiao; Li, Hongli

2008-03-01

Spartina alterniflora Loisel., an extensively invasive species on the Chinese coast, is a focus of increasing management concern due to its high expansion rate in estuaries and tidal zone, and the significant damage it causes to native ecosystems. In order to understand the processes and mechanisms of invasion of S. alterniflora in China, the impact of three sediment types (sand, sand-loam mixture and loam) and five buried patterns (unburied, 50% burial of initial plant height, 75% burial of initial plant height, complete burial and repeated burial) on the growth of seedlings or ramets was investigated. Results showed that each of the three factors (sediment types, burial pattern and plant materials) and interactions between/among them, significantly affected height and clonal growth, and biomass accumulation and allocation. Plant height, total biomass and number of new vegetative propagules significantly increased with progressive burial treatments. However, the complete burial treatment resulted in the death of all plant materials, and the maximum values of three parameters were found in the 50% burial or repeated burial treatments. Plant responses were determined by the instantaneous thickness of sediment of each time burial rather than by the total quantity of repeated burial. The growth of S. alterniflora was not shown to be dependent on specific types of sediment in sedimentation environment. In contrast to the unburied control, the proportion of primary tillers produced directly from initial individuals and the ratio between the aboveground and belowground biomass were greater under burial treatments. Seedlings produced more new vegetative propagules than vegetative offspring in all experimental treatments, and the former were apt to produce ramets from rhizomes rather than primary tillers. It is concluded that under various sedimentation environments, the clonal spread efficiency of seedlings was higher than that of vegetative offspring, and there is a

Sulfate burial constraints on the Phanerozoic sulfur cycle.

PubMed

Halevy, Itay; Peters, Shanan E; Fischer, Woodward W

2012-07-20

The sulfur cycle influences the respiration of sedimentary organic matter, the oxidation state of the atmosphere and oceans, and the composition of seawater. However, the factors governing the major sulfur fluxes between seawater and sedimentary reservoirs remain incompletely understood. Using macrostratigraphic data, we quantified sulfate evaporite burial fluxes through Phanerozoic time. Approximately half of the modern riverine sulfate flux comes from weathering of recently deposited evaporites. Rates of sulfate burial are unsteady and linked to changes in the area of marine environments suitable for evaporite formation and preservation. By contrast, rates of pyrite burial and weathering are higher, less variable, and largely balanced, highlighting a greater role of the sulfur cycle in regulating atmospheric oxygen.

Problems in shallow land disposal of solid low-level radioactive waste in the united states

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, P.R.; DeBuchananne, G.D.

1976-01-01

Disposal of solid low-level wastes containing radionuclides by burial in shallow trenches was initiated during World War II at several sites as a method of protecting personnel from radiation and isolating the radionuclides from the hydrosphere and biosphere. Today, there are 11 principal shallow-land burial sites in the United States that contain a total of more than 1.4 million cubic meters of solid wastes contaminated with a wide variety of radionuclides. Criteria for burial sites have been few and generalized and have contained only minimal hydrogeologic considerations. Waste-management practices have included the burial of small quantities of long-lived radionuclides with large volumes of wastes contaminated with shorter-lived nuclides at the same site, thereby requiring an assurance of extremely long-time containment for the entire disposal site. Studies at 4 of the 11 sites have documented the migration of radionuclides. Other sites are being studied for evidence of containment failure. Conditions at the 4 sites are summarized. In each documented instance of containment failure, ground water has probably been the medium of transport. Migrating radionuclides that have been identified include90Sr,137Cs,106Ru,239Pu,125Sb,60Co, and3H. Shallow land burial of solid wastes containing radionuclides can be a viable practice only if a specific site satisfies adequate hydrogeologic criteria. Suggested hydrogeologic criteria and the types of hydrogeologic data necessary for an adequate evaluation of proposed burial sites are given. It is mandatory that a concomitant inventory and classification be made of the longevity, and the physical and chemical form of the waste nuclides to be buried, in order that the anticipated waste types can be matched to the containment capability of the proposed sites. Ongoing field investigations at existing sites will provide data needed to improve containment at these sites and help develop hydrogeologic criteria for new sites. These

Multibeam observations of mine burial near Clearwater, FL, including comparisons to predictions of wave-induced burial

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wolfson, M.L.; Naar, D.F.; Howd, P.A.; Locker, S.D.; Donahue, B.T.; Friedrichs, Carl T.; Trembanis, A.C.; Richardson, M.D.; Wever, T.F.

2007-01-01

A Kongsberg Simrad EM 3000 multibeam sonar (Kongsberg Simrad, Kongsberg, Norway) was used to conduct a set of six repeat high-resolution bathymetric surveys west of Indian Rocks Beach (IRB), just to the south of Clearwater, FL, between January and March 2003, to observe in situ scour and burial of instrumented inert mines and mine-like cylinders. Three closely located study sites were chosen: two fine-sand sites, a shallow one located in ??? 13 m of water depth and a deep site located in ???14 m of water depth; and a coarse-sand site in ???13 m. Results from these surveys indicate that mines deployed in fine sand are nearly buried within two months of deployment (i.e., they sunk 74.5% or more below the ambient seafloor depth). Mines deployed in coarse sand showed a lesser amount of scour, burying until they present roughly the same hydrodynamic roughness as the surrounding rippled bedforms. These data were also used to test the validity of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS, Gloucester Point, VA) 2-D burial model. The model worked well in areas of fine sand, sufficiently predicting burial over the course of the experiment. In the area of coarse sand, the model greatly overpredicted the amount of burial. This is believed to be due to the presence of rippled bedforms around the mines, which affect local bottom morphodynamics and are not accounted for in the model, an issue currently being addressed by the modelers. This paper focuses specifically on two instrumented mines: an acoustic mine located in fine sand and an optical instrumented mine located in coarse sand. ?? 2007 IEEE.

38 CFR - § 3.1705 Burial allowance based on non-service-connected death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false § 3.1705 Burial allowance based on non-service-connected death. Section Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ADJUDICATION Burial Benefits Burial Benefits: Allowances & Expenses Paid by Va A08se3. § 3.1705 Burial allowance based on...

Evidence supporting an intentional Neandertal burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints.

PubMed

Rendu, William; Beauval, Cédric; Crevecoeur, Isabelle; Bayle, Priscilla; Balzeau, Antoine; Bismuth, Thierry; Bourguignon, Laurence; Delfour, Géraldine; Faivre, Jean-Philippe; Lacrampe-Cuyaubère, François; Tavormina, Carlotta; Todisco, Dominique; Turq, Alain; Maureille, Bruno

2014-01-07

The bouffia Bonneval at La Chapelle-aux-Saints is well known for the discovery of the first secure Neandertal burial in the early 20th century. However, the intentionality of the burial remains an issue of some debate. Here, we present the results of a 12-y fieldwork project, along with a taphonomic analysis of the human remains, designed to assess the funerary context of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal. We have established the anthropogenic nature of the burial pit and underlined the taphonomic evidence of a rapid burial of the body. These multiple lines of evidence support the hypothesis of an intentional burial. Finally, the discovery of skeletal elements belonging to the original La Chapelle aux Saints 1 individual, two additional young individuals, and a second adult in the bouffia Bonneval highlights a more complex site-formation history than previously proposed.

Organic carbon burial in fjords: Terrestrial versus marine inputs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Xingqian; Bianchi, Thomas S.; Savage, Candida; Smith, Richard W.

2016-10-01

Fjords have been identified as sites of enhanced organic carbon (OC) burial and may play an important role in regulating climate change on glacial-interglacial timescales. Understanding sediment processes and sources of sedimentary OC are necessary to better constrain OC burial in fjords. In this study, we use Fiordland, New Zealand, as a case study and present data on surface sediments, sediment down-cores and terrestrial end-members to examine dynamics of sediments and the sources of OC in fjord sediments. Sediment cores showed evidence of multiple particle sources, frequent bioturbation and mass-wasting events. A multi-proxy approach (stable isotopes, lignin-phenols and fatty acids) allowed for separation of marine, soil and vascular plant OC in surface sediments. The relationship between mass accumulation rate (MAR) and OC contents in fjord surface sediments suggested that mineral dilution is important in controlling OC content on a global scale, but is less important for specific regions (e.g., New Zealand). The inconsistency of OC budgets calculated by using MAR weighted %OC and OC accumulation rates (AR; 6 vs 21-31 Tg OC yr-1) suggested that sediment flux in fjords was likely underestimated. By using end-member models, we propose that 55% to 62% of total OC buried in fjords is terrestrially derived, and accounts for 17 ± 12% of the OCterr buried in all marine sediments. The strong correlation between MAR and OC AR indicated that OC flux will likely decrease in fjords in the future with global warming due to decrease in sediment flux caused by glacier denudation.

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the INL Waste Associated with the Unirradiated Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shott, Gregory

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Waste Associated with the Unirradiated Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) waste stream (INEL167203QR1, Revision 0) is suitable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Disposal of the INL Waste Associated with the Unirradiated LWBR waste meets all U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” Chapter IV, Section P performance objectives (DOE 1999). The INL Waste Associated with the Unirradiated LWBR waste stream is recommended for acceptance with the conditionmore » that the total uranium-233 ( 233U) inventory be limited to 2.7E13 Bq (7.2E2 Ci).« less

Water movement in the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, K.F.; McMahon, P.B.

1987-01-01

Four unsaturated zone monitoring sites and a meteorologic station were installed at the low level radioactive waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina, to investigate the geohydrologic and climatologic factors affecting water movement in the unsaturated zone. The study site is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The unsaturated zone consists of a few centimeters to > 1 m of surface sand, underlain by up to 15 m of clayey sand. Two monitoring sites were installed in experimental trenches and two were installed in radioactive waste trenches. Two different trench designs were evaluated at the monitoring sites. A meteorologic station was used to measure precipitation and to calculate actual evapotranspiration using the Bowen ratio method. Soil-moisture tensiometers, soil-moisture conductance probes, and temperature sensors were used to monitor soil-water movement in and adjacent to the trenches. Tracer tests using sodium chloride were conducted at each monitoring site. Data collection at the monitoring sites began in January 1982 and continued until early May 1984. Tensiometer data show that the unsaturated materials had their highest percent saturations in the winter and spring. Saturations in the backfill sand varied from 20 to 100%. They varied from about 75 to 100% in the adjacent undisturbed and overlying compacted clayey sand. Additionally, because tensiometer data indicate negligible water storage changes in the unsaturated zone, it is estimated that approximately 43 cm of recharge reached the water table. During 1984, the rise and fall of ponded water in an experimental trench was continuously monitored with a digital recorder. A cross-sectional finite element model of variably saturated flow was used to test the conceptual model of water movement in the unsaturated zone and to illustrate the effect of trench design on water movement into the experimental trenches. Monitoring and model results show that precipitation on trenches infiltrated the trench

Reclamation of landfills and dumps of municipal solid waste in a energy efficient waste management system: methodology and practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlova, Tatyana; Melnichuk, Aleksandr; Klimenko, Kseniya; Vitvitskaya, Valentina; Popovych, Valentina; Dunaieva, Ielizaveta; Terleev, Vitaly; Nikonorov, Aleksandr; Togo, Issa; Volkova, Yulia; Mirschel, Wilfried; Garmanov, Vitaly

2017-10-01

The article considers the methodological and practical aspects of reclamation of landfills and dumps of municipal solid waste in a waste management system. The general tendencies of system development in the context of elements of the international concept of waste hierarchy are analyzed. Statistics of the formation and burial of domestic waste indicate a strategic non-alternative to the rejection of landfill technologies in favor of environmentally, energy efficient and economically expedient ways of utilization of municipal waste as a world trend. Practical approaches to the study of territories on which there are dumps and landfills are considered to justify the design solutions for reclamation.

Effects of urban stream burial on nitrogen uptake and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Urbanization has resulted in extensive burial and channelization of headwater streams, yet little is known about impacts on stream ecosystem functions critical for reducing downstream nitrogen pollution. To characterize the biogeochemical impact of stream burial, we measured NO3- uptake, using 15N-NO3- isotope tracer releases, and whole stream metabolism, during four seasons in three paired buried and open streams reaches within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study Long-term Ecological Research Network. Stream burial increased NO3- uptake lengths, by a factor of 7.5 (p < 0.01) and decreased nitrate uptake velocity and areal nitrate uptake rate by factors of 8.2 (p = 0.01) and 9.6 (p < 0.001), respectively. Stream burial decreased gross primary productivity by a factor of 9.2 (p < 0.05) and decreased ecosystem respiration by a factor of 4.2 (p = 0.06). From statistical analysis of Excitation Emissions Matrices (EEMs), buried streams were also found to have significantly less labile dissolved organic matter. Furthermore, buried streams had significantly lower transient storage and water temperatures. Overall, differences in NO3- uptake and metabolism were primarily explained by decreased transient storage and light availability in buried streams. We estimate that stream burial increases daily watershed nitrate export by as much as 500% due to decreased in-stream retention and may considerably decrease carbon export via decreased primary production. These results

Underwater Munitions Expert System to Predict Mobility and Burial

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-14

exposure and aggregation for underwater munitions. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Underwater Munitions, Mobility, Burial, Application Programmer Interface...Munitions Expert System: Demonstration and Evaluation Report Acronyms API – Application Programmer Interface APL – Applied Physics...comparisons and traditional metrics such as the coefficient of correlation. The summary statistic for the comparisons of burial results

U-Th Burial Dates on Ostrich Eggshell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharp, W. D.; Fylstra, N. D.; Tryon, C. A.; Faith, J. T.; Peppe, D. J.

2015-12-01

Obtaining precise and accurate dates at archaeological sites beyond the range of radiocarbon dating is challenging but essential for understanding human origins. Eggshells of ratites (large flightless birds including ostrich, emu and others) are common in many archaeological sequences in Africa, Australia and elsewhere. Ancient eggshells are geochemically suitable for the U-Th technique (1), which has about ten times the range of radiocarbon dating (>500 rather than 50 ka), making eggshells attractive dating targets. Moreover, C and N isotopic studies of eggshell provide insights into paleovegetation and paleoprecipitation central to assessing past human-environment interactions (2,3). But until now, U-Th dates on ratite eggshell have not accounted for the secondary origin of essentially all of their U. We report a novel approach to U-Th dating of eggshell that explicitly accounts for secondary U uptake that begins with burial. Using ostrich eggshell (OES) from Pleistocene-Holocene east African sites, we have measured U and 232Th concentration profiles across OES by laser ablation ICP-MS. U commonly peaks at 10s to 100s of ppb and varies 10-fold or more across the ~2 mm thickness of OES, with gradients modulated by the layered structure of the eggshell. Common Th is high near the shell surfaces, but low in the middle "pallisade" layer of OES, making it optimal for U-Th dating. We determine U-Th ages along the U concentration gradient by solution ICP-MS analyses of two or more fractions of the pallisade layer. We then estimate OES burial dates using a simple model for diffusive uptake of uranium. Comparing such "U-Th burial dates" with radiocarbon dates for OES calcite from the same shells, we find good agreement in 7 out of 9 cases, consistent with rapid burial and confirming the accuracy of the approach. The remaining 2 eggshells have anomalous patterns of apparent ages that reveal they are unsuitable for U-Th dating, thereby providing reliability criteria innate

Prediction and observation of munitions burial in energetic storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klammler, Harald; Sheremet, Alexandru; Calantoni, Joseph

2017-04-01

The fate of munitions or unexploded ordnance (UXO) resting on a submarine sediment bed is a critical safety concern. Munitions may be transported in uncontrolled ways to create potentially dangerous situations at places like beaches or ports. Alternatively, they may remain in place or completely disappear for significant but unknown periods, after becoming buried in the sediment bed. Clearly, burial of munitions drastically complicates the detection and removal of potential threats. Here, we present field data of wave height and (surrogate) munitions burial depths near the 8-m isobath at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Field Research Facility, Duck, North Carolina, observed between January and March 2015. The experiment captured a remarkable sequence of storms that included at least 10 events, of which 6 were characterized by wave fields of significant heights exceeding 2 m and with peak periods of approximately 10 s. During the strongest storm, waves of 14 s period and heights exceeding 2 m were recorded for more than 3 days; significant wave height reached 5 m at the peak of activity. At the end of the experiment, divers measured munition burial depths of up to 60 cm below the seabed level. However, the local bathymetry showed less than 5 cm variation between the before and after-storm states, suggesting the local net sediment accumulation / loss was negligible. The lack of bathymetric variability excludes the possibility of burial by a migrating bed form or by sediment deposition, and strongly indicates that the munitions sank into the bed. The depth of burial also suggest an extreme state of sand agitation during the storm. For predicting munitions burial depths, we explore existing analytical solutions for the dynamic interaction between waves and sediment. Measured time series of wave pressure near the sediment bed were converted into wave-induced changes in pore pressures and the effective stress states of the sediment. Different sediment failure criteria

Hanford solid-waste handling facility strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albaugh, J. F.

1982-05-01

Prior to 1970, transuranic (TRU) solid waste was disposed of at Hanford by shallow land burial. Since 1970, TRU solid waste has been stored in near surface trenches designed to facilitate retrieval after twenty year storage period. Current strategy calls for final disposal in a geologic repository. Funding permitting, in 1983, certification of newly generated TRU waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) criteria for geologic disposal will be initiated. Certified and uncertified waste will continue to be stored at Hanford in retrievable storage until a firm schedule for shipment to WIPP is developed. Previously stored wastes retrieved for geologic disposal and newly generated uncertified waste requires processing to assure compliance with disposal criteria. A facility to perform this function is being developed. A study to determine the requirements of this Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) Facility is currently being conducted.

20 CFR 416.1231 - Burial spaces and certain funds set aside for burial expenses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... children and step-children; an individual's brothers, sisters, parents, adoptive parents, and the spouses... are set aside for the burial arrangements of the eligible child's ineligible parent or parent's spouse... separation; i.e., a circumstance beyond an individual's control which makes conversion/separation impossible...

NEUTRONIC REACTOR BURIAL ASSEMBLY

DOEpatents

Treshow, M.

1961-05-01

A burial assembly is shown whereby an entire reactor core may be encased with lead shielding, withdrawn from the reactor site and buried. This is made possible by a five-piece interlocking arrangement that may be easily put together by remote control with no aligning of bolt holes or other such close adjustments being necessary.

Biosecurity procedures for the environmental management of carcasses burial sites in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Geon-Ha; Pramanik, Sudipta

2016-12-01

Avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease are two main contagious pathogenic viral disease which are responsible for the massive burials of livestock in Korea since burial is the primary measure to control these outbreaks. Biosecurity is a set of preventive measures designed to prevent the risk of spreading of these infectious diseases. The main objective of this paper is to discuss about the requirements of biosecurity and develop protocol outlines for environmental management of burial sites in Korea. Current practice prescribes to minimize the potential for on-farm pollution and the spread of the infectious diseases. Specific biosecurity procedures such as proper assessment of leachate quality, safe handling and disposal of leachate, adequate leachate pollution monitoring, necessary seasonal management of burial site, and appropriate sterilization process must be carried out to prevent the indirect transmission of pathogens from the burial sites. Policy makers should acquire robust knowledge of biosecurity for establishing more effective future legislation for carcasses disposal in Korea.

Burial Duration and Frequency Influences Resilience of Differing Propagule Types in a Subtidal Seagrass, Posidonia australis

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Sedimentation that leads to periodic, and often prolonged, burial events is becoming more common on the world’s coastlines as human populations expand and create urbanised marine environments. Different seagrass species react differently to sediment burial but many species in the southern hemisphere are yet to be examined. How seagrasses react to burial has restoration implications. There is a need to critically assess seagrass transplant propagule responses to periodic (pulse) and prolonged (press) burial events before selecting the most appropriate species, transplant propagule, and transplant site. In my study, mesocosm experiments, coupled with field measurements were used to assess how sexual (seedlings) and vegetative (sprigs) propagules of Posidonia australis responded to pulse and press burial events. Seedlings were highly susceptible to burial (both pulse and press), with no survival at the end of the experimental period. In contrast, rhizome growth in vegetative propagules was stimulated by pulse burial, although press burial events resulted in mortality. The implication for Posidonia australis restoration efforts in areas where burial is periodic, was that vegetative propagules are optimal transplant units, in comparison to seedlings. Press burial however, renders a transplant site sub-optimal for both seedling and sprig transplants. PMID:27526020

Organic Carbon Burial in Brazilian Mangrove Sediments (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, C.; Smoak, J. M.; Sanders, L.; Patchineelam, S.

2010-12-01

This study reviews the organic carbon (OC) burial rates in mangrove forests, margins and mud flats in geographically distinct areas of the Brazilian coastline. We exam the burial rates, taking into account the geomorphology of each region. Our initial results indicate that the Northeastern region of Brazil is sequestering significantly more OC than in the Southeastern areas, being that the mass sediment accumulation rates remained consistent within the forests as opposed to large variations found in the mudflats. The other pertinent factor was OC content, which differed substantially in respect to region. Given that the mangrove forests of the Southeastern regions of Brazil may be more susceptible to a rising sea level, as these areas are constricted by vast mountain ranges, this work attempts to put in perspective the possible impacts of climate change on mangrove ecosystems and OC burial along the Brazilian coastal ocean. We also compare our result to global averages.

Munition Burial by Local Scour and Sandwaves: large-scale laboratory experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, M. H.

2017-12-01

Our effort has been the direct observation and monitoring of the burial process of munitions induced by the combined action of waves, currents and pure oscillatory flows. The experimental conditions have made it possible to observe the burial process due to both local scour around model munitions as well as the passage of sandwaves. One experimental facility is the Large Oscillating Water Sediment Tunnel (LOWST) constructed with DURIP support. LOWST can reproduce field-like conditions near the sea bed. The second facility is a multipurpose wave-current flume which is 4 feet (1.20 m) deep, 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, and 161 feet (49.2 m) long. More than two hundred experiments were carried out in the wave-current flume. The main task completed within this effort has been the characterization of the burial process induced by local scour as well in the presence of dynamic sandwaves with superimposed ripples. It is found that the burial of a finite-length model munition (cylinder) is determined by local scour around the cylinder and by a more global process associated with the formation and evolution of sandwaves having superimposed ripples on them. Depending on the ratio of the amplitude of these features and the body's diameter (D), a model munition can progressively get partially or totally buried as such bedforms migrate. Analysis of the experimental data indicates that existing semi-empirical formulae for prediction of equilibrium-burial-depth, geometry of the scour hole around a cylinder, and time-scales developed for pipelines are not suitable for the case of a cylinder of finite length. Relative burial depth (Bd / D) is found to be mainly a function of two parameters. One is the Keulegan-Carpenter number, KC, and the Shields parameter, θ. Munition burial under either waves or combined flow, is influenced by two different processes. One is related to the local scour around the object, which takes place within the first few hundred minutes of flow action (i.e. short

Vertical Extraction Process Implemented at the 118-K-1 Burial Ground for Removal of Irradiated Reactor Debris from Silo Structures - 12431

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teachout, Douglas B.; Adamson, Clinton J.; Zacharias, Ames

2012-07-01

The primary objective of a remediation project is the safe extraction and disposition of diverse waste forms and materials. Remediation of a solid waste burial ground containing reactor hardware and irradiated debris involves handling waste with the potential to expose workers to significantly elevated dose rates. Therefore, a major challenge confronted by any remediation project is developing work processes that facilitate compliant waste management practices while at the same time implementing controls to protect personnel. Traditional burial ground remediation is accomplished using standard excavators to remove materials from trenches and other excavation configurations often times with minimal knowledge of wastemore » that will be encountered at a specific location. In the case of the 118-K-1 burial ground the isotopic activity postulated in historic documents to be contained in vertical cylindrical silos was sufficient to create the potential for a significant radiation hazard to project personnel. Additionally, certain reported waste forms posed an unacceptably high potential to contaminate the surrounding environment and/or workers. Based on process knowledge, waste management requirements, historic document review, and a lack of characterization data it was determined that traditional excavation techniques applied to remediation of vertical silos would expose workers to unacceptable risk. The challenging task for the 118-K-1 burial ground remediation project team then became defining an acceptable replacement technology or modification of an existing technology to complete the silo remediation. Early characterization data provided a good tool for evaluating the location of potential high exposure rate items in the silos. Quantitative characterization was a different case and proved difficult because of the large diameter of the silos and the potential for variable density of attenuating soils and waste forms in the silo. Consequently, the most relevant

Mine burial in the seabed of high-turbidity area—Findings of a first experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baeye, Matthias; Fettweis, Michael; Legrand, Sebastien; Dupont, Yves; Van Lancker, Vera

2012-07-01

The seabed of the North Sea is covered with ammunition dating back from World Wars I and II. With increasing human interference (e.g. fisheries, aggregate extraction, harbor related activities), it forms a threat to the safety at sea. In this study, test mines were deployed on a sandy seabed for 3 months to investigate mine burial processes as a function of hydrodynamic and meteorological conditions. The mine experiment was conducted in a shallow (9 m), macrotidal environment characterized by highly turbid waters (yearly and depth-averaged suspended particulate matter concentration of 100 mg l-1). Results showed some variability of the overall mine burial, which corresponded with scouring processes induced by a (sub-) tidal forcing mechanism. The main burial events however were linked to storm-related scouring processes, and subsequent mine roll into the resulting pit. Two storms affecting the mines during the 3-month experiment resulted in enduring increases in burial volume to 60% and 80%, respectively. More cyclic and ephemeral burial and exposure events appear to be linked to the local hydrodynamic regime. During slack tides, suspended sediment settles on the seabed, increasing the burial volume. In between slack tides, sediment is resuspended, decreasing the burial volume. The temporal pattern of this never reported burial mechanism, as measured optically, mimics the cyclicity of the suspended sediment concentration as recorded by ultrasonic signals at a nearby benthic observatory. Given the similarity in response signals at the two sites, we hypothesize that the formation of high-concentrated mud suspensions (HCMS) is a mechanism causing short-term burial and exposure of mines. This short-term burial and exposure increase the chance that mines are 'missed' during tracking surveys. Test mines contribute to our understanding of the settling and erosion of HCMS, and thus shed a light on generic sedimentary processes.

Impact of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantings on long term (137)Cs and (90)Sr recycling from a waste burial site in the Chernobyl Red Forest.

PubMed

Thiry, Yves; Colle, Claude; Yoschenko, Vasyl; Levchuk, Svjatoslav; Van Hees, May; Hurtevent, Pierre; Kashparov, Valery

2009-12-01

Plantings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on a waste burial site in the Chernobyl Red Forest was shown to greatly influence the long term redistribution of radioactivity contained in sub-surfaces trenches. After 15 years of growth, aboveground biomass of the average tree growing on waste trench no.22 had accumulated 1.7 times more (137)Cs than that of trees growing off the trench, and 5.4 times more (90)Sr. At the scale of the trench and according to an average tree density of 3300 trees/ha for the study zone, tree contamination would correspond to 0.024% of the (137)Cs and 2.52% of the (90)Sr contained in the buried waste material. A quantitative description of the radionuclide cycling showed a potential for trees to annually extract up to 0.82% of the (90)Sr pool in the trench and 0.0038% of the (137)Cs. A preferential (90)Sr uptake from the deep soil is envisioned while pine roots would take up (137)Cs mostly from less contaminated shallow soil layers. The current upward flux of (90)Sr through vegetation appeared at least equal to downward loss in waste material leaching as reported by Dewiere et al. (2004, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 74, 139-150). Using a prospective calculation model, we estimated that maximum (90)Sr cycling can be expected to occur at 40 years post-planting, resulting in 12% of the current (90)Sr content in the trench transferred to surface soils through biomass turnover and 7% stored in tree biomass. These results are preliminary, although based on accurate methodology. A more integrated ecosystem study leading to the coupling between biological and geochemical models of radionuclide cycling within the Red Forest seems opportune. Such a study would help in the adequate management of that new forest and the waste trenches upon which they reside.

Tritium and radioactive carbon (14C) analyses of gas collected from unsaturated sediments next to a low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada, April 1994 and July 1995

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Striegl, Robert G.

1995-01-01

Tritium activities in water vapor and radioactive carbon (14C) activities in carbon dioxide were determined in gas samples pumped from small-diameter air ports installed in a test hole within the unsaturated sediments next to a commercial burial site for low-level radioactive waste south of Beatty, Nevada. In April 1994, gas samples were collected from test hole UZB-2, which was drilled about 350 feet south of the southwest corner of the fence enclosing the burial site. The test hole is part of a study to determine the depth to which atmospheric air circulates through the unsaturated sediments at the desert site. Laboratory results completed in May 1995 show activities of tritium and 14C were greater than expected, with measured tritium in the water vapor as high as 762 tritium units at a depth of 79 feet and measured 14C in carbon dioxide as high as 1,700 percent modern carbon at a depth of 18 feet.In July 1995, the uppermost five air ports in test hole UZB-2 were resampled. In addition, water vapor was collected for tritium analyses at a distant test hole, and water vapor for tritium analyses and carbon dioxide for 14C analyses were collected from three depths at the research shaft about 200 feet north of test hole UZB-2, and at two shallow probes (depth of 5.5 feet) next to the fence enclosing the burial site. Analyses of samples collected in the upper 112 feet from test hole UZB-2 in July 1995 show the same distribution of tritium and 14C as analyses of samples collected in April 1994, except that activities were somewhat greater in July. The greatest activities of tritium and 14C were measured from a shallow probe next to the fence with activities of 29,400 tritium units and 517,000 percent modern carbon, respectively.

Analysis of temperature and pressure distribution of containers for nuclear waste material disposal in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanbibber, L. E.; Parker, W. G.

1973-01-01

A computer program was adapted from a previous generation program to analyze the temperature and internal pressure response of a radioactive nuclear waste material disposal container following impact on the earth. This program considers component melting, LiH dissociation, temperature dependent properties and pressure and container stress response. Analyses were performed for 21 cases with variations in radioactive power level, container geometry, degree of deformation of the container, degree of burial and soil properties. Results indicated that the integrity of SS-316 containers could be maintained with partial burials of either underformed or deformed containers. Results indicated that completely buried waste containers, with power levels above 5 kW, experienced creep stress rupture failures in 4 to 12 days.

[The sanitary and hygienic state of solid garbage burial grounds in the stages of a life cycle].

PubMed

Zomarev, A M; Vaĭsman, Ia I; Zaĭtseva, T A; Glushankova, I S

2010-01-01

The purpose of the study was to assess the sanitary-and-hygienic state of solid garbage (SG) burial grounds in the Perm Territory in different stage of a life cycle. This paper presents the results of the study of deposited waste, forming dump soil, and SG ground emissions by general sanitary and sanitary-microbiological parameters and their effect on environmental objects. The performed studies of the sanitary-and-hygienic situation on some grounds of the Perm Territory suggest that there is a need for setting up a system for sanitary-and-monitoring of SG ground and for elaborating engineering, organizational, and prophylactic measures to assure the sanitary-and-hygienic safety of objects and to control the quality and quantity of waste to be buried and the currents of emissions (ground body degassing, filtrating sewage drainage and purification).

Constraints for estimating the future burial depth of host rocks for geological waste disposal: a case study from the Boom Clay, Campine area, Northern Belgium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beerten, K.; De Craen, M.; Brassinnes, S.

2012-04-01

An important requirement for geological formations hosting a repository for radioactive waste is sufficient depth to ensure isolation of the waste for a very long time period, up to 1 Ma and beyond. Over such long timescales, the repository depth and the thickness of the overburden may vary significantly due to various geodynamic processes. In Belgium, the Boom Clay in the Campine area (NE-Belgium) is considered as reference host formation for the geological disposal of radioactive waste. First results are presented that illustrate the possible impact of future climate change (based on several scenarios studied in the BIOCLIM project (BIOCLIM, 2001)) and tectonic movements in the Campine area on the thickness of the sediment mass overlying the Boom Clay. At present, the subcrop area of Boom Clay in the Campine area is relatively flat (between ~ 0 m a.s.l. near the river Scheldt estuary in the west and ~ 60 m a.s.l. on the Campine Plateau in the east) and is occupied by several sub-basins that belong to the rivers Meuse and Scheldt. Future development of the area will heavily depend on the behaviour of these rivers and tributaries throughout the considered timeframe, in response to climatic changes and tectonic movements. The area is characterised by a long burial history, with some minor isolated uplift and erosional events during the last 30 Ma. In a global warming scenario during a long interglacial (> 50 ka AP), and/or in the case of subsidence, (relative) sea-level may rise such that various parts of the Boom Clay area will be occupied by the marine realm. This is likely to be a minimal erosion scenario because the baseline for landscape evolution will rise in the upstream parts while estuarine and marine deposition may increase the thickness of the overburden in the downstream parts. In the case of a continuation of Pleistocene glacial cycles, i.e. the alternation between warm interglacials and cold glacials, the area will be exposed to erosion and denudation

Investigation and simulation on fate and transport of leachate from a livestock mortality burial site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, J.-W.; Lee, S.; Kaown, D.; Lee, K.-K.

2012-04-01

Leachate released from livestock mortality burial during decomposition of carcasses can be a threat to groundwater quality. Monitoring study of groundwater quality in the vicinity of livestock burial reported that a caution is needed to prevent contamination of both groundwater and soil, especially in case of mortality burial (Glanville, 2000; Ritter and Chirnside, 1995). The average concentration of ammonium-N and chloride is reported to be 12,600 mg/l and 2,600 mg/l respectively, which is 2-4 times higher than leachate from earthen manure storages and landfills (Pratt, 2009). To assess the potential threat of burial leachate to groundwater quality, simulation of leachate transport is performed based on a hydrogeologic model of an actual mortality burial site. At the burial site of this study located at a hill slope, two mortality pits have been constructed along the slope to bury swine during the outbreak of nationwide foot and mouth disease(FMD) in 2011. Though the pits were partially lined with impermeable material, potential threat of leachate leakage is still in concern. Electrical resistivity survey has been performed several times at the burial site and abnormal resistivity zones have been detected which are supposed as leachate leakage from the burial. Subsurface model including unsaturated zone is built since the leakage is supposed to occur mainly in lateral of the burial pits which is in unsaturated zone. When examining leachate transport, main focus is given to a nitrogenous compound and colloidal character of FMD virus. Nitrifying of denitrifying characters of nitrogenous compound and transport of colloidal particles are affected mainly by soil water content in unsaturated zone. Thus, the fate and transport of burial leachate affected by seasonal variation in recharge pattern is investigated.

Estimates of low-level waste volumes and classifications at 2-Unit 1100 MWe reference plants for decommissioning scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hauf, M.J.; Vance, J.N.; James, D.

1991-01-01

A number of nuclear utilities and industry organizations in the United States have evaluated the requirements for reactor decommissioning. These broad scope studies have addressed the major issues of technology, methodology, safety and costs of decommissioning and have produced substantial volumes of data to describe, in detail, the issues and impacts which result. The objective of this paper to provide CECo a reasonable basis for discussion low-level waste burial volumes for the most likely decommissioning options and to show how various decontamination and VR technologies can be applied to provide additional reduction of the volumes required to be buried atmore » low-level waste burial grounds.« less

Changes in CaCO3 Burial Trump the Biological Pump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toggweiler, J.; Dunne, J. P.

2008-12-01

The dramatic increases in atmospheric CO2 at the ends of ice ages are usually attributed to a one-two punch coming from the ocean. First, a weakened biological pump vents organically cycled CO2 from the deep ocean via changes in the ventilation of the deep ocean around Antarctica. The initial CO2 increase is then augmented by an enhancement of CaCO3 burial due to a process called CaCO3 compensation (after Broecker, W. S and T.-H. Peng, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 1, 15-29, 1987). Here, we argue that the importance of the biological pump has been exaggerated. The main effect comes from circulation-induced changes in the burial of CaCO3. As shown in a recent paper by Andreas Schmittner and co-authors (Schmittner, A., E. Brook and J. Ahn, Impact of the ocean's overturning circulation on atmospheric CO2, in Ocean Circulation: Mechanisms and Impacts, Geophys. Monogr. 173, A. Schmittner, J. Chiang, and S. Hemming, eds., pp. 209-246, AGU, 2007) changes in the ventilation of the deep ocean around Antarctica gave rise to 20-30 ppm increases in atmospheric CO2 every 5,000-7,000 years during isotope stages 3 and 4 (30,000 to 70,000 years ago). None of these venting events gave rise to a compensation response. Meanwhile, Jaccard et al. (Science, 308, 1003-1006, 2005) show that all the big CO2 increases during terminations through stage 11 were accompanied by huge increases in CaCO3 burial. This suggests that the enhanced burial of CaCO3 is obligatory rather than compensatory with respect to the dramatic CO2 increases. Broecker and Peng's compensation idea is based on an assumption that the rain of CaCO3 to the sea floor is the same everywhere. More specifically, it assumes that there is no spatial correlation between the production of CaCO3 at the surface and the burial on the sea floor. We find instead that the production and burial of CaCO3 tend to be co-located in regional "hot spots" and that burial in the hot spots balances the input of Ca++ and HCO3- ions in rivers. The

Influence of Anchoring on Burial Depth of Submarine Pipelines

PubMed Central

Zhuang, Yuan; Li, Yang; Su, Wei

2016-01-01

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, there has been widespread construction of submarine oil-gas transmission pipelines due to an increase in offshore oil exploration. Vessel anchoring operations are causing more damage to submarine pipelines due to shipping transportation also increasing. Therefore, it is essential that the influence of anchoring on the required burial depth of submarine pipelines is determined. In this paper, mathematical models for ordinary anchoring and emergency anchoring have been established to derive an anchor impact energy equation for each condition. The required effective burial depth for submarine pipelines has then been calculated via an energy absorption equation for the protection layer covering the submarine pipelines. Finally, the results of the model calculation have been verified by accident case analysis, and the impact of the anchoring height, anchoring water depth and the anchor weight on the required burial depth of submarine pipelines has been further analyzed. PMID:27166952

Decide, design, and dewater de waste: A blueprint from Fitzpatrick

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robert, D.E.

1994-04-01

Using a different process to clean concentrated waste tanks at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in New York saved nearly half million dollars. The plan essentially allowed processing concentrator bottoms as waste sludge (solidification versus dewatering) that could still meet burial ground requirements. The process reduced the volume from 802.2 to 55 cubic feet. This resin throwaway system eliminated chemicals in the radwaste systems and was designed to ease pressure on the pradwaste processing system, reduce waste and improve plant chemistry. This article discusses general aspects of the process.

77 FR 35114 - Agency Information Collection (NCA PreNeed Burial Planning) Activity Under OMB Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-12

...Need Burial Planning) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: National Cemetery Administration, Department of... PreNeed Burial Planning, VA Form 40-10007. OMB Control Number: 2900--New. Type of Review: New... members, and their eligible family members with planning for burial in a VA national cemetery. This...

Differential lead retention in zircons: implications for nuclear waste containment.

PubMed

Gentry, R V; Sworski, T J; McKown, H S; Smith, D H; Eby, R E; Christie, W H

1982-04-16

An innovative ultrasensitive technique was used for lead isotopic analysis of individual zircons extracted from granite core samples at depths of 960, 2170, 2900, 3930, and 4310 meters. The results show that lead, a relatively mobile element compared to the nuclear waste-related actinides uranium and thorium, has been highly retained at elevated temperatures (105 degrees to 313 degrees C) under conditions relevant to the burial of synthetic rock waste containers in deep granite holes.

Impact of radionuclide spatial variability on groundwater quality downstream from a shallow waste burial in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, H. L.; de Fouquet, C.; Courbet, C.; Simonucci, C. A.

2016-12-01

The effects of spatial variability of hydraulic parameters and initial groundwater plume localization on the possible extent of groundwater pollution plumes have already been broadly studied. However, only a few studies, such as Kjeldsen et al. (1995), take into account the effect of source term spatial variability. We explore this question with the 90Sr migration modeling from a shallow waste burial located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to the underlying sand aquifer. Our work is based upon groundwater sampled once or twice a year since 1995 until 2015 from about 60 piezometers and more than 3,000 137Cs soil activity measurements. These measurements were taken in 1999 from one of the trenches dug after the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the so-called "T22 Trench", where radioactive waste was buried in 1987. The geostatistical analysis of 137Cs activity data in soils from Bugai et al. (2005) is first reconsidered to delimit the trench borders using georadar data as a covariable and to perform geostatistical simulations in order to evaluate the uncertainties of this inventory. 90Sr activity in soils is derived from 137Cs/154Eu and 90Sr/154Eu activity ratios in Chernobyl hot fuel particles (Bugai et al., 2003). Meanwhile, a coupled 1D non saturated/3D saturated transient transport model is constructed under the MELODIE software (IRSN, 2009). The previous 90Sr transport model developed by Bugai et al. (2012) did not take into account the effect of water table fluctuations highlighted by Van Meir et al. (2007) which may cause some discrepancies between model predictions and field observations. They are thus reproduced on a 1D vertical non saturated model. The equiprobable radionuclide localization maps produced by the geostatistical simulations are selected to illustrate different heterogeneities in the radionuclide inventory and are implemented in the 1D model. The obtained activity fluxes from all the 1D vertical models are then injected in a 3D

Methane emissions partially offset “blue carbon” burial in mangroves

PubMed Central

Maher, Damien T.

2018-01-01

Organic matter burial in mangrove forests results in the removal and long-term storage of atmospheric CO2, so-called “blue carbon.” However, some of this organic matter is metabolized and returned to the atmosphere as CH4. Because CH4 has a higher global warming potential than the CO2 fixed in the organic matter, it can offset the CO2 removed via carbon burial. We provide the first estimate of the global magnitude of this offset. Our results show that high CH4 evasion rates have the potential to partially offset blue carbon burial rates in mangrove sediments on average by 20% (sensitivity analysis offset range, 18 to 22%) using the 20-year global warming potential. Hence, mangrove sediment and water CH4 emissions should be accounted for in future blue carbon assessments.

FFTF disposable solid waste cask

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomson, J. D.; Goetsch, S. D.

1983-01-01

Disposal of radioactive waste from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) will utilize a Disposable Solid Waste Cask (DSWC) for the transport and burial of irradiated stainless steel and inconel materials. Retrievability coupled with the desire for minimal facilities and labor costs at the disposal site identified the need for the DSWC. Design requirements for this system were patterned after Type B packages as outlined in 10 CFR 71 with a few exceptions based on site and payload requirements. A summary of the design basis, supporting analytical methods and fabrication practices developed to deploy the DSWC is provided in thismore » paper.« less

32 CFR 553.17 - Persons ineligible for burial in an Army national cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... burial in an Army national cemetery. (a) A father, mother, brother, sister, and in-law is not eligible... for burial in Arlington National Cemetery unless the Service-connected family member has been or will...

Adventitious root production and plastic resource allocation to biomass determine burial tolerance in woody plants from central Canadian coastal dunes.

PubMed

Dech, Jeffery P; Maun, M Anwar

2006-11-01

Burial is a recurrent stress imposed upon plants of coastal dunes. Woody plants are buried on open coastal dunes and in forested areas behind active blowouts; however, little is known about the burial responses and adaptive traits of these species. The objectives of this study were: (a) to determine the growth and morphological responses to burial in sand of seven woody plant species native to central Canadian coastal dunes; and (b) to identify traits that determine burial tolerance in these species. Field experiments were conducted to determine the responses of each species to burial. Saplings were exposed to burial treatments of 0, 10, 25, 50 and 75 % of their height. Burial responses were evaluated based on regressions of total biomass, height, adventitious root production and percentage allocation to shoot, root and adventitious root biomass on percentage burial. Pinus strobus and Picea glauca lacked burial tolerance. In response to the burial gradient, these species showed a strong linear decline in total biomass, minimal adventitious root production that peaked at moderate levels (25-50 % burial) and no change in allocation to shoots vs. roots. The tolerant species Juniperus virginiana, Thuja occidentalis and Picea mariana showed a quadratic response to burial, with little change in biomass up to 50 % burial, but a large decline at 75 %. These species produced abundant adventitious roots up to 50 % burial, but did not alter allocation patterns over the range of burial levels. Populus balsamifera and Salix cordata were stimulated by burial. These species showed linear increases in biomass with increasing burial, produced copious adventitious roots across the gradient and showed a clear shift in allocation to vertical shoot growth and adventitious root production at the expense of the original roots under high burial conditions. Adventitious root production and plastic resource allocation to biomass are adaptive traits of coastal dune woody plants in central

Climate change decouples oceanic primary and export productivity and organic carbon burial

PubMed Central

Lopes, Cristina; Kucera, Michal; Mix, Alan C.

2015-01-01

Understanding responses of oceanic primary productivity, carbon export, and burial to climate change is essential for model-based projection of biological feedbacks in a high-CO2 world. Here we compare estimates of productivity based on the composition of fossil diatom floras with organic carbon burial off Oregon in the Northeast Pacific across a large climatic transition at the last glacial termination. Although estimated primary productivity was highest during the Last Glacial Maximum, carbon burial was lowest, reflecting reduced preservation linked to low sedimentation rates. A diatom size index further points to a glacial decrease (and deglacial increase) in the fraction of fixed carbon that was exported, inferred to reflect expansion, and contraction, of subpolar ecosystems that today favor smaller plankton. Thus, in contrast to models that link remineralization of carbon to temperature, in the Northeast Pacific, we find dominant ecosystem and sea floor control such that intervals of warming climate had more efficient carbon export and higher carbon burial despite falling primary productivity. PMID:25453073

Biological intrusion of low-level-waste trench covers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakonson, T. E.; Gladney, E. S.

The long-term integrity of low-level waste shallow land burialsites is dependent on the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological factors that modify the waste containment system. The need to consider biological processes as being potentially important in reducing the integrity of waste burial site cover treatment is demonstrated. One approach to limiting biological intrusion through the waste cover is to apply a barrier within the profile to limit root and animal penetration with depth. Experiments in the Los Alamos Experimental Engineered Test Facility were initiated to develop and evaluate biological barriers that are effective in minimizing intrusion into waste trenches. The experiments that are described employ four different candidate barrier materials of geologic origin. Experimental variables that will be evaluated, in addition to barrier type, are barrier depth and sil overburden depth.

133. ARAII SL1 burial ground. Shows gravel path from ARAII ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

133. ARA-II SL-1 burial ground. Shows gravel path from ARA-II compound to the burial ground, detail of security fence and entry gate, and sign "Danger radiation hazard." F. C. Torkelson Company 842-area-101-1. Date: October 1961. Ineel index code no. 059-0101-00-851-150723. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Army Reactors Experimental Area, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Effects of sand burial on the survival and growth of two shrubs dominant in different habitats of northern China.

PubMed

Qu, Hao; Zhao, Ha-Lin; Zhao, Xue-Yong; Zuo, Xiao-An; Wang, Shao-Kun; Chen, Min

2017-04-01

Plants that grow in dune ecosystems always suffer from sand burial. Shrubs play implications on the healthy functioning of dune ecosystems due to control blowing sand. However, the survival and growth responses of shrubs to sand burial remain poorly understood. The survival rate and seedling height of two shrubs (Artemisia halodendron and Lespedeza davurica) along with the soil properties under different burial depths were examined in order to reveal the causing ecophysiological attributes of sand burial on shrubs in the desertified region. It was found that A. halodendron can survive a burial depth of 6 cm greater than its seedling height, which is a dominant shrub in mobile dunes with intense burial, whereas a burial depth equivalent to three fourths of its seedling height is detrimental to L. davurica, which is dominant in fixed dunes with less burial. The reasons for the shrub death under sand burial were associated with the physical barrier to vertical growth and the reduction in photosynthetic area. In conclusion, A. halodendron can facilitate the stabilization of mobile dunes because of their high tolerance to the frequent and intensive sand burial, while L. davurica can be beneficial for the recovery process because of their higher survival rates under shallow burial following restoration of mobile dunes.

GPR studies at the Nuvuk burial site at Point Barrow, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herman, R. B.; Palmer, J.

2011-12-01

Ground penetrating radar was used to study a portion of the Nuvuk (Thule people) prehistoric burial site and to search for a buried prehistoric strand line at Point Barrow. GPR operating at 500MHz resolved features up to 2.5m deep in this area and were used to aid in search and recovery efforts. These scans imaged areas of recent disturbance that required shovel testing to confirm the lack of burials. This survey was able to rule out burials in several areas. Scans determined at least one area where a burial was found that would have been too deep for normal shovel tests to detect. A nearby area was scanned to trace the path of a prehistoric strand line whose initial presence had been revealed by exposure on the bluff adjacent to the Beaufort Sea. The GPR data revealed the path of that strand line along with a number of others. Final GPR images and GPS maps of the survey areas and the strand lines will be presented. The results of follow-up excavations will be discussed, along with the GPR parameters that gave the best results.

Buried Alive: The Behavioural Response of the Mussels, Modiolus modiolus and Mytilus edulis to Sudden Burial by Sediment

PubMed Central

Hutchison, Zoë L.; Hendrick, Vicki J.; Burrows, Michael T.; Wilson, Ben; Last, Kim S.

2016-01-01

Sedimentation in the sea occurs through natural processes, such as wave and tidal action, which can be exacerbated during storms and floods. Changes in terrestrial land use, marine aggregate extraction, dredging, drilling and mining are known to result in substantial sediment deposition. Research suggests that deposition will also occur due to the modern development of marine renewable energy. The response to individual burial under three depths of sediment, three sediment fractions and five burial durations was investigated in two mussel species, Modiolus modiolus and Mytilus edulis in specialist mesocosms. Both mussel species showed substantial mortality, which increased with duration of burial and burial by finer sediment fractions. M. modiolus was better able to survive short periods of burial than M. edulis, but at longer durations mortality was more pronounced. No mortality was observed in M. modiolus in burial durations of eight days or less but by 16 days of burial, over 50% cumulative mortality occurred. Under variable temperature regimes, M. edulis mortality increased from 20% at 8°C to over 60% at 14.5 and 20°C. Only M. edulis was able to emerge from burial, facilitated by increased byssus production, laid mostly on vertical surfaces but also on sediment particles. Emergence was higher from coarse sediment and shallow burials. Byssus production in M. edulis was not related to the condition index of the mussels. Results suggest that even marginal burial would result in mortality and be more pronounced in warm summer periods. Our results suggest that in the event of burial, adult M. modiolus would not be able to emerge from burial unless local hydrodynamics assist, whereas a small proportion of M. edulis may regain contact with the sediment water interface. The physiological stress resulting in mortality, contribution of local hydrodynamics to survival and other ecological pressures such as mussels existing in aggregations, are discussed. PMID:26982582

Batching alternatives for Phase I retrieval wastes to be processed in WRAP Module 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayancsik, B.A.

1994-10-13

During the next two decades, the transuranic (TRU) waste now stored in the 200 Area burial trenches and storage buildings is to be retrieved, processed in the Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) Module 1 facility, and shipped to a final disposal facility. The purpose of this document is to identify the criteria that can be used to batch suspect TRU waste, currently in retrievable storage, for processing through the WRAP Module 1 facility. These criteria are then used to generate a batch plan for Phase 1 Retrieval operations, which will retrieve the waste located in Trench 4C-04 of the 200more » West Area burial ground. The reasons for batching wastes for processing in WRAP Module 1 include reducing the exposure of workers and the environment to hazardous material and ionizing radiation; maximizing the efficiency of the retrieval, processing, and disposal processes by reducing costs, time, and space throughout the process; reducing analytical sampling and analysis; and reducing the amount of cleanup and decontamination between process runs. The criteria selected for batching the drums of retrieved waste entering WRAP Module 1 are based on the available records for the wastes sent to storage as well as knowledge of the processes that generated these wastes. The batching criteria identified in this document include the following: waste generator; type of process used to generate or package the waste; physical waste form; content of hazardous/dangerous chemicals in the waste; radiochemical type and quantity of waste; drum weight; and special waste types. These criteria were applied to the waste drums currently stored in Trench 4C-04. At least one batching scheme is shown for each of the criteria listed above.« less

Burial affects the biogeochemistry of headwater streams in a midwestern US metropolitan area

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) retention in stream networks is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of headwater streams in urban basins. Urban stream burial has only recently been recognized by ecologists and little research has addressed the extent to whi...

Estimates of chemical compaction and maximum burial depth from bedding parallel stylolites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasparrini, Marta; Beaudoin, Nicolas; Lacombe, Olivier; David, Marie-Eleonore; Youssef, Souhail; Koehn, Daniel

2017-04-01

Chemical compaction is a diagenetic process affecting sedimentary series during burial that develops rough dissolution surfaces named Bedding Parallel Stylolites (BPS). BPS are related to the dissolution of important rock volumes and can lead to porosity reduction around them due to post-dissolution cementation. Our understanding of the effect of chemical compaction on rock volume and porosity evolution during basin burial is however too tight yet to be fully taken into account in basin models and thermal or fluid-flow simulations. This contribution presents a novel and multidisciplinary approach to quantify chemical compaction and to estimate maximum paleodepth of burial, applied to the Dogger carbonate reservoirs from the Paris Basin sub-surface. This succession experienced a relatively simple burial history (nearly continuous burial from Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous, followed by a main uplift phase), and mainly underwent normal overburden (inducing development of BPS), escaping major tectonic stress episodes. We considered one core from the depocentre and one from the eastern margin of the basin in the same stratigraphic interval (Bathonian Sup. - Callovian Inf.; restricted lagoonal setting), and analysed the macro- and micro-facies to distinguish five main depositional environments. Type and abundance of BPS were continuously recorded along the logs and treated statistically to obtain preliminary rules relying the occurrence of the BPS as a function of the contrasting facies and burial histories. The treatment of high resolution 2D images allowed the identification and separation of the BPS to evaluate total stylolitization density and insoluble thickness as an indirect measure of the dissolved volume, with respect to the morphology of the BPS considered. Based on the morphology of the BPS roughness, we used roughness signal analysis method to reconstruct the vertical paleo-stress (paleo-depth) recorded by the BPS during chemical compaction. The

Controlled preparation of wet granular media reveals limits to lizard burial ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharpe, Sarah S.; Kuckuk, Robyn; Goldman, Daniel I.

2015-07-01

Many animals move within ground composed of granular media (GM); the resistive properties of such substrates can depend on water content and compaction, but little is known about how such parameters affect locomotion or the physics of drag and penetration. Using apparatus to control compaction of GM, our recent studies of movement in dry GM have revealed locomotion strategies of specialized dry-sand-swimming reptiles. However, these animals represent a small fraction of the diversity and presumed burial strategies of fossorial reptilian fauna. Here we develop a system to create states of wet GM of varying moisture content and compaction in quantities sufficient to study the burial and subsurface locomotion of the Ocellated skink (C. ocellatus), a generalist lizard. X-ray imaging revealed that in wet and dry GM the lizard slowly buried (≈ 30 s) propagating a wave from head to tail, while moving in a start-stop motion. During forward movement, the head oscillated, and the forelimb on the convex side of the body propelled the animal. Although body kinematics and ‘slip’ were similar in both substrates, the burial depth was smaller in wet GM. Penetration and drag force experiments on smooth cylinders revealed that wet GM was ≈ 4× more resistive than dry GM. In total, our measurements indicate that while the rheology of the dry and wet GM differ substantially, the lizard's burial motor pattern is conserved across substrates, while its burial depth is largely constrained by environmental resistance.

Burial history of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks interpreted from vitrinite reflectance, northern Green River basin, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dickinson, W.W.; Law, B.E.

1985-05-01

The burial history of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks in the northern Green River basin is difficult to reconstruct for three reasons: (1) most of these rocks do not crop out, (2) there are few stratigraphic markers in the subsurface, and (3) regional uplift beginning during the Pliocene caused erosion that removed most upper Tertiary rocks. To understand better the burial and thermal history of the basin, published vitrinite reflectance (R/sub o/) data from three wells were compared to TTI (time-temperature index) maturation units calculated from Lopatin reconstructions. For each well, burial reconstructions were made as follows. Maximum depth ofmore » burial was first estimated by stratigraphic and structural evidence and by extrapolation to a paleosurface intercept of R/sub o/ = 0.2%. This burial was completed by early Oligocene (35 Ma), after which there was no net deposition. The present geothermal gradient in each well as used because there is no geologic evidence for elevated paleotemperature gradients. Using these reconstructions, calculated TTI units agreed with measured R/sub o/ values when minor adjustments were made to the estimated burial depths. Reconstructed maximum burials were deeper than present by 2500-3000 ft (762-914 m) in the Pacific Creek area, by 4000-4500 ft (1219-1372 m) in the Pinedale area, and by 0-1000 ft (0-305 m) in the Merna area. However, at Pinedale geologic evidence can only account for about 3000 ft (914 m) of additional burial. This discrepancy is explained by isoreflectance lines, which parallel the Pinedale anticline and indicate that approximately 2000 ft (610 m) of structural relief occurred after maximum burial. In other parts of the basin, isoreflectance lines also reveal significant structural deformation after maximum burial during early Oligocene to early Pliocene time.« less

Remote sensing investigations at a hazardous-waste landfill

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohr, C.; Su, W.-J.; DuMontelle, P.B.; Griffin, R.A.

1987-01-01

In 1976 state licensed landfilling of industrial chemicals was begun above an abandoned, underground coal mine in Illinois. Five years later organic chemical pollutants were discovered in a monitoring well, suggesting migration 100 to 1000 times faster than predicted by laboratory tests. Remote sensing contributed to the determination of the causes of faster-than-predicted pollutant migration at the hazardous-waste landfill. Aerial and satellite imagery were employed to supplement field studies of local surface and groundwater hydrology, and to chronicle site history. Drainage impediments and depressions in the trench covers collected runoff, allowing rapid recharge of surface waters to some burial trenches. These features can be more effectively identified by photointerpretation than by conventional field reconnaissance. A ground-based, post-sunset survey of the trench covers that showed that a distinction between depressions which hold moisture at the surface from freely-draining depressions which permit rapid recharge to the burial trenches could be made using thermal infrared imagery.In 1976 state licensed landfilling of industrial chemicals was begun above an abandoned, underground coal mine in Illinois. Five years later organic chemical pollutants were discovered in a monitoring well, suggesting migration 100 to 1000 times faster than predicted by laboratory tests. Remote sensing contributed to the determination of the causes of faster-than-predicted pollutant migration at the hazardous-waste landfill. Aerial and satellite imagery were employed to supplement field studies of local surface and groundwater hydrology, and to chronicle site history. Drainage impediments and depressions in the trench covers collected runoff, allowing rapid recharge of surface waters to some burial trenches.

COMPILATION OF DISPOSABLE SOLID WASTE CASK EVALUATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

THIELGES, J.R.; CHASTAIN, S.A.

The Disposable Solid Waste Cask (DSWC) is a shielded cask capable of transporting, storing, and disposing of six non-fuel core components or approximately 27 cubic feet of radioactive solid waste. Five existing DSWCs are candidates for use in storing and disposing of non-fuel core components and radioactive solid waste from the Interim Examination and Maintenance Cell, ultimately shipping them to the 200 West Area disposal site for burial. A series of inspections, studies, analyses, and modifications were performed to ensure that these casks can be used to safely ship solid waste. These inspections, studies, analyses, and modifications are summarized andmore » attached in this report. Visual inspection of the casks interiors provided information with respect to condition of the casks inner liners. Because water was allowed to enter the casks for varying lengths of time, condition of the cask liner pipe to bottom plate weld was of concern. Based on the visual inspection and a corrosion study, it was concluded that four of the five casks can be used from a corrosion standpoint. Only DSWC S/N-004 would need additional inspection and analysis to determine its usefulness. The five remaining DSWCs underwent some modification to prepare them for use. The existing cask lifting inserts were found to be corroded and deemed unusable. New lifting anchor bolts were installed to replace the existing anchors. Alternate lift lugs were fabricated for use with the new lifting anchor bolts. The cask tiedown frame was modified to facilitate adjustment of the cask tiedowns. As a result of the above mentioned inspections, studies, analysis, and modifications, four of the five existing casks can be used to store and transport waste from the Interim Examination and Maintenance Cell to the disposal site for burial. The fifth cask, DSWC S/N-004, would require further inspections before it could be used.« less

[Effect of shifting sand burial on evaporation reduction and salt restraint under saline water irrigation in extremely arid region].

PubMed

Zhang, Jian-Guo; Zhao, Ying; Xu, Xin-Wen; Lei, Jia-Qiang; Li, Sheng-Yu; Wang, Yong-Dong

2014-05-01

The Taklimakan Desert Highway Shelterbelt is drip-irrigated with high saline groundwater (2.58-29.70 g x L(-1)), and shifting sand burial and water-salt stress are most common and serious problems in this region. So it is of great importance to study the effect of shifting sand burial on soil moisture evaporation, salt accumulation and their distribution for water saving, salinity restraint, and suitable utilization of local land and water resources. In this study, Micro-Lysimeters (MLS) were used to investigate dynamics of soil moisture and salt under different thicknesses of sand burial (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cm), and field control experiments of drip-irrigation were also carried out to investigate soil moisture and salt distribution under different thicknesses of shifting sand burial (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 cm). The soil daily and cumulative evaporation decreased with the increase of sand burial thickness in MLS, cumulative evaporation decreased by 2.5%-13.7% compared with control. And evaporative inhibiting efficiency increased with sand burial thickness, evaporative inhibiting efficiency of 1-5 cm sand burial was 16.7%-79.0%. Final soil moisture content beneath the interface of sand burial increased with sand burial thickness, and it increased by 2.5%-13.7% than control. The topsoil EC of shifting sand in MLS decreased by 1.19-6.00 mS x cm(-1) with the increasing sand burial thickness, whereas soil salt content beneath the interface in MLS increased and amplitude of the topsoil salt content was higher than that of the subsoil. Under drip-irrigation with saline groundwater, average soil moisture beneath the interface of shifting sand burial increased by 0.4% -2.0% compare with control, and the highest value of EC was 7.77 mS x cm(-1) when the sand burial thickness was 10 cm. The trend of salt accumulation content at shifting sand surface increased firstly, and then decreased with the increasing sand burial thickness. Soil salt contents beneath the

Taenia sp. in human burial from Kan River, East Siberia.

PubMed

Slepchenko, Sergey Mikhailovich; Ivanov, Sergey Nikolaevich; Vybornov, Anton Vasilevich; Alekseevich, Tsybankov Alexander; Sergeyevich, Slavinsky Vyacheslav; Lysenko, Danil Nikolaevich; Matveev, Vyacheslav Evgenievich

2017-05-01

We present an arhaeoparasitological analysis of a unique burial from the Neftprovod II burial ground in East Siberia, which dated from the Bronze Age. Analysis of a sediment sample from the sacral region of the pelvis revealed the presence of Taenia sp. eggs. Because uncooked animal tissue is the primary source of Taenia, this indicated that the individual was likely consuming raw or undercooked meat of roe deer, red deer, or elk infected with Taenia. This finding represents the oldest case of a human infected with Taenia sp. from Eastern Siberia and Russia.

Germination and emergence of annual species and burial depth: Implications for restoration ecology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limón, Ángeles; Peco, Begoña

2016-02-01

Due to the high content of viable seeds, topsoil is usually spread on ground left bare during railway and motorway construction to facilitate the regeneration of vegetation cover. However, during handling of the topsoil, seeds are often buried deeply and they cannot germinate or the seedlings cannot emerge from depth. This study experimentally explores the predictive value of seed mass for seed germination, mortality and seedling emergence at different burial depths for 13 common annual species in semiarid Mediterranean environments. We separate the effect of burial depth on germination and emergence by means of two experiments. In the germination experiment, five replicates of 20 seeds for each species were buried at depths ranging from 0 to 4 cm under greenhouse conditions. Germinated and empty or rotten seeds were counted after 8 weeks. In the emergence experiment, five replicates of four newly-germinated seeds per species were buried at the same depths under controlled conditions and emergence was recorded after 3 weeks. The effect of burial depth on percentage of germination and seedling emergence was dependent on seed size. Although all species showed a decrease in germination with burial depth, this decrease was greater for small-than large-seeded species. Percentage of emergence was positively related to seed mass but negatively related to burial depth. Seed mortality was higher for small-than large-seeded species, but there was no general effect of burial depth on this variable. Thus, the current practice of spreading 30 cm deep layers of topsoil in post-construction restoration projects is unadvisable. In this restoration scenario, thinner layers of topsoil should be used to achieve the maximum potential of the topsoil for germination and seedling establishment.

32 CFR 553.16 - Persons eligible for burial in Soldiers' Home National Cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Persons eligible for burial in Soldiers' Home National Cemetery. 553.16 Section 553.16 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF... eligible for burial in Soldiers' Home National Cemetery. The Board of Commissioners of the US Soldiers' and...

Organic carbon burial rates in mangrove sediments: Strengthening the global budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breithaupt, Joshua L.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Smith, Thomas J., III; Sanders, Christian J.; Hoare, Armando

2012-09-01

Mangrove wetlands exist in the transition zone between terrestrial and marine environments and as such were historically overlooked in discussions of terrestrial and marine carbon cycling. In recent decades, mangroves have increasingly been credited with producing and burying large quantities of organic carbon (OC). The amount of available data regarding OC burial in mangrove soils has more than doubled since the last primary literature review (2003). This includes data from some of the largest, most developed mangrove forests in the world, providing an opportunity to strengthen the global estimate. First-time representation is now included for mangroves in Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand, along with additional data from Mexico and the United States. Our objective is to recalculate the centennial-scale burial rate of OC at both the local and global scales. Quantification of this rate enables better understanding of the current carbon sink capacity of mangroves as well as helps to quantify and/or validate the other aspects of the mangrove carbon budget such as import, export, and remineralization. Statistical analysis of the data supports use of the geometric mean as the most reliable central tendency measurement. Our estimate is that mangrove systems bury 163 (+40; -31) g OC m-2 yr-1 (95% C.I.). Globally, the 95% confidence interval for the annual burial rate is 26.1 (+6.3; -5.1) Tg OC. This equates to a burial fraction that is 42% larger than that of the most recent mangrove carbon budget (2008), and represents 10-15% of estimated annual mangrove production. This global rate supports previous conclusions that, on a centennial time scale, 8-15% of all OC burial in marine settings occurs in mangrove systems.

Organic carbon burial rates in mangrove sediments: strengthening the global budget

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breithaupt, J.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Smith, Thomas J.; Sanders, Christian J.; Hoare, Armando

2012-01-01

Mangrove wetlands exist in the transition zone between terrestrial and marine environments and as such were historically overlooked in discussions of terrestrial and marine carbon cycling. In recent decades, mangroves have increasingly been credited with producing and burying large quantities of organic carbon (OC). The amount of available data regarding OC burial in mangrove soils has more than doubled since the last primary literature review (2003). This includes data from some of the largest, most developed mangrove forests in the world, providing an opportunity to strengthen the global estimate. First-time representation is now included for mangroves in Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand, along with additional data from Mexico and the United States. Our objective is to recalculate the centennial-scale burial rate of OC at both the local and global scales. Quantification of this rate enables better understanding of the current carbon sink capacity of mangroves as well as helps to quantify and/or validate the other aspects of the mangrove carbon budget such as import, export, and remineralization. Statistical analysis of the data supports use of the geometric mean as the most reliable central tendency measurement. Our estimate is that mangrove systems bury 163 (+40; -31) g OC m-2 yr-1 (95% C.I.). Globally, the 95% confidence interval for the annual burial rate is 26.1 (+6.3; -5.1) Tg OC. This equates to a burial fraction that is 42% larger than that of the most recent mangrove carbon budget (2008), and represents 10–15% of estimated annual mangrove production. This global rate supports previous conclusions that, on a centennial time scale, 8–15% of all OC burial in marine settings occurs in mangrove systems.

Final Hazard Categorization for the Remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, 118-D-3, 118-H-1, 118-H-2, and 118-H-3 Solid Waste Burial Grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T. J. Rodovsky

2006-12-06

This report presents the final hazard categorization (FHC) for the remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, and 118-D-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-D/DR Area of the Hanford Site and the 118-H-1, 118-H-2, and 118-H-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-H Area of the Hanford Site.

Final Hazard Categorization for the Remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, 118-D-3, 118-H-1, 118-H-2, and 118-H-3 Solid Waste Burial Grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T. J. Rodovsky

2007-04-12

This report presents the final hazard categorization (FHC) for the remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, and 118-D-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-D/DR Area of the Hanford Site and the 118-H-1, 118-H-2, and 118-H-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-H Area of the Hanford Site.

SECONDARY WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR HANFORD EARLY LOW ACTIVITY WASTE VITRIFICATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

UNTERREINER BJ

2008-07-18

More than 200 million liters (53 million gallons) of highly radioactive and hazardous waste is stored at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The DOE's Hanford Site River Protection Project (RPP) mission includes tank waste retrieval, waste treatment, waste disposal, and tank farms closure activities. This mission will largely be accomplished by the construction and operation of three large treatment facilities at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP): (1) a Pretreatment (PT) facility intended to separate the tank waste into High Level Waste (HLW) and Low Activity Waste (LAW); (2) a HLW vitrification facilitymore » intended to immobilize the HLW for disposal at a geologic repository in Yucca Mountain; and (3) a LAW vitrification facility intended to immobilize the LAW for shallow land burial at Hanford's Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). The LAW facility is on target to be completed in 2014, five years prior to the completion of the rest of the WTP. In order to gain experience in the operation of the LAW vitrification facility, accelerate retrieval from single-shell tank (SST) farms, and hasten the completion of the LAW immobilization, it has been proposed to begin treatment of the low-activity waste five years before the conclusion of the WTP's construction. A challenge with this strategy is that the stream containing the LAW vitrification facility off-gas treatment condensates will not have the option of recycling back to pretreatment, and will instead be treated by the Hanford Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). Here the off-gas condensates will be immobilized into a secondary waste form; ETF solid waste.« less

Alternatives for Disposal of Depleted Uranium Waste.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-11-01

spontaneous increase in heat or pressure o No significant chemical or galvanic reaction o Closures to prevent inadvertent leakage 20 iL-i MI.....Nq...Ignition stops when the mass of the remaining metal can absorb the energy generated by the oxidation without reaching reaction temperatures. Thin sections...Compliance Worksheet i. Completion of Solid Waste Burial Record j. Structural Analysis of Special Containers k. Handling Procedures and Use of Forklifts 1

Nondestructive remote sensing of hazardous waste sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weil, G.J.; Graf, R.J.

1994-12-31

In the past government and private industry have produced hazardous waste in ever increasing quantities. These untold millions of tons of environmentally dangerous wastes have been disposed of by undocumented burial, simple carelessness and purposeful abandonment. Society has recently dictated that before new construction may be initiated, these wastes must be found and cleaned up. The first step is to locate these undocumented waste depositories. The non-contact, nondestructive, remote sensing techniques, of Computer Enhanced Infrared Thermography and Ground Penetrating Radar, may be used to detect buried waste sites, buried tanks/pits, and tank/pit leak plumes. These technologies may be used frommore » mobile vehicles, helicopters or man-portable systems and are able to cover tens of acres per day depending upon the system fusion method used. This relatively new combination of technologies, win be described in theory, by procedure and the use of case studies based upon successful projects.« less

A probabilistic approach for mine burial prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbu, Costin; Valent, Philip; Richardson, Michael; Abelev, Andrei; Plant, Nathaniel

2004-09-01

Predicting the degree of burial of mines in soft sediments is one of the main concerns of Naval Mine CounterMeasures (MCM) operations. This is a difficult problem to solve due to uncertainties and variability of the sediment parameters (i.e., density and shear strength) and of the mine state at contact with the seafloor (i.e., vertical and horizontal velocity, angular rotation rate, and pitch angle at the mudline). A stochastic approach is proposed in this paper to better incorporate the dynamic nature of free-falling cylindrical mines in the modeling of impact burial. The orientation, trajectory and velocity of cylindrical mines, after about 4 meters free-fall in the water column, are very strongly influenced by boundary layer effects causing quite chaotic behavior. The model's convolution of the uncertainty through its nonlinearity is addressed by employing Monte Carlo simulations. Finally a risk analysis based on the probability of encountering an undetectable mine is performed.

Burial affects the biogeochemistry of headwater streams in a midwestern US metropolitan area - slides

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) retention in stream networks is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of headwater streams in urban basins. Urban stream burial has only recently been recognized by ecologists as a regional environmental impact and little resea...

Effects of Urban Stream Burial on Organic Matter Dynamics and Reach Scale Nitrate Retention

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) retention in streams is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of streams in stormwater pipes in urban watersheds. We predicted that stream burial suppresses the capacity of streams to retain nitrate (NO3-) by eliminating primar...

Soil burial biodegradation studies of palm oil-based UV-curable films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajau, Rida; Salleh, Mek Zah; Salleh, Nik Ghazali Nik; Abdurahman, Mohamad Norahiman; Salih, Ashraf Mohammed; Fathy, Siti Farhana; Azman, Anis Asmi; Hamidi, Nur Amira

2016-01-01

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (uv)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia's Dengkil complex. The uv-curable films were synthesized from the epoxidized palm oil acrylated (EPOLA) resin and the polyurethane palm oil (POBUA) resin, respectively. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based uv-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respect to properties of the thermal characteristic, the crystallinity, the morphology and the weight loss which are analyzed using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based uv-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels.

Estimates for Pu-239 loadings in burial ground culverts based on fast/slow neutron measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winn, W.G.; Hochel, R.C.; Hofstetter, K.J.

1989-08-15

This report provides guideline estimates for Pu-239 mass loadings in selected burial ground culverts. The relatively high recorded Pu-239 contents of these culverts have been appraised as suspect relative to criticality concerns, because they were assayed only with the solid waste monitor (SWM) per gamma-ray counting. After 1985, subsequent waste was also assayed with the neutron coincidence counter (NCC), and a comparison of the assay methods showed that the NCC generally yielded higher assays than the SWM. These higher NCC readings signaled a need to conduct non-destructive/non-intrusive nuclear interrogations of these culverts, and a technical team conducted scoping measurements tomore » illustrate potential assay methods based on neutron and/or gamma counting. A fast/slow neutron method has been developed to estimate the Pu-239 in the culverts. In addition, loading records include the SWM assays of all Pu-239 cuts of some of the culvert drums and these data are useful in estimating the corresponding NCC drum assays from NCC vs SWM data. Together, these methods yield predictions based on direct measurements and statistical inference.« less

77 FR 4676 - Parents Eligible for Burial

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-31

... cemetery to include parents of certain veterans, as authorized by the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010 (the... dies from a training-related injury, is interred in a VA national cemetery in a gravesite with... be eligible for burial, in a national cemetery. DATES: Effective Date: This rule is effective January...

Development and Implementation of the Waste Management Information System to Support Hanford's River Corridor Cleanup

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nolan, L. M.

2006-07-01

This paper describes the development of a Waste Information Management System (WMIS) to support the waste designation, transportation, and disposal processes used by Washington Closure Hanford, LLC to support cleanup of the Columbia River Corridor. This waste, primarily consisting of remediated burial sites and building demolition debris, is disposed at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), which is located in the center of the Hanford Site (an approximately 1460 square kilometers site). WMIS uses a combination of bar-code scanning, hand-held computers, and strategic employment of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag system to track each waste shipment from waste generationmore » to disposal. (authors)« less

Evolution of organic carbon burial in the Global Ocean during the Neogene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LI, Z.; Zhang, Y.

2017-12-01

Although only a small fraction of the organic carbon (OC) that rains from surface waters is eventually buried in the sediments, it is a process that controls the organic sub-cycle of the long-term carbon cycle, and the key for atmospheric O2, CO2 and nutrient cycling. Here we constrain the spatiotemporal variability of OC burial by quantifying the total organic carbon (TOC) mass accumulation rate (MAR) over the Neogene (23.0-2.6 Ma) by compiling the TOC, age model and sediment density data from sites retrieved by the Deep Sea Drilling Program, Ocean Drilling Program, and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. We screened all available sites which yielded 80 sites with adequate data quality, covering all major ocean basins and sedimentary depositional environments. All age models are updated to the GTS 2012 timescale so the TOC MAR records from different sites are comparable. Preliminary results show a clear early Miocene peak of OC burial in many sites related to high sediment flux which might reflect the orogenic uplift and/or glacier erosion. Places that receive high influx of terrigenous inputs become "hotspots" for Neogene burial of OC. At "open ocean" sites, OC burial seems to be more impacted by marine productivity changes, with a pronounced increase during the middle Miocene "Monterey Formation" and late Miocene - early Pliocene "Biogenic Bloom". Upon the completion of the data collection, we will further explore the regional and global OC burial in the context of tectonic uplift, climate change and the evolution of primary producers and consumers during the last 23 million years of Earth history.

The oxygen content of ocean bottom waters, the burial efficiency of organic carbon, and the regulation of atmospheric oxygen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betts, J. N.; Holland, H. D.

1991-01-01

Data for the burial efficiency of organic carbon with marine sediments have been compiled for 69 locations. The burial efficiency as here defined is the ratio of the quantity of organic carbon which is ultimately buried to that which reaches the sediment-water interface. As noted previously, the sedimentation rate exerts a dominant influence on the burial efficiency. The logarithm of the burial efficiency is linearly related to the logarithm of the sedimentation rate at low sedimentation rates. At high sedimentation rates the burial efficiency can exceed 50% and becomes nearly independent of the sedimentation rate. The residual of the burial efficiency after the effect of the sedimentation rate has been subtracted is a weak function of the O2 concentration in bottom waters. The scatter is sufficiently large, so that the effect of the O2 concentration in bottom waters on the burial efficiency of organic matter could be either negligible or a minor but significant part of the mechanism that controls the level of O2 in the atmosphere.

Sensitivity of climate and atmospheric CO2 to deep-ocean and shallow-ocean carbonate burial

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler

1989-01-01

A model of the carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle is presented that distinguishes carbonate masses produced by shallow-ocean and deep-ocean carbonate burial and shows that reasonable increases in deep-ocean burial could produce substantial warmings over a few hundred million years. The model includes exchanges between crust and mantle; transients from burial shifts are found to be sensitive to the fraction of nondegassed carbonates subducted into the mantle. Without the habitation of the open ocean by plankton such as foraminifera and coccolithophores, today's climate would be substantially colder.

Burial preservation of trace fossils as indicator of storm deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, A.J.

Positive semirelief epichnia (ridgelike trace fossils on the top surface of a bed) commonly represent burrow structures, perhaps originally supported by a mucoidal matrix, that have been infilled by sediment. The preservation of these structures, in addition to other trace fossils on a bed superface, suggests an instantaneous burial event and a minimum of concomitant erosion. This supposition can be verified by an absence of paucity of biogenic sedimentary structures accompanied by certain physical sedimentary structures (laminated shell hashes, graded bedding, fissile shales) in strata directly overlying bioturbated surfaces. The main process involved in this burial preservation (the rapid burialmore » of biogenic sedimentary structures with minimum erosion) are probably storm-generated in most instances. Sediments would be deposited primarily in the suspension mode, and mean storm wave base would be slightly above the sediment-water interface. This burial preservation model is most applicable to relatively small stratigraphic intervals (several centimeters or decimeters) representing deposition on an open-marine shelf. Positive semirelief epichnia, interpreted as burrow system infilling, from the Cincinnatian Series (Upper Ordovician) of Ohio and Indiana are used to illustrate these concepts.« less

Mine Burial Assessment State-of the Art in Prediction and Modeling Workshop and Initiation of Technical Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-09-30

Burial Assessment State-of-the Art Science , Technology, and Modeling. A Review of Coastal Research, Modeling, and Naval Operational Needs in Shallow Water...the ONR Mine Burial Prediction Program are summarized below. 1) Completed comprehensive technical reports: a. Mine Burial Assessment, State-of-the Art ... Science , Technology, and Modeling. A review of Coastal Research, Modeling, and Naval Operational Needs in Shallow Water Environments with

Dating of Pliocene Colorado River sediments: implications for cosmogenic burial dating and the evolution of the lower Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matmon, Ari; Stock, Greg M.; Granger, Darryl E.; Howard, Keith A.

2011-01-01

We applied cosmogenic 26Al/10Be burial dating to sedimentary deposits of the ancestral Colorado River. We compared cosmogenic burial ages of sediments to the age of an independently well-dated overlying basalt flow at one site, and also applied cosmogenic burial dating to sediments with less precise independent age constraints. All dated gravels yielded old ages that suggest several episodes of sediment burial over the past ∼5.3 m.y. Comparison of burial ages to the overlying 4.4 Ma basalt yielded good agreement and suggests that under the most favorable conditions, cosmogenic burial dating can extend back 4–5 m.y. In contrast, results from other sites with more broadly independent age constraints highlight the complexities inherent in burial dating; these complexities arise from unknown and complicated burial histories, insufficient shielding, postburial production of cosmogenic isotopes by muons, and unknown initial 26Al/10Be ratios. Nevertheless, and in spite of the large range of burial ages and large uncertainties, we identify samples that provide reasonable burial age constraints on the depositional history of sediment along the lower ancestral Colorado River. These samples suggest possible sediment deposition and burial at ca. 5.3, 4.7, and 3.6 Ma. Our calculated basinwide erosion rate for sediment transported by the modern Colorado River (∼187 mm k.y.−1) is higher than the modern erosion rates inferred from the historic sediment load (80–100 mm k.y.−1). In contrast, basinwide paleo-erosion rates calculated from Pliocene sediments are all under 40 mm k.y.−1 The comparatively lower denudation rates calculated for the Pliocene sediment samples are surprising given that the sampled time intervals include significant Pliocene aggradation and may include much incision of the Grand Canyon and its tributaries. This conflict may arise from extensive storage of sediment along the route of the Colorado River, slower paleobedrock erosion, or the inclusion

Dating of Pliocene Colorado River sediments: Implications for cosmogenic burial dating and the evolution of the lower Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Keith A.; Matmon, Ari; Stock, Greg M.; Granger, Darryl E.

2017-01-01

We applied cosmogenic 26Al/10Be burial dating to sedimentary deposits of the ancestral Colorado River. We compared cosmogenic burial ages of sediments to the age of an independently well-dated overlying basalt flow at one site, and also applied cosmogenic burial dating to sediments with less precise independent age constraints. All dated gravels yielded old ages that suggest several episodes of sediment burial over the past ∼5.3 m.y. Comparison of burial ages to the overlying 4.4 Ma basalt yielded good agreement and suggests that under the most favorable conditions, cosmogenic burial dating can extend back 4–5 m.y. In contrast, results from other sites with more broadly independent age constraints highlight the complexities inherent in burial dating; these complexities arise from unknown and complicated burial histories, insufficient shielding, postburial production of cosmogenic isotopes by muons, and unknown initial 26Al/10Be ratios. Nevertheless, and in spite of the large range of burial ages and large uncertainties, we identify samples that provide reasonable burial age constraints on the depositional history of sediment along the lower ancestral Colorado River. These samples suggest possible sediment deposition and burial at ca. 5.3, 4.7, and 3.6 Ma.Our calculated basinwide erosion rate for sediment transported by the modern Colorado River (∼187 mm k.y.−1) is higher than the modern erosion rates inferred from the historic sediment load (80–100 mm k.y.−1). In contrast, basinwide paleo-erosion rates calculated from Pliocene sediments are all under 40 mm k.y.−1 The comparatively lower denudation rates calculated for the Pliocene sediment samples are surprising given that the sampled time intervals include significant Pliocene aggradation and may include much incision of the Grand Canyon and its tributaries. This conflict may arise from extensive storage of sediment along the route of the Colorado River, slower paleobedrock erosion, or the

Effects of sediment burial on grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes,1844), eggs

USGS Publications Warehouse

George, Amy E.; Chapman, Duane C.; Deters, Joseph E.; Erwin, Susannah O.; Hayer, Cari-Ann

2015-01-01

It is thought that grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) eggs must remain suspended in the water column in order to hatch successfully. Using sand, the effects of varying sediment levels on grass carp eggs were tested at different developmental states and temperatures. Survival was high (15–35%, depending on temperature and trial) in the unburied treatment where eggs rested on a sand bed but were not covered by sediment. Survival was lower in the partial burial (5–10%) and very low (0–4%) in the full burial treatment. In all treatments, delayed hatching (organisms remaining in membranes past the stage of hatching competence) was noted. Deformities such as missing heads and pericardial edema occurred at high rates in the partial and full burials. Eggs that come in contact with the benthos and are resuspended in the water column should be considered in embryonic drift models.

Soil burial biodegradation studies of palm oil-based UV-curable films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tajau, Rida, E-mail: rida@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Salleh, Mek Zah, E-mail: mekzah@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Salleh, Nik Ghazali Nik, E-mail: nik-ghazali@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my

The palm oil-based ultraviolet (uv)-curable films were subjected to an outdoor soil burial test to investigate the biodegradation under natural environment. The films were burial in the soil experiment plot at the Nuclear Malaysia’s Dengkil complex. The uv-curable films were synthesized from the epoxidized palm oil acrylated (EPOLA) resin and the polyurethane palm oil (POBUA) resin, respectively. Biodegradation tests are more specific to burial film in soil experiments for 12 months under natural conditions. The biodegradability of palm oil resin based uv-curable films were investigated and compared with the petrochemical resin based film. The films properties were compared with respectmore » to properties of the thermal characteristic, the crystallinity, the morphology and the weight loss which are analyzed using the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), an optical microscope and the weight loss of film calculation. These findings suggested that the palm oil-based uv-curable films show quite satisfactory biodegradation levels.« less

Effects of urban stream burial on organic matter dynamics and reach scale nitrate retention - final

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) retention in streams is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of streams in stormwater pipes in urban watersheds. We predicted that stream burial suppresses the capacity of streams to retain nitrate (NO3 −) by eliminating primar...

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Materials and Energy Corporation Sealed Sources at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shott, Gregory

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Materials and Energy Corporation (M&EC) Sealed Source waste stream (PERM000000036, Revision 0) is suitable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Disposal of the M&EC Sealed Source waste meets all U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” Chapter IV, Section P performance objectives (DOE 1999). The M&EC Sealed Source waste stream is recommended for acceptance without conditions.

The utility of ground-penetrating radar and its time-dependence in the discovery of clandestine burials.

PubMed

Salsarola, Dominic; Poppa, Pasquale; Amadasi, Alberto; Mazzarelli, Debora; Gibelli, Daniele; Zanotti, Emma; Porta, Davide; Cattaneo, Cristina

2015-08-01

In the field of forensic investigation burial is a relatively common method of hiding a corpse. The location of clandestine graves is, however, a particularly difficult task in which multiple forensic disciplines such as anthropology, botany or archaeology can provide valuable assistance. The use of GPR (ground-penetrating radar) has recently been introduced as a method in the detection of these graves, but what is the true potential of this tool in an operative search scenario? In this study a total of 11 pig carcasses were buried in two wooded areas, each presenting a similar soil composition. The animals were subsequently exhumed at regular intervals, ranging from 2 to 111 weeks, using systematic GPR analysis of the burial sites and archaeological recovery of the subjects that were then autopsied. GPR proved to be useful in recognizing anomalies at the chosen depths of burial and appeared to be dependent on the state of decay of the samples, producing only slight anomalous readings in the presence of skeletal remains: at 92 weeks from burial the difference in signal was weak and at 111 weeks GPR survey offered no helpful information as to burial location. The experiment, in this particular context, determined the technique as being successful in the presence of recent burials, highlighting the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the operative search for buried human remains. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 35.929-2 - General requirements for all user charge systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... of the user charges or ad valorem taxes which are attributable to waste water treatment services. (g... than every 2 years the waste water contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation... subscribers receiving waste treatment services from the grantee shall adopt user charge systems in accordance...

40 CFR 35.929-2 - General requirements for all user charge systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... of the user charges or ad valorem taxes which are attributable to waste water treatment services. (g... than every 2 years the waste water contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation... subscribers receiving waste treatment services from the grantee shall adopt user charge systems in accordance...

The presence of nuclear families in prehistoric collective burials revisited: the bronze age burial of Montanissell Cave (Spain) in the light of aDNA.

PubMed

Simón, Marc; Jordana, Xavier; Armentano, Nuria; Santos, Cristina; Díaz, Nancy; Solórzano, Eduvigis; López, Joan B; González-Ruiz, Mercedes; Malgosa, Assumpció

2011-11-01

Ancient populations have commonly been thought to have lived in small groups where extreme endogamy was the norm. To contribute to this debate, a genetic analysis has been carried out on a collective burial with eight primary inhumations from Montanissell Cave in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees. Radiocarbon dating clearly placed the burial in the Bronze Age, around 3200 BP. The composition of the group-two adults (one male, one female), one young woman, and five children from both sexes-seemed to represent the structure of a typical nuclear family. The genetic evidence proves this assumption to be wrong. In fact, at least five out of the eight mitochondrial haplotypes were different, denying the possibility of a common maternal ancestor for all of them. Nevertheless, 50% of the inhumations shared haplogroup J, so the possibility of a maternal relationship cannot be ruled out. Actually, combining different analyses performed using ancient and living populations, the probability of having four related J individuals in Montanissell Cave would range from 0.9884 to 0.9999. Owing to the particularities of this singular collective burial (small number of bodies placed altogether in a hidden cave, the evidence of non-simultaneous interments, close dating and unusual grave goods), we suggest that it might represent a small group with a patrilocal mating system. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The combined effects of sediment accretion (burial) and nutrient enrichment on the growth and propagation of Phalaris arundinacea

PubMed Central

Chen, Xinsheng; Liao, Yulin; Xie, Yonghong; Wu, Chao; Li, Feng; Deng, Zhengmiao; Li, Xu

2017-01-01

Sediment accretion (burial) and nutrient enrichment occur concurrently in lacustrine wetlands, but the role of these two aspects of sedimentation on macrophyte performance has rarely been examined. Here, we investigated the concurrent effects of sediment accretion and nutrient enrichment on the growth and propagation of Phalaris arundinacea L. using a factorial sediment burial by nutrient addition experimental design. Regardless of burial depth, nutrient addition increased biomass accumulation, shoot mass ratio, the number of rhizomes, and the length of ramets and rhizomes. While burial had little effect on plant growth and propagation, it had an interactive effect with nutrient addition on belowground growth and ramet production. These results indicate that P. arundinacea is tolerant to burial, which allows it to grow in habitats with high sedimentation rates. However, the enhanced growth and propagation of P. arundinacea following sedimentation were primarily related to nutrient enrichment. This suggests that nutrient enrichment of sediments, which occurs in many lacustrine wetlands, increases the risk of invasion by P. arundinacea. PMID:28054590

Evaluation of optional fee structures for solid waste management in China.

PubMed

Wu, Yun-Ga; Chu, Zhu-Jie; Zhuang, Jun

2018-06-01

A municipal solid waste fee has become an important means for the implementation of the waste management rendered by the government all around the world. Based on the ecological environmental compensation theory, this article constructs an analytical framework of waste charging from the perspective of public policy evaluation, to carry on the comprehensive comparison and analysis to the operability, feasibility, validity, rationality, and universality of the two modes of waste charging: Ration charge and unit-pricing modes. The results indicate that in the cities with large amounts of waste production, long time of waste charging, and high disposal rate, pilot projects should be carried out; and the government needs to improve the construction of associated laws and regulations.

Multibeam Observations of Mine Burial Near Clearwater, FL, Including Comparisons to Predictions of Wave-Induced Burial

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING. VOL. 32. NO. 1. JANUARY 2007 103 Multibeam Observations of Mine Burial Near Clearwater, FL, Including...DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 20090522023 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES IEEE Journal of Oceanic ...Z39.18 104 IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING. VOL. 32, NO. 1. JANUARY 2007 depth (m) 28°00’ N 27°58’ N 83°04’ W 83°02’ W 83°00’ W Fig. 1. Location

Experimental sand burial affects seedling survivorship, morphological traits, and biomass allocation of Ulmus pumila var. sabulosa in the Horqin Sandy Land, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Jiao; Busso, Carlos Alberto; Jiang, Deming; Musa, Ala; Wu, Dafu; Wang, Yongcui; Miao, Chunping

2016-07-01

As a native tree species, Ulmus pumila var. sabulosa (sandy elm) is widely distributed in the Horqin Sandy Land, China. However, seedlings of this species have to withstand various depths of sand burial after emergence because of increasing soil degradation, which is mainly caused by overgrazing, climate change, and wind erosion. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the changes in its survivorship, morphological traits, and biomass allocation when seedlings were buried at different burial depths: unburied controls and seedlings buried vertically up to 33, 67, 100, or 133 % of their initial mean seedling height. The results showed that partial sand burial treatments (i.e., less than 67 % burial) did not reduce seedling survivorship, which still reached 100 %. However, seedling mortality increased when sand burial was equal to or greater than 100 %. In comparison with the control treatment, seedling height and stem diameter increased at least by 6 and 14 % with partial burial, respectively. In the meantime, seedling taproot length, total biomass, and relative mass growth rates were at least enhanced by 10, 15.6, and 27.6 %, respectively, with the partial sand burial treatment. Furthermore, sand burial decreased total leaf area and changed biomass allocation in seedlings, partitioning more biomass to aboveground organs (e.g., leaves) and less to belowground parts (roots). Complete sand burial after seedling emergence inhibited its re-emergence and growth, even leading to death. Our findings indicated that seedlings of sandy elm showed some resistance to partial sand burial and were adapted to sandy environments from an evolutionary perspective. The negative effect of excessive sand burial after seedling emergence might help in understanding failures in recruitments of sparse elm in the study region.

A paleolatitude approach to assessing surface temperature history for use in burial heating models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barker, Charles E.

2000-01-01

Calculations using heat flow theory as well as case histories show that over geologic time scales (106 years), changes in mean annual surface temperature (Ts) on the order of 10°C penetrate kilometers deep into the crust. Thus, burial heating models of sedimentary basins, which typically span kilometers in depth and persist over geological time frames, should consider Ts history to increase their accuracy. In any case, Ts history becomes important when it changes enough to be detected by a thermal maturation index like vitrinite reflectance, a parameter widely used to constrain burial heating models. Assessment of the general temperature conditions leading to petroleum generation indicates that changes in Ts as small as 6°C can be detected by vitrinite reflectance measurements. This low temperature threshold indicates that oil and gas windows can be significantly influenced by Ts history. A review of paleoclimatic factors suggests the significant and geologically resolvable factors affecting Ts history are paleolatitude, long-term changes between cool and warm geological periods (climate mode), the degree to which a basin is removed from the sea (geographic isolation), and elevation or depth relative to sea level. Case studies using geologically realistic data ranges or different methods of estimating Ts in a burial heating model indicate a significant impact of Ts when: (1) continental drift, subduction, tectonism and erosion significantly change paleolatitude, paleoaltitude, or paleogeography; (2) strata are at, or near, maximum burial, and changes in Ts directly influence maximum burial temperature; and (3), when a significant change in Ts occurs near the opening or closing of the oil or gas windows causing petroleum generation to begin or cease. Case studies show that during the burial heating and petroleum generation phase of basin development changes in climate mode alone can influence Ts by about 15°C. At present, Ts changes from the poles to the equator

Holocene age of the Yuha burial: Direct radiocarbon determinations by accelerator mass spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stafford, Thomas W.; Jull, A.J.T.; Zabel, T.H.; Donahue, D.J.; Duhamel, R.C.; Brendel, K.; Haynes, C.V.; Bischoff, J.L.; Payen, L.A.; Taylor, R.E.

1984-01-01

The view that human populations may not have arrived in the Western Hemisphere before about 12,000 radiocarbon yr BP1,2 has been challenged by claims of much greater antiquity for a small number of archaeological sites and human skeleton samples. One such site is the Homo sapiens sapiens cairn burial excavated in 1971 from the Yuha desert, Imperial County, California3-5. Radiocarbon analysis of caliche coating one of the bones of the skeleton yielded a radiocarbon age of 21,500??1,000 yr BP4, while radiocarbon and uranium series analyses of caliche coating a cairn boulder yielded ages of 22,125??400 and 19,000??3,000 yr BP, respectively5. The late Pleistocene age assignment to the Yuha burial has been challenged by comparing the cultural context of the burial with other cairn burials in the same region6, on the basis of the site's geomorphological context and from radiocarbon analyses of soil caliches. 7,8 In rebuttal, arguments in defence of the original age assignment have been presented9,10 as well as an amino acid racemization analysis on the Yuha skeleton indicating an age of 23,600??2,600 yr BP11. The tandem accelerator mass spectrometer at the University of Arizona has now been used to measure the ratio of 14C/13C in several organic and inorganic fractions of post-cranial bone from the Yuha H. sapiens sapiens skeleton. Isotope ratios from six chemical fractions all yielded radiocarbon ages for the skeleton of less than 4,000 yr BP. These results indicate that the Yuha skeleton is of Holocene age, in agreement with the cultural context of the burial, and in disagreement with the previously assigned Pleistocene age of 19,000-23,000 yr. ?? 1984 Nature Publishing Group.

Assessing global carbon burial during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2, Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owens, J. D.; Lyons, T. W.; Lowery, C. M.

2017-12-01

Reconstructing the areal extent and total amount of organic carbon burial during ancient events remains elusive even for the best documented oceanic anoxic event (OAE) in Earth history, the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event ( 93.9 Ma), or OAE 2. Reports from 150 OAE 2 localities provide a wide global distribution. However, despite the large number of sections, the majority are found within the proto-Atlantic and Tethyan oceans and interior seaways. Considering these gaps in spatial coverage, the pervasive increase in organic carbon (OC) burial during OAE2 that drove carbon isotope values more positive (average of 4‰) can provide additional insight. These isotope data allow us to estimate the total global burial of OC, even for unstudied portions of the global ocean. Thus, we can solve for any `missing' OC sinks by comparing our estimates from a forward carbon-isotope box model with the known, mapped distribution of OC for OAE 2 sediments. Using the known OC distribution and reasonably extrapolating to the surrounding regions of analogous depositional conditions accounts for only 13% of the total seafloor, mostly in marginal marine settings. This small geographic area accounts for more OC burial than the entire modern ocean, but significantly less than the amount necessary to produce the observed isotope record. Using modern and OAE 2 average OC rates we extrapolate further to appropriate depositional settings in the unknown portions of seafloor, mostly deep abyssal plains. This addition significantly increases the predicted amount buried but still does not account for total burial. Additional sources, including hydrocarbon migration, lacustrine, and coal also cannot account for the missing OC. This difference points to unknown portions of the open ocean with high TOC contents or exceptionally high TOC in productive marginal marine regions, which are underestimated in our extrapolations. This difference might be explained by highly productive margins within the

New Hydroxyproline Radiocarbon Dates from Sungir, Russia, Confirm Early Mid Upper Palaeolithic Burials in Eurasia

PubMed Central

Nalawade-Chavan, Shweta; McCullagh, James; Hedges, Robert

2014-01-01

Sungir (Russia) is a key Mid-Upper Palaeolithic site in Eurasia, containing several spectacular burials that disclose early evidence for complex burial rites in the form of a range of grave goods deposited along with the dead. Dating has been particularly challenging, with multiple radiocarbon dates ranging from 19,160±270 to 28,800±240 BP for burials that are believed to be closely similar in age. There are disparities in the radiocarbon dates of human bones, faunal remains and charcoal found on the floor of burials [1], [2], [3]. Our approach has been to develop compound-specific methods using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to separate single amino acids, such as hydroxyproline, and thereby avoid the known human contamination on the bones themselves. Previously, we applied this technique to obtain radiocarbon dates of ∼30,000 BP for Sungir 2, Sungir 3 and a mammoth bone from the occupation levels of the site [4]. The single amino acid radiocarbon dates were in good agreement with each other compared to all the dates previously reported, supporting their reliability. Here we report new hydroxyproline dates for two more human burials from the same site, Sungir 1 and Sungir 4. All five hydroxyproline dates reported are statistically indistinguishable and support an identical age for the group. The results suggest that compound-specific radiocarbon analysis should be considered seriously as the method of choice when precious archaeological remains are to be dated because they give a demonstrably contaminant-free radiocarbon age. The new ages are, together with the previously dated ‘Red Lady of Paviland’ human in the British Isles, the earliest for Mid Upper Palaeolithic burial behaviour in Eurasia, and point to the precocious appearance of this form of rite in Europe Russia. PMID:24416120

New hydroxyproline radiocarbon dates from Sungir, Russia, confirm early Mid Upper Palaeolithic burials in Eurasia.

PubMed

Nalawade-Chavan, Shweta; McCullagh, James; Hedges, Robert

2014-01-01

Sungir (Russia) is a key Mid-Upper Palaeolithic site in Eurasia, containing several spectacular burials that disclose early evidence for complex burial rites in the form of a range of grave goods deposited along with the dead. Dating has been particularly challenging, with multiple radiocarbon dates ranging from 19,160±270 to 28,800±240 BP for burials that are believed to be closely similar in age. There are disparities in the radiocarbon dates of human bones, faunal remains and charcoal found on the floor of burials. Our approach has been to develop compound-specific methods using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to separate single amino acids, such as hydroxyproline, and thereby avoid the known human contamination on the bones themselves. Previously, we applied this technique to obtain radiocarbon dates of ∼30,000 BP for Sungir 2, Sungir 3 and a mammoth bone from the occupation levels of the site. The single amino acid radiocarbon dates were in good agreement with each other compared to all the dates previously reported, supporting their reliability. Here we report new hydroxyproline dates for two more human burials from the same site, Sungir 1 and Sungir 4. All five hydroxyproline dates reported are statistically indistinguishable and support an identical age for the group. The results suggest that compound-specific radiocarbon analysis should be considered seriously as the method of choice when precious archaeological remains are to be dated because they give a demonstrably contaminant-free radiocarbon age. The new ages are, together with the previously dated 'Red Lady of Paviland' human in the British Isles, the earliest for Mid Upper Palaeolithic burial behaviour in Eurasia, and point to the precocious appearance of this form of rite in Europe Russia.

Organic carbon burial in a mangrove forest, margin and intertidal mud flat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Christian J.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Naidu, A. Sathy; Sanders, Luciana M.; Patchineelam, Sambasiva R.

2010-12-01

The flux of total organic carbon (TOC) to depositional facies (intertidal mud flat, margin and forest) was quantified for a tropical mangrove forest in Brazil. Results indicate that these mangrove margins and intertidal mudflats are sites of large TOC accumulation, almost four times greater than the global averages for mangrove forests. The TOC burial rates were determined from organic carbon content in sediment cores which were dated using 210Pb. Burial rates were calculated to be 1129, 949, and 353 (g m -2 yr -1), for the mud flat, margin and forest, respectively. Sediment accumulation rates (SAR) were estimated to be 7.3, 5.0 and 2.8 mm yr -1. Sediment characterization (δ 13C, δ 15N, TOC/TN and mud fraction) indicated a representative mangrove system with a record of consistent organic matter flux of up to 100 years. Because of substantial burial of organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems, their role in the global carbon budget must be considered. More importantly, as climate change influences temperature and sea level, mangrove ecosystems will respond to specific climatic conditions.

UAV-imaging to model growth response of marram grass to sand burial: Implications for coastal dune development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nolet, Corjan; van Puijenbroek, Marinka; Suomalainen, Juha; Limpens, Juul; Riksen, Michel

2018-04-01

Vegetated coastal dunes have the capacity to keep up with sea-level rise by accumulating and stabilizing wind-blown sand. In Europe, this is attributed to marram grass (Ammophila arenaria), a coastal grass species that combines two unique advantages for dune-building: (1) a very high tolerance to burial by wind-blown sand, and (2) more vigorous growth due to positive feedback to sand burial. However, while these vegetation characteristics have been demonstrated, observational data has not been used to model a function to describe the growth response of Ammophila to sand burial. Studies that model coastal dune development by incorporating positive feedback, as a result, may be hampered by growth functions that are unvalidated against field data. Therefore, this study aims to parameterize an empirical relationship to model the growth response of Ammophila to burial by wind-blown sand. A coastal foredune along a nourished beach in the Netherlands was monitored from April 2015 to April 2016. High-resolution geospatial data was acquired using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Growth response of Ammophila, expressed by changes in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (Δ NDVI) and vegetation cover (Δ Cover), is related to a sand burial gradient by fitting a Gaussian function using nonlinear quantile regression. The regression curves indicate an optimal burial rate for Ammophila of 0.31 m of sand per growing season, and suggest (by extrapolation of the data) a maximum burial tolerance for Ammophila between 0.78 (for Δ Cover) and 0.96 m (for Δ NDVI) of sand per growing season. These findings are advantageous to coastal management: maximizing the potential of Ammophila to develop dunes maximizes the potential of coastal dunes to provide coastal safety.

[Deposition and burial of organic carbon in coastal salt marsh: research progress].

PubMed

Cao, Lei; Song, Jin-Ming; Li, Xue-Gang; Yuan, Hua-Mao; Li, Ning; Duan, Li-Qin

2013-07-01

Coastal salt marsh has higher potential of carbon sequestration, playing an important role in mitigating global warming, while coastal saline soil is the largest organic carbon pool in the coastal salt marsh carbon budget. To study the carbon deposition and burial in this soil is of significance for clearly understanding the carbon budget of coastal salt marsh. This paper summarized the research progress on the deposition and burial of organic carbon in coastal salt marsh from the aspects of the sources of coastal salt marsh soil organic carbon, soil organic carbon storage and deposition rate, burial mechanisms of soil organic carbon, and the relationships between the carbon sequestration in coastal salt marsh and the global climate change. Some suggestions for the future related researches were put forward: 1) to further study the underlying factors that control the variability of carbon storage in coastal salt marsh, 2) to standardize the methods for measuring the carbon storage and the deposition and burial rates of organic carbon in coastal salt marsh, 3) to quantify the lateral exchange of carbon flux between coastal salt marsh and adjacent ecosystems under the effects of tide, and 4) to approach whether the effects of global warming and the increased productivity could compensate for the increase of the organic carbon decomposition rate resulted from sediment respiration. To make clear the driving factors determining the variability of carbon sequestration rate and how the organic carbon storage is affected by climate change and anthropogenic activities would be helpful to improve the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal salt marshes in China.

[Effects of sand burial on fluxes of greenhouse gases from the soil covered by biocrust in an arid desert region.

PubMed

Teng, Jia Ling; Jia, Rong Liang; Hu, Yi Gang; Xu, Bing Xin; Chen, Meng Chen; Zhao, Yun

2016-03-01

Based on the measurements of the fluxes of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O from the soil covered by two types of biocrusts dominated separately by moss and algae-lichen, followed by 0 (control), 1 (shallow) and 10 (deep) mm depths of sand burial treatments, we studied the effects of sand burial on greenhouse gases fluxes and their relationships with soil temperature and moisture at Shapotou, southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. The results showed that sand burial had significantly positive effects on CO 2 emission fluxes and CH 4 uptake fluxes of the soil covered by the two types of biocrusts, but imposed differential effects on N 2 O fluxes depending on the type of biocrust and the depth of burial. Deep burial (10 mm) dramatically increased the N 2 O uptake fluxes of the soil co-vered by the two types of biocrusts, while shallow burial (1 mm) decreased the N 2 O uptake flux of the soil co-vered by moss crust only and had no significant effects on N 2 O uptake flux of the soil covered by algae-lichen crust. In addition, CO 2 fluxes of the two biocrusts were closely related to the soil temperature and soil moisture, thereby increasing with the raised soil surface temperature and soil moisture caused by sand burial. However, the relationships of burial-induced changes of soil temperature and moisture with the changes in the other two greenhouse gases fluxes were not evident, indicating that the variations of soil temperature and moisture caused by sand burial were not the key factors affecting the fluxes of CH 4 and N 2 O of the soil covered by the two types of biocrusts.

Global pulses of organic carbon burial in deep-sea sediments during glacial maxima

PubMed Central

Cartapanis, Olivier; Bianchi, Daniele; Jaccard, Samuel L.; Galbraith, Eric D.

2016-01-01

The burial of organic carbon in marine sediments removes carbon dioxide from the ocean–atmosphere pool, provides energy to the deep biosphere, and on geological timescales drives the oxygenation of the atmosphere. Here we quantify natural variations in the burial of organic carbon in deep-sea sediments over the last glacial cycle. Using a new data compilation of hundreds of sediment cores, we show that the accumulation rate of organic carbon in the deep sea was consistently higher (50%) during glacial maxima than during interglacials. The spatial pattern and temporal progression of the changes suggest that enhanced nutrient supply to parts of the surface ocean contributed to the glacial burial pulses, with likely additional contributions from more efficient transfer of organic matter to the deep sea and better preservation of organic matter due to reduced oxygen exposure. These results demonstrate a pronounced climate sensitivity for this global carbon cycle sink. PMID:26923945

Examining the diagenetic alteration of human bone material from a range of archaeological burial sites using nuclear microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliott, T. A.; Grime, G. W.

1993-05-01

The inorganic analysis of archaeological bone material can potentially provide a wealth of information about the chronology, diet and palaeoenvironment of past populations: for example, strontium and uranium levels are used in palaeodietary and dating studies, respectively. However, the extent to which the chemical composition of bone is subject to diagenetic change during burial is open to controversy due, in part, to differences in analytical technique, bone types and burial conditions. To investigate this problem, archaeological human bone material from a number of different geological environments including Pompeii and a 12th century British ecclesiastical site, together with material from two seawater burials (The "Mary Rose" and a 6th century Mediterranean wreck) have been studied using the nuclear microprobe facility at the University of Oxford. Results using microbeam PIXE show that bone is subject to contamination from a wide range of trace elements depending on the burial conditions. Elemental maps are presented to demonstrate the distribution of trace element accumulation under different burial conditions, and the significance of this work to future trace element studies is discussed.

Water movement in the unsaturated zone at a low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, South Carolina

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, Kevin F.; McMahon, Peter B.

1989-01-01

Four unsaturated-zone monitoring sites and a meteorologic station were installed at the low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, S.C., to investigate the geohydrologic and climatologic factors affecting water movement in the unsaturated zone. The study site is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The unsaturated zone consists of a few centimeters to more than 1 meter of surface sand, underlain by up to 15 meters of clayey sand. Two monitoring sites were installed in experimental trenches, and two were installed in radioactive-waste trenches. Two different trench designs were evaluated at the monitoring sites. A meteorologic station was used to measure precipitation and to calculate actual evapotranspiration using the Bowen ratio method. Soil-moisture tensiometers, soil-moisture conductance probes, and temperature sensors were used to monitor soil-water movement in and adjacent to the trenches. Tracer tests using sodium chloride were conducted at each monitoring site. Hydrologic properties of unsaturated-zone materials were also determined. Data collection at the monitoring sites began in January 1982 and continued until early May 1984. Tensiometer data show that the unsaturated materials had their highest percent saturations in winter and spring. Saturations in the backfill sand varied from 20 to 100 percent, and in the adjacent undisturbed and overlying compacted clayey sand, from about 75 to 100 percent. The same pattern generally was observed at all four monitoring sites. The tracer-test data indicate that water movement occurred mainly during the recharge period, winter and spring. The tracer-test results enabled computation of rates of unsaturated flow in the compacted clayey-sand cap, the compacted clayey-sand barrier, and the backfill sand. A micro-scale hydrologic budget was determined for an undisturbed part of the site from July 1983 through June 1984.Total precipitation was 144 centimeters, and actual evapotranspiration was 101

Geohydrology of the near-surface unsaturated zone adjacent to the disposal site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nevada: A section in Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings (Circular 1036)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Jeffrey M.; Bedinger, Marion S.; Stevens, Peter R.

1990-01-01

Shallow-land burial in arid areas is considered the best method for isolating low-level radioactive waste from the environment (Nichols and Goode, this report; Mercer and others, 1983). A major threat to waste isolation in shallow trenches is ground-water percolation. Repository sites in arid areas are believed to minimize the risk of ground-water contamination because such sites receive minimal precipitation and are underlain by thick unsaturated zones. Unfortunately, few data are available on rates of water percolation in an arid environment.

SECTION D, WITH FLAT GROUP BURIAL MARKER AT RIGHT FOREGROUND. ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

SECTION D, WITH FLAT GROUP BURIAL MARKER AT RIGHT FOREGROUND. VIEW TO NORTHWEST. - Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island Arsenal, 0.25 mile north of southern tip of Rock Island, Rock Island, Rock Island County, IL

Final Hazard Categorization and Auditable Safety Analysis for the Remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, 118-D-3, 118-H-1, 118-H-2 and 118-H-3 Solid Waste Burial Grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T. J. Rodovsky

2006-03-01

This report presents the initial hazard categorization, final hazard categorization and auditable safety analysis for the remediation of the 118-D-1, 118-D-2, and 118-D-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-D/DR Area of the Hanford Site and the 118-H-1, 118-H-2, and 118-H-3 Burial Grounds located within the 100-H Area of the Hanford Site.

Early evidence (ca. 12,000 B.P.) for feasting at a burial cave in Israel

PubMed Central

Munro, Natalie D.; Grosman, Leore

2010-01-01

Feasting is one of humanity's most universal and unique social behaviors. Although evidence for feasting is common in the early agricultural societies of the Neolithic, evidence in pre-Neolithic contexts is more elusive. We found clear evidence for feasting on wild cattle and tortoises at Hilazon Tachtit cave, a Late Epipaleolithic (12,000 calibrated years B.P.) burial site in Israel. This includes unusually high densities of butchered tortoise and wild cattle remains in two structures, the unique location of the feasting activity in a burial cave, and the manufacture of two structures for burial and related feasting activities. The results indicate that community members coalesced at Hilazon to engage in special rituals to commemorate the burial of the dead and that feasts were central elements in these important events. Feasts likely served important roles in the negotiation and solidification of social relationships, the integration of communities, and the mitigation of scalar stress. These and other social changes in the Natufian period mark significant changes in human social complexity that continued into the Neolithic period. Together, social and economic change signal the very beginning of the agricultural transition. PMID:20805510

Large-Scale Laboratory Experiments of Initiation of Motion and Burial of Objects under Currents and Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landry, B. J.; Wu, H.; Wenzel, S. P.; Gates, S. J.; Fytanidis, D. K.; Garcia, M. H.

2017-12-01

Unexploded ordnances (UXOs) can be found at the bottom of coastal areas as the residue of military wartime activities, training or accidents. These underwater objects are hazards for humans and the coastal environment increasing the need for addressing the knowledge gaps regarding the initiation of motion, fate and transport of UXOs under currents and wave conditions. Extensive experimental analysis was conducted for the initiation of motion of UXOs under various rigid bed roughness conditions (smooth PVC, pitted steel, marbles, gravels and bed of spherical particles) for both unidirectional and oscillatory flows. Particle image velocimetry measurements were conducted under both flow conditions to resolve the flow structure estimate the critical flow conditions for initiation of motion of UXOs. Analysis of the experimental observations shows that the geometrical characteristics of the UXOs, their properties (i.e. volume, mass) and their orientation with respect to the mean flow play an important role on the reorientation and mobility of the examined objects. A novel unified initiation of motion diagram is proposed using an effective/unified hydrodynamic roughness and a new length scale which includes the effect of the projected area and the bed-UXO contact area. Both unidirectional and oscillatory critical flow conditions collapsed into a single dimensionless diagram highlighting the importance and practical applicability of the proposed work. In addition to the rigid bed experiments, the burial dynamics of proud UXOs on a mobile sand bed were also examined. The complex flow-bedform-UXOs interactions were evaluated which highlighted the effect of munition density on burial rate and final burial depth. Burial dynamics and mechanisms for motion were examined for various UXOs types, and results show that, for the case of the low density UXOs under energetic conditions, lateral transport coexists with burial. Prior to burial, UXO re-orientation was also observed

Forensic Geopedology and Micropedology: New Indications and Lookouts from Pigs Experimental Burials.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ern, Stephania Irmgard Elena; Trombino, Luca

2013-04-01

The role played by soil scientists in the modern forensic science is very real and important, above all in the crime scenes when buried remains, both strongly decomposed or skeletal, are found. Thanks to a PhD project on Forensic Geopedology, an interdisciplinary team of the Universities of Milano and Milano Bicocca, has been working for the last four years on several sets of experimental burials of pigs and piglets, in different soil types and for different times of burial, in order to get new evidences on environmental responses to the burial, including geopedological and micropedological aspects. The present work constitutes a conclusive synthesis of results emerged from comparative soil characterizations, listed as follow: - Grainsize analyses; - Determination of pH in H2O and KCl; - Total Nitrogen and Organic Carbon analyses: - Quantification of Available Phosphorous; - Determination of Cation Exchange Capacity and Base Saturation; - Analyses of Volatile Fatty Acids; - Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analyses; - Petrographic Optical Microscope analyses (including thin sections descriptions). It is proposed a diachronic picture of the project where it is possible to follow the variability of significance of the different kinds of analyses carried out. The achieved results, especially when cross-checked, are very stimulating as regards the setting of analytical protocols for: - The determination of time since burial (TSB); - The discrimination between primary and secondary burials; - The identification of corpses concealments. All the analyses and different approaches discussed and addressed in this work require extreme care when applied to real forensic scenarios; however, the protocols tested can be a piece of a large and articulated puzzle that depicts the major forensic case studies in which Geopedology can be of help in solving problems or in answering some peculiar questions. It is important to understand that a science so

Predictions and Observations of Munitions Burial Under Intense Storm Waves at Duck, NC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calantoni, J.; Klammer, H.; Sheremet, A.

2017-12-01

The fate of munitions or unexploded ordnance (UXO) resting on a submarine sediment bed is a critical safety concern. Munitions may remain in place or completely disappear for significant but unknown periods, after becoming buried in the sediment bed. Clearly, burial of munitions drastically complicates the detection and removal of potential threats. Here, we present field data of wave height and surrogate munitions burial depths near the 8-m isobath at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Field Research Facility, Duck, North Carolina, observed between January and March 2015. The experiment captured a remarkable sequence of storms that included at least 10 events, of which 6 were characterized by wave fields of significant heights exceeding 2 m and with peak periods of approximately 10 s. During the strongest storm, waves of 14 s period and heights exceeding 2 m were recorded for more than 3 days; significant wave height reached 5 m at the peak of activity. At the end of the experiment, divers measured munition burial depths of up to 60 cm below the seabed level. However, the local bathymetry showed less than 5 cm variation between the before and after-storm states, suggesting the local net sediment accumulation / loss was negligible. The lack of bathymetric variability strongly suggests that the munitions sank into the bed, which would suggest an extreme state of sand agitation during the storm. We explore existing analytical solutions for the dynamic interaction between waves and sediment to predict munitions burial depths. Measured time series of wave pressure near the sediment bed were converted into wave-induced changes in pore pressures and the effective stress states of the sediment. Different sediment failure criteria based on minimum normal and maximum shear stresses were then applied to evaluate the appropriateness of individual failure criteria to predict observed burial depths. Results are subjected to a sensitivity analysis with respect to uncertain

10 CFR 1303.109 - Restrictions on charging fees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Restrictions on charging fees. 1303.109 Section 1303.109 Energy NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD PUBLIC INFORMATION AND REQUESTS § 1303.109 Restrictions on charging fees. (a) When determining search or review fees: (1) No search or review fee shall be charged for...

Effects of urban stream burial on nitrogen uptake and ecosystem metabolism: implications for watershed nitrogen and carbon fluxes

EPA Science Inventory

Urbanization has resulted in extensive burial and channelization of headwater streams, yet little is known about impacts on stream ecosystem functions critical for reducing downstream nitrogen pollution. To characterize the biogeochemical impact of stream burial, we measured NO3...

Ecology and evolution of the diaspore "burial syndrome".

PubMed

Humphreys, Aelys M; Antonelli, Alexandre; Pirie, Michael D; Linder, H Peter

2011-04-01

Hygroscopically active awns or "bristles" have long intrigued scientists. Experimental evidence shows that they are important for diaspore burial in the correct orientation, thereby increasing successful seed germination and seedling survival. Despite these ecological advantages, 38 of the 280 species of grasses in Danthonioideae lack awns. We provide the first study of awns in a phylogenetic context and show that although the awnless state has arisen ca. 25 times independently, the ecological disadvantage of not having an awn also applies in an evolutionary context. Only in Tribolium and Schismus have awnless ancestors diversified to form a clade of primarily awnless descendents. Several of the awnless species in these genera are annual and we find a significant correlation between the evolution of awns and the evolution of life history. A suite of other diaspore traits accompany the awned or awnless states. We interpret the awn as being the visible constituent of a compound "burial syndrome," the two ecological extremes of which may explain the correlation between awns and life history and provide an explanation why awnless species in Tribolium and Schismus persist. © 2010 The Author(s). Evolution© 2010 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Waste disposal technologies for polychlorinated biphenyls.

PubMed Central

Piver, W T; Lindstrom, F T

1985-01-01

Improper practices in the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes by land burial, chemical means and incineration distribute these chemicals and related compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) throughout the environment. The complete range of methods for disposal that have been proposed and are in use are examined and analyzed, with emphasis given to the two most commonly used methods: land burial and incineration. The understanding of aquifer contamination caused by migration of PCBs from subsurface burial sites requires a description of the physical, chemical and biological processes governing transport in unsaturated and saturated soils. For this purpose, a model is developed and solved for different soil conditions and external driving functions. The model couples together the fundamental transport phenomena for heat, mass, and moisture flow within the soil. To rehabilitate a contaminated aquifer, contaminated groundwaters are withdrawn through drainage wells, PCBs are extracted with solvents or activated carbon and treated by chemical, photochemical or thermal methods. The chemical and photochemical methods are reviewed, but primary emphasis is devoted to the use of incineration as the preferred method of disposal. After discussing the formation of PCDFs and PCDDs during combustion from chloroaromatic, chloroaliphatic, as well as organic and inorganic chloride precursors, performance characteristics of different thermal destructors are presented and analyzed. To understand how this information can be used, basic design equations are developed from governing heat and mass balances that can be applied to the construction of incinerators capable of more than 99.99% destruction with minimal to nondetectable levels of PCDFs and PCDDs. PMID:3921358

Evapotranspiration Cover for the 92-Acre Area Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Area 5 Waste Management Division, Nevada National Security Site, Final CQA Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NSTec Environmental Management; The Delphi Groupe, Inc.; J. A. Cesare and Associates, Inc.

The report is the Final Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) Report for the 92-Acrew Evapotranspiration Cover, Area 5 Waste Management Division Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, for the period of January 20, 2011, to January 31, 2012 The Area 5 RWMS uses engineered shallow-land burial cells to dispose of packaged waste. The 92-Acre Area encompasses the southern portion of the Area 5 RWMS, which has been designated for the first final closure operations. This area contains 13 Greater Confinement Disposal (GCD) boreholes, 16 narrow trenches, and 9 broader pits. With the exception of two active pits (P03more » and P06), all trenches and pits in the 92-Acre Area had operational covers approximately 2.4 meters thick, at a minimum, in most areas when this project began. The units within the 92-Acre Area are grouped into the following six informal categories based on physical location, waste types and regulatory requirements: (1) Pit 3 Mixed Waste Disposal Unit (MWDU); (2) Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 111; (3) CAU 207; (4) Low-level waste disposal units; (5) Asbestiform low-level waste disposal units; and (6) One transuranic (TRU) waste trench.« less

Information and redundancy in the burial folding code of globular proteins within a wide range of shapes and sizes.

PubMed

Ferreira, Diogo C; van der Linden, Marx G; de Oliveira, Leandro C; Onuchic, José N; de Araújo, Antônio F Pereira

2016-04-01

Recent ab initio folding simulations for a limited number of small proteins have corroborated a previous suggestion that atomic burial information obtainable from sequence could be sufficient for tertiary structure determination when combined to sequence-independent geometrical constraints. Here, we use simulations parameterized by native burials to investigate the required amount of information in a diverse set of globular proteins comprising different structural classes and a wide size range. Burial information is provided by a potential term pushing each atom towards one among a small number L of equiprobable concentric layers. An upper bound for the required information is provided by the minimal number of layers L(min) still compatible with correct folding behavior. We obtain L(min) between 3 and 5 for seven small to medium proteins with 50 ≤ Nr ≤ 110 residues while for a larger protein with Nr = 141 we find that L ≥ 6 is required to maintain native stability. We additionally estimate the usable redundancy for a given L ≥ L(min) from the burial entropy associated to the largest folding-compatible fraction of "superfluous" atoms, for which the burial term can be turned off or target layers can be chosen randomly. The estimated redundancy for small proteins with L = 4 is close to 0.8. Our results are consistent with the above-average quality of burial predictions used in previous simulations and indicate that the fraction of approachable proteins could increase significantly with even a mild, plausible, improvement on sequence-dependent burial prediction or on sequence-independent constraints that augment the detectable redundancy during simulations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Diversity of burial rates in convergent settings decreased as Earth aged.

PubMed

Nicoli, Gautier; Moyen, Jean-François; Stevens, Gary

2016-05-24

The evolution and the growth of the continental crust is inextricably linked to the evolution of Earth's geodynamic processes. The detrital zircon record within the continental crust, as well as the isotopic composition of this crust, indicates that the amount of juvenile felsic material decreased with time and that in geologically recent times, the generation of new crust is balanced by recycling of the crust back into the mantle within subduction zones. However it cannot always have been so; yet the nature of the crust and the processes of crustal reworking in the Precambrian Earth are not well constrained. Here we use both detrital zircon ages and metamorphic pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) information from metasedimentary units deposited in proposed convergent settings from Archaean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic terrains to characterize the evolution of minimum estimates of burial rate (km.Ma(-1)) as a function of the age of the rocks. The demonstrated decrease in burial rate correlates positively with a progressive decrease in the production of juvenile felsic crust in the Archaean and Proterozoic. Burial rates are also more diverse in the Archaean than in modern times. We interpret these features to reflect a progressive decrease in the diversity of tectonic processes from Archaean to present, coupled with the emergence of the uniquely Phanerozoic modern-style collision.

Diversity of burial rates in convergent settings decreased as Earth aged

PubMed Central

Nicoli, Gautier; Moyen, Jean-François; Stevens, Gary

2016-01-01

The evolution and the growth of the continental crust is inextricably linked to the evolution of Earth’s geodynamic processes. The detrital zircon record within the continental crust, as well as the isotopic composition of this crust, indicates that the amount of juvenile felsic material decreased with time and that in geologically recent times, the generation of new crust is balanced by recycling of the crust back into the mantle within subduction zones. However it cannot always have been so; yet the nature of the crust and the processes of crustal reworking in the Precambrian Earth are not well constrained. Here we use both detrital zircon ages and metamorphic pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) information from metasedimentary units deposited in proposed convergent settings from Archaean, Proterozoic and Phanerozoic terrains to characterize the evolution of minimum estimates of burial rate (km.Ma−1) as a function of the age of the rocks. The demonstrated decrease in burial rate correlates positively with a progressive decrease in the production of juvenile felsic crust in the Archaean and Proterozoic. Burial rates are also more diverse in the Archaean than in modern times. We interpret these features to reflect a progressive decrease in the diversity of tectonic processes from Archaean to present, coupled with the emergence of the uniquely Phanerozoic modern-style collision. PMID:27216133

China action of "Cleanup Plan for Polychlorinated Biphenyls Burial Sites": emissions during excavation and thermal desorption of a capacitor-burial site.

PubMed

Yang, Bing; Zhou, Lingli; Xue, Nandong; Li, Fasheng; Wu, Guanglong; Ding, Qiong; Yan, Yunzhong; Liu, Bo

2013-10-01

Scarce data are available so far on emissions in a given scenario for excavation and thermal desorption, a common practice, of soils contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). As part of China action of "Cleanup Plan for PCBs Burial Sites", this study roughly estimated PCBs emissions in the scenario for a capacitor-burial site. The concentrations of total PCBs (22 congeners) in soils were in the range of 2.1-16,000μg/g with a mean of 2300μg/g, among the same order of magnitude as the highest values obtained in various PCBs-contaminated sites. Only six congeners belonging to Di-, Tri-, and Tetra-CBs were observed above limits of detection in air samples in the scenario, partially which can be estimated by the USEPA air emission model. Comparing concentrations and composition profiles of PCBs in the soil and air samples further indicated a leaked source of commercial PCBs formulations of trichlorobiphenyl (China PCB no. 1). The measures taken if any to mitigate the volatilization and movement of PCBs and to minimize worker exposure were discussed for improvements of the excavation practice. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bioremediation of waste under ocean acidification: Reviewing the role of Mytilus edulis.

PubMed

Broszeit, Stefanie; Hattam, Caroline; Beaumont, Nicola

2016-02-15

Waste bioremediation is a key regulating ecosystem service, removing wastes from ecosystems through storage, burial and recycling. The bivalve Mytilus edulis is an important contributor to this service, and is used in managing eutrophic waters. Studies show that they are affected by changes in pH due to ocean acidification, reducing their growth. This is forecasted to lead to reductions in M. edulis biomass of up to 50% by 2100. Growth reduction will negatively affect the filtering capacity of each individual, potentially leading to a decrease in bioremediation of waste. This paper critically reviews the current state of knowledge of bioremediation of waste carried out by M. edulis, and the current knowledge of the resultant effect of ocean acidification on this key service. We show that the effects of ocean acidification on waste bioremediation could be a major issue and pave the way for empirical studies of the topic. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste minimization charges up recycling of spent lead-acid batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Queneau, P.B.; Troutman, A.L.

Substantial strides are being made to minimize waste generated form spent lead-acid battery recycling. The Center for Hazardous Materials Research (Pittsburgh) recently investigated the potential for secondary lead smelters to recover lead from battery cases and other materials found at hazardous waste sites. Primary and secondary lead smelters in the U.S. and Canada are processing substantial tons of lead wastes, and meeting regulatory safeguards. Typical lead wastes include contaminated soil, dross and dust by-products from industrial lead consumers, tetraethyl lead residues, chemical manufacturing by-products, leaded glass, china clay waste, munitions residues and pigments. The secondary lead industry also is developingmore » and installing systems to convert process inputs to products with minimum generation of liquid, solid and gaseous wastes. The industry recently has made substantial accomplishments that minimize waste generation during lead production from its bread and butter feedstock--spent lead-acid batteries.« less

Characterization of Bacterial Community Dynamics during the Decomposition of Pig Carcasses in Simulated Soil Burial and Composting Systems.

PubMed

Ki, Bo-Min; Kim, Yu Mi; Jeon, Jun Min; Ryu, Hee Wook; Cho, Kyung-Suk

2017-12-28

Soil burial is the most widely used disposal method for infected pig carcasses, but composting has gained attention as an alternative disposal method because pig carcasses can be decomposed rapidly and safely by composting. To understand the pig carcass decomposition process in soil burial and by composting, pilot-scale test systems that simulated soil burial and composting were designed and constructed in the field. The envelope material samples were collected using special sampling devices without disturbance, and bacterial community dynamics were analyzed by high-throughput pyrosequencing for 340 days. Based on the odor gas intensity profiles, it was estimated that the active and advanced decay stages were reached earlier by composting than by soil burial. The dominant bacterial communities in the soil were aerobic and/or facultatively anaerobic gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Gelidibacter, Mucilaginibacter , and Brevundimonas . However, the dominant bacteria in the composting system were anaerobic, thermophilic, endospore-forming, and/or halophilic gram-positive bacteria such as Pelotomaculum, Lentibacillus, Clostridium , and Caldicoprobacter . Different dominant bacteria played important roles in the decomposition of pig carcasses in the soil and compost. This study provides useful comparative date for the degradation of pig carcasses in the soil burial and composting systems.

Low level waste management: a compilation of models and monitoring techniques. Volume 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mosier, J.E.; Fowler, J.R.; Barton, C.J.

1980-04-01

In support of the National Low-Level Waste (LLW) Management Research and Development Program being carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science Applications, Inc., conducted a survey of models and monitoring techniques associated with the transport of radionuclides and other chemical species from LLW burial sites. As a result of this survey, approximately 350 models were identified. For each model the purpose and a brief description are presented. To the extent possible, a point of contact and reference material are identified. The models are organized into six technical categories: atmospheric transport, dosimetry, food chain, groundwater transport, soil transport, and surfacemore » water transport. About 4% of the models identified covered other aspects of LLW management and are placed in a miscellaneous category. A preliminary assessment of all these models was performed to determine their ability to analyze the transport of other chemical species. The models that appeared to be applicable are identified. A brief survey of the state-of-the-art techniques employed to monitor LLW burial sites is also presented, along with a very brief discussion of up-to-date burial techniques.« less

Searching for the IRA "disappeared": ground-penetrating radar investigation of a churchyard burial site, Northern Ireland.

PubMed

Ruffell, Alastair

2005-11-01

A search for the body of a victim of terrorist abduction and murder was made in a graveyard on the periphery of a major conurbation in Northern Ireland. The area is politically sensitive and the case of high profile. This required non-invasive, completely non-destructive and rapid assessment of the scene. A MALA RAMAC ground-penetrating radar system was used to achieve these objectives. Unprocessed and processed 400 MHz data show the presence of a collapse feature above and around a known 1970s burial with no similar collapse above the suspect location. In the saturated, clay-rich sediments of the site, 200 MHz data offered no advantage over 400 MHz data. Unprocessed 100 MHz data shows a series of multiples in the known burial with no similar features in the suspect location. Processed 100 MHz lines defined the shape of the collapse around the known burial to 2 m depth, together with the geometry of the platform (1 m depth) the gravedigger used in the 1970s to construct the site. In addition, processed 100 MHz data showed both the dielectric contrast in and internal reflection geometry of the soil imported above the known grave. Thus the sequence, geometry, difference in infill and infill direction of the grave was reconstructed 30 years after burial. The suspect site showed no evidence of shallow or deep inhumation. Subsequently, the missing person's body was found some distance from this site, vindicating the results and interpretation from ground-penetrating radar. The acquisition, processing, collapse feature and sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the known burial and empty (suspect) burial site may be useful proxies for other, similar investigations. GPR was used to evaluate this site within 3 h of the survey commencing, using unprocessed data. An additional day of processing established that the suspect body did not reside here, which was counter to police and community intelligence.

Books, Baths, and Burials: Notes on Certain Nineteenth Century Adoptive Acts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whiteman, Philip M.

1973-01-01

Early legislation relating to street lighting, baths and washhouses, burial of the dead, public libraries and public improvements in England and Wales, reflected Parliament's suspicion of local democracy and distrust of local authorities. (9 references) (Author)

Two contemporaneous mitogenomes from terminal Pleistocene burials in eastern Beringia

PubMed Central

Tackney, Justin C.; Potter, Ben A.; Raff, Jennifer; Powers, Michael; Watkins, W. Scott; Warner, Derek; Reuther, Joshua D.; Irish, Joel D.; O’Rourke, Dennis H.

2015-01-01

Pleistocene residential sites with multiple contemporaneous human burials are extremely rare in the Americas. We report mitochondrial genomic variation in the first multiple mitochondrial genomes from a single prehistoric population: two infant burials (USR1 and USR2) from a common interment at the Upward Sun River Site in central Alaska dating to ∼11,500 cal B.P. Using a targeted capture method and next-generation sequencing, we determined that the USR1 infant possessed variants that define mitochondrial lineage C1b, whereas the USR2 genome falls at the root of lineage B2, allowing us to refine younger coalescence age estimates for these two clades. C1b and B2 are rare to absent in modern populations of northern North America. Documentation of these lineages at this location in the Late Pleistocene provides evidence for the extent of mitochondrial diversity in early Beringian populations, which supports the expectations of the Beringian Standstill Model. PMID:26504230

75 FR 67454 - Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in Lieu of a Government-Furnished...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-02

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in... Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a monetary allowance towards the private purchase of an outer..., Section 213, VA may provide a monetary allowance for the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle...

75 FR 1454 - Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in Lieu of a Government-Furnished...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-11

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in... Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a monetary allowance towards the private purchase of an outer..., Section 213, VA may provide a monetary allowance for the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle...

78 FR 76712 - Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in Lieu of a Government-Furnished...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-18

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Allowance for Private Purchase of an Outer Burial Receptacle in... Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide a monetary allowance towards the private purchase of an outer..., Section 213, VA may provide a monetary allowance for the private purchase of an outer burial receptacle...

Effects of sand burial on dew deposition on moss soil crust in a revegetated area of the Tennger Desert, Northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Rong-liang; Li, Xin-rong; Liu, Li-chao; Pan, Yan-xia; Gao, Yan-hong; Wei, Yong-ping

2014-11-01

Sand burial and dew deposition are two fundamental phenomena profoundly influencing biological soil crusts in desert areas. However, little information is available regarding the effects of sand burial on dew deposition on biological soil crusts in desert ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sand burial at depths of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mm on dew formation and evaporation of three dominant moss crusts in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert (Northern China) in 2010. The results revealed that sand burial significantly decreased the amount of dew deposited on the three moss crust types by acting as a semi-insulator retarding the dew formation and evaporation rates. The changes in surface temperature cannot fully explain the variations of the formation and evaporation rates of dew by moss crusts buried by sand. The extension of dew retention time was reflected by the higher dew ratios (the ratio of dew amount at a certain time to the maximum value in a daily course) in the daytime, and may to some extent have acted as compensatory mechanisms that diminished the negative effects of the reduction of dew amount induced by sand burial of moss crusts. The resistances to reduction of dewfall caused by sand burial among the three moss crusts were also compared and it was found that Bryum argenteum crust showed the highest tolerance, followed by crusts dominated by Didymodon vinealis and Syntrichia caninervis. This sequence corresponds well with the successional order of the three moss crusts in the revegetated area, thereby suggesting that resistance to reduction of dewfall may act as one mechanism by which sand burial drives the succession of moss crusts in desert ecosystems. This side effect of dew reduction induced by sand burial on biological soil crusts should be considered in future ecosystem construction and management of desert area.

Variation in the effects of burial in different peatland successional stages on seed survival of four wetland species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egawa, Chika

2017-01-01

The availability of viable seeds in soil helps to determine the success of ecological restoration in disturbed habitats. Although seed survival in soil generally increases with an increase in burial depth, whether the effects of burial on seed survival are comparable across different sites is unclear. In this study, I tested the hypothesis that the positive effects of burial on seed survival decrease as vegetation develops through succession. Four wetland species, Drosera rotundifolia, Lobelia sessilifolia, Rhynchospora alba and Moliniopsis japonica, were used for the study. The four species differ in their light requirement for germination; i.e., D. rotundifolia, L. sessilifolia and R. alba germinate best in light, whereas M. japonica germinates equally well in light and darkness. The seeds of these species were buried for two years at three depths (litter, 0 and 4 cm) in three successional stages with different amounts of vegetation and litter in a post-mined peatland. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and temperature at each of litter layer, 0 cm and 4 cm depths were measured for each successional stage. The between-depth differences in PAR and temperature fluctuations decreased as succession progressed. For the three light-demanding species, burial promoted seed survival more in the initial successional stage than in the later successional stages, whereas for M. japonica, burial promoted seed survival equally in all successional stages. This study revealed significant variation in the effects of burial on seed survival, particularly for light-sensitive seeds, and that the soil surface layers in vegetated sites can contain persistent seeds, which could be used as a seed source in restoration.

The burial of headwater streams in drainage pipes reduces in-stream nitrate retention: results from two US metropolitan areas

EPA Science Inventory

Urbanization causes stream degradation in various ways, but perhaps the most extreme example is the burial of streams in underground storm drains to facilitate above ground development or to promote the rapid conveyance of stormwater. Stream burial is extensive in urban basins (...

Predicting seabed burial of cylinders by wave-induced scour: Application to the sandy inner shelf off Florida and Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Trembanis, A.C.; Friedrichs, Carl T.; Richardson, M.D.; Traykovski, P.; Howd, P.A.; Elmore, P.A.; Wever, T.F.

2007-01-01

A simple parameterized model for wave-induced burial of mine-like cylinders as a function of grain-size, time-varying, wave orbital velocity and mine diameter was implemented and assessed against results from inert instrumented mines placed off the Indian Rocks Beach (IRB, FL), and off the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO, Edgartown, MA). The steady flow scour parameters provided by Whitehouse (1998) for self-settling cylinders worked well for predicting burial by depth below the ambient seabed for O (0.5 m) diameter mines in fine sand at both sites. By including or excluding scour pit infilling, a range of percent burial by surface area was predicted that was also consistent with observations. Rapid scour pit infilling was often seen at MVCO but never at IRB, suggesting that the environmental presence of fine sediment plays a key role in promoting infilling. Overprediction of mine scour in coarse sand was corrected by assuming a mine within a field of large ripples buries only until it generates no more turbulence than that produced by surrounding bedforms. The feasibility of using a regional wave model to predict mine burial in both hindcast and real-time forecast mode was tested using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, Washington, DC) WaveWatch 3 (WW3) model. Hindcast waves were adequate for useful operational forcing of mine burial predictions, but five-day wave forecasts introduced large errors. This investigation was part of a larger effort to develop simple yet reliable predictions of mine burial suitable for addressing the operational needs of the U.S. Navy. ?? 2007 IEEE.

The burial of headwater streams in drainage pipes reduces in-stream nitrate retention: results from two US metropolitan areas

EPA Science Inventory

Nitrogen (N) retention in stream networks is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of headwater streams in urban watersheds. Stream burial occurs when segments of a channel are encased in drainage pipe and buried beneath the land surface to...

Burial duration, depth and air pocket explain avalanche survival patterns in Austria and Switzerland.

PubMed

Procter, Emily; Strapazzon, Giacomo; Dal Cappello, Tomas; Zweifel, Benjamin; Würtele, Andreas; Renner, Andreas; Falk, Markus; Brugger, Hermann

2016-08-01

To calculate the first Austrian avalanche survival curve and update a Swiss survival curve to explore survival patterns in the Alps. Avalanche accidents occurring between 2005/06 and 2012/13 in Austria and Switzerland were collected. Completely buried victims (i.e. burial of the head and chest) in open terrain with known outcome (survived or not survived) were included in the analysis. Extrication and survival curves were calculated using the Turnbull algorithm, as in previous studies. 633 of the 796 completely buried victims were included (Austria n=333, Switzerland n=300). Overall survival was 56% (Austria 59%; Switzerland 52%; p=0.065). Time to extrication was shorter in Austria for victims buried ≤60min (p<0.001). The survival curves were similar and showed a rapid initial drop in survival probability and a second drop to 25-28% survival probability after burial duration of ca. 35min, where an inflection point exists and the curve levels off. In a logistic regression analysis, both duration of burial and burial depth had an independent effect on survival. Victims with an air pocket were more likely to survive, especially if buried >15min. The survival curves resembled those previously published and support the idea that underlying survival patterns are reproducible. The results are in accordance with current recommendations for management of avalanche victims and serve as a reminder that expedient companion rescue within a few minutes is critical for survival. An air pocket was shown to be a positive prognostic factor for survival. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ground-water flow near two radioactive-waste-disposal areas at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, Cattaraugus County, New York; results of flow simulation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bergeron, M.P.; Bugliosi, E.F.

1988-01-01

Two adjacent burial areas were excavated in a clay-rich till at a radioactive waste disposal site near West Valley in Cattaraugus County, N.Y.: (1) which contains mainly low-level radioactive wastes generated onsite by a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, has been in operation since 1966; and (2) which contains commercial low-level radioactive wastes, was operated during 1963-75. Groundwater below the upper 3 meters of till generally moves downward through a 20- to 30-meter thick sequence of tills underlain by lacustrine and kame-delta deposits of fine sand and silt. Groundwater in the weathered, upper 3 meters of till can move laterally for several meters before either moving downward into the kame-delta deposits or discharging to the land surface. A two-dimensional finite-element model that simulates two vertical sections was used to evaluate hydrologic factors that control groundwater flow in the till. Conditions observed during March 1983 were reproduced accurately in steady-state simulations that used four isotropic units of differing hydraulic conductivity to represent two fractured and weathered till units near land surfaces, an intermediate group of isolated till zones that contain significant amounts of fine sand and silt, and a sequence of till units at depths that have been consolidated by overburden pressure. Recharge rates used in the best-fit simulation ranged from 1.4 cm/yr along smooth, sloping or compacted surfaces to 3.8 cm/yr near swampy areas. Values of hydraulic conductivity and infiltration used in the calibrated best-fit model were nearly identical to values used in a previous model analysis of the nearby commercial-waste burial area. Results of the model simulations of a burial pit assumed to be filled with water indicate that water near the bottom of the burial pit would migrate laterally in the shallow, weathered till for 5 to 6 meters before moving downward into the unweathered till, and water near the top of the pit would move laterally

The value of trophic interactions for ecosystem function: dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in tropical forests

PubMed Central

Bardgett, Richard D.; Louzada, Julio; Barlow, Jos

2016-01-01

Anthropogenic activities are causing species extinctions, raising concerns about the consequences of changing biological communities for ecosystem functioning. To address this, we investigated how dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in the Brazilian Amazon. First, we conducted a burial and retrieval experiment using seed mimics. We found that dung beetle biomass had a stronger positive effect on the burial of large than small beads, suggesting that anthropogenic reductions in large-bodied beetles will have the greatest effect on the secondary dispersal of large-seeded plant species. Second, we established mesocosm experiments in which dung beetle communities buried Myrciaria dubia seeds to examine plant emergence and survival. Contrary to expectations, we found that beetle diversity and biomass negatively influenced seedling emergence, but positively affected the survival of seedlings that emerged. Finally, we conducted germination trials to establish the optimum burial depth of experimental seeds, revealing a negative relationship between burial depth and seedling emergence success. Our results provide novel evidence that seed burial by dung beetles may be detrimental for the emergence of some seed species. However, we also detected positive impacts of beetle activity on seedling recruitment, which are probably because of their influence on soil properties. Overall, this study provides new evidence that anthropogenic impacts on dung beetle communities could influence the structure of tropical forests; in particular, their capacity to regenerate and continue to provide valuable functions and services. PMID:27928036

The value of trophic interactions for ecosystem function: dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in tropical forests.

PubMed

Griffiths, Hannah M; Bardgett, Richard D; Louzada, Julio; Barlow, Jos

2016-12-14

Anthropogenic activities are causing species extinctions, raising concerns about the consequences of changing biological communities for ecosystem functioning. To address this, we investigated how dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in the Brazilian Amazon. First, we conducted a burial and retrieval experiment using seed mimics. We found that dung beetle biomass had a stronger positive effect on the burial of large than small beads, suggesting that anthropogenic reductions in large-bodied beetles will have the greatest effect on the secondary dispersal of large-seeded plant species. Second, we established mesocosm experiments in which dung beetle communities buried Myrciaria dubia seeds to examine plant emergence and survival. Contrary to expectations, we found that beetle diversity and biomass negatively influenced seedling emergence, but positively affected the survival of seedlings that emerged. Finally, we conducted germination trials to establish the optimum burial depth of experimental seeds, revealing a negative relationship between burial depth and seedling emergence success. Our results provide novel evidence that seed burial by dung beetles may be detrimental for the emergence of some seed species. However, we also detected positive impacts of beetle activity on seedling recruitment, which are probably because of their influence on soil properties. Overall, this study provides new evidence that anthropogenic impacts on dung beetle communities could influence the structure of tropical forests; in particular, their capacity to regenerate and continue to provide valuable functions and services. © 2016 The Author(s).

Soil, plant, and structural considerations for surface barriers in arid environments: Application of results from studies in the Mojave Desert near Beatty, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andraski, Brian J.; Prudic, David E.; ,

1997-01-01

The suitability of a waste-burial site depends on hydrologic processes that can affect the near-surface water balance. In addition, the loss of burial trench integrity by erosion and subsidence of trench covers may increase the likelihood of infiltration and percolation, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the site in isolating waste. Although the main components of the water balance may be defined, direct measurements can be difficult, and actual data for specific locations are seldom available. A prevalent assumption is that little or no precipitation will percolate to buried wastes at an arid site. Thick unsaturated zones, which are common to arid regions, are thought to slow water movement and minimize the risk of waste migration to the underlying water table. Thus, reliance is commonly placed on the natural system to isolate contaminants at waste-burial sites in the arid West.Few data are available to test assumptions about the natural soil-water flow systems at arid sites, and even less is known about how the natural processes are altered by construction of a waste-burial facility. The lack of data is the result of technical complexity of hydraulic characterization of the dry, stony soils, and insufficient field studies that account for the extreme temporal and spatial variations in precipitation, soils, and plants in arid regions. In 1976, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a long-term study at a waste site in the Mojave Desert. This paper summarizes the findings of ongoing investigations done under natural-site and waste-burial conditions, and discusses how this information may be applied to the design of surface barriers for waste sites in arid environments.The waste-burial site is in one of the most arid parts of the United States and is about 40 km northeast of Death Valley, near Beatty, Nev. (Figure 1). Precipitation averaged 108 mm/yr during 1981-1992. The water table is 85-115 m below land surface (Fischer, 1992). Sediments are largely alluvial

Determination of 241Pu in low-level radioactive wastes from reactors.

PubMed

Martin, J E

1986-11-01

Plutonium-241 is unique in low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) from nuclear power plants because it is the only significant beta-emitting transuranic nuclide in LLW, has a relatively short half-life of 14.4 y, and has a fairly high allowable concentration for shallow land burial. Radiochemical separation of Pu followed by liquid scintillation analysis was used to quantitate 241Pu in a wide range of solid, semi-solid, and liquid LLW samples from two nuclear plants in Michigan. The 241Pu concentrations varied considerably by sample type and reactor operational period as did their correlation with 137Cs, 144Ce, 239Pu and 240Pu concentrations in the same sample. These patterns were also found in reported data for 241Pu in LLW from other reactors, raising the difficulty of accurately determining the inventory (or source term) in a LLW shallow land burial site and its implications for predicting and controlling the future environmental and public health impacts of such disposal.

Effects of sediment burial disturbance on macro and microelement dynamics in decomposing litter of Phragmites australis in the coastal marsh of the Yellow River estuary, China.

PubMed

Sun, Zhigao; Mou, Xiaojie

2016-03-01

From April 2008 to November 2009, a field decomposition experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of sediment burial on macro (C, N) and microelement (Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Mn) variations in decomposing litter of Phragmites australis in the coastal marsh of the Yellow River estuary. Three one-off sediment burial treatments [no sediment burial (0 mm year(-1), S0), current sediment burial (100 mm year(-1), S10), and strong sediment burial (200 mm year(-1), S20)] were laid in different decomposition sites. Results showed that sediment burials showed significant influence on the decomposition rate of P. australis, in the order of S10 (0.001990 day(-1)) ≈ S20 (0.001710 day(-1)) > S0 (0.000768 day(-1)) (p < 0.05). The macro and microelement in decomposing litters of the three burial depths exhibited different temporal variations except for Cu, Zn, and Ni. No significant differences in C, N, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Mn concentrations were observed among the three burial treatments except for Cu and Ni (p > 0.05). With increasing burial depth, N, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Mn concentrations generally increased, while C, Pb, and Zn concentrations varied insignificantly. Sediment burial was favorable for C and N release from P. australis, and, with increasing burial depth, the C release from litter significantly increased, and the N in litter shifted from accumulation to release. With a few exceptions, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Mn stocks in P. australis in the three treatments evidenced the export of metals from litter to environment, and, with increasing burial depth, the export amounts increased greatly. Stocks of Cu and Ni in P. australis in the S10 and S20 treatments were generally positive, evidencing incorporation of the two metals in most sampling times. Except for Ni, the variations of C, N, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Mn stocks in P. australis in the S10 and S20 treatments were approximated, indicating that the strong burial episodes (S20) occurred in P. australis marsh in

Sediment accretion and organic carbon burial relative to sea-level rise and storm events in two mangrove forests in Everglades National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smoak, Joseph M.; Breithaupt, Joshua L.; Smith, Thomas J.; Sanders, Christian J.

2013-01-01

The goal of this investigation was to examine how sediment accretion and organic carbon (OC) burial rates in mangrove forests respond to climate change. Specifically, will the accretion rates keep pace with sea-level rise, and what is the source and fate of OC in the system? Mass accumulation, accretion and OC burial rates were determined via 210Pb dating (i.e. 100 year time scale) on sediment cores collected from two mangrove forest sites within Everglades National Park, Florida (USA). Enhanced mass accumulation, accretion and OC burial rates were found in an upper layer that corresponded to a well-documented storm surge deposit. Accretion rates were 5.9 and 6.5 mm yr−1 within the storm deposit compared to overall rates of 2.5 and 3.6 mm yr−1. These rates were found to be matching or exceeding average sea-level rise reported for Key West, Florida. Organic carbon burial rates were 260 and 393 g m−2 yr−1 within the storm deposit compared to 151 and 168 g m−2 yr−1 overall burial rates. The overall rates are similar to global estimates for OC burial in marine wetlands. With tropical storms being a frequent occurrence in this region the resulting storm surge deposits are an important mechanism for maintaining both overall accretion and OC burial rates. Enhanced OC burial rates within the storm deposit could be due to an increase in productivity created from higher concentrations of phosphorus within storm-delivered sediments and/or from the deposition of allochthonous OC. Climate change-amplified storms and sea-level rise could damage mangrove forests, exposing previously buried OC to oxidation and contribute to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, the processes described here provide a mechanism whereby oxidation of OC would be limited and the overall OC reservoir maintained within the mangrove forest sediments.

Burial and thermal history of the central Appalachian basin, based on three 2-D models of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rowan, Elisabeth L.

2006-01-01

Introduction: Three regional-scale, cross sectional (2-D) burial and thermal history models are presented for the central Appalachian basin based on the detailed geologic cross sections of Ryder and others (2004), Crangle and others (2005), and Ryder, R.T., written communication. The models integrate the available thermal and geologic information to constrain the burial, uplift, and erosion history of the region. The models are restricted to the relatively undeformed part of the basin and extend from the Rome trough in West Virginia and Pennsylvania northwestward to the Findlay arch in Ohio. This study expands the scope of previous work by Rowan and others (2004) which presented a preliminary burial/thermal history model for a cross section (E-E') through West Virginia and Ohio. In the current study, the burial/thermal history model for E-E' is revised, and integrated with results of two additional cross sectional models (D-D' and C-C'). The burial/thermal history models provide calculated thermal maturity (Ro%) values for the entire stratigraphic sequence, including hydrocarbon source rocks, along each of the three cross sections. In contrast, the Ro and conodont CAI data available in the literature are sparse and limited to specific stratigraphic intervals. The burial/thermal history models also provide the regional temperature and pressure framework that is needed to model hydrocarbon migration.

Selective-placement burial of drilling fluids: 2. Effects on buffalograss and fourwing saltbrush. [Atriplex canescens; Buchloe dactyloides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McFarland, M.L.; Hartmann, S.; Ueckert, D.N.

Surface disposal of spent drilling fluids used in petroleum and natural gas exploration causes surface soil contamination that severely inhibits secondary plant succession and artificial revegetation efforts. Selective-placement burial was evaluated at two locations in western Texas for on-site disposal of drilling fluids in arid and semiarid regions. Establishment, yield, and chemical composition of fourwing saltbrush (Atriplex canescens (Pursh Nutt.)) and buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.) transplants on undisturbed soils and on plots with spent drilling fluids and cuttings buried 30, 90 (with and without a 30-cm coarse limestone capillary barrier) and 150 cm were compared. Survival of both speciesmore » was 97 to 100% 17 months after planting on plots with buried drilling wastes. Canopy cover and aboveground biomass of fourwing saltbrush were greater over buried drilling wastes than on untreated plots, whereas canopy cover and aboveground biomass of buffalograss were not affected by the treatments. Significant increases in Na, M, and Mg concentrations in buffalograss after 17 months on plots with drilling fluids buried 30 cm deep at one location indicated plant uptake of some drilling fluid constituents. Elevated Zn concentrations in fourwing saltbush indicated that a portion of the Zn in the drilling fluids was available for plant uptake, while no evidence of plant accumulation of Ba, Cr, Cu, or Ni from drilling fluids was detected.« less

Micromorphological Aspects of Forensic Geopedology II: Ultramicroscopic vs Microscopic Characterization of Phosphatic Impregnations on Soil Particles in Experimental Burials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ern, S. I. E.; Trombino, L.; Cattaneo, C.

2012-04-01

Grows up the importance of the role played by soil scientists in the modern forensic sciences, in particular when buried human remains strongly decomposed or skeletonized are found in different environment situations. Among the different techniques normally used in geopedology, it is usefull to apply in such forensic cases, soil micromorphology (including optical microscopy and ultramicroscopy) that has been underused up today, for various kind of reasons. An interdisciplinary Italian-team, formed by earth scientists and legal medicine, is working on several sets of experimental burial of pigs and piglets in different soil types and for different times of burial, in order to get new evidences on environmental behaviour related to the burial, focalising on geopedological and micropedological aspects. The present work is focused on: - ultramicroscopic (SEM-EDS) characterization of the phosphatic impregnation (by body fluids) on soils sampled under the dead bodies of five couples of pigs, buried respectively for one month, six month, one year, two years and two years and half in two different areas; - microscopic (petrographic microscope) and ultramicroscopic (SEM-EDS) cross characterization of the phosphatic impregnation (by body fluids) on soils sampled under the dead bodies of several piglets, buried for twenty months. The first results show trends of persistency of such phosphatic features, mainly related to the grain size of the impregnated soil particles and weather conditions (or seasons) of exhumation, while apparently time since burial is only marginally effective for the investigated burial period. Further experiments are in progress in order to clarify the pathways of phosphorus precipitation and leaching for longer times of burial and different seasons of exhumation, both from the microscopic and the pedological/chemical point of view.

Nationwide Surveillance for Pathogenic Microorganisms in Groundwater near Carcass Burials Constructed in South Korea in 2010

PubMed Central

Joung, Ha Kyung; Han, Sang Ha; Park, Su-Jung; Jheong, Weon-Hwa; Ahn, Tae Seok; Lee, Joong-Bok; Jeong, Yong-Seok; Jang, Kyung Lib; Lee, Gyu-Cheol; Rhee, Ok-Jae; Park, Jeong-Woong; Paik, Soon Young

2013-01-01

Widespread outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza occurred in South Korea during 2010. In response to the culling of many animals to attenuate the spread of disease, South Korea used mass burial sites to dispose of the large number of carcasses; consequently, concerns about groundwater contamination by leachate from these burial sites are increasing. Groundwater is one of the main sources of drinking water, and its cleanliness is directly related to public health. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the safety of groundwater around the burial sites (total of 600 sites). A total of 1,200 groundwater samples were collected though the country, and microbial analysis was conducted during two time periods: during the spring (n = 600; April to June 2012) and after rainfall (n = 600; August to October, 2012; fall). Fecal coliform and Escherichia coli were detected in 173 (14.4%) and 85 (7.1%) of the 1,200 samples, respectively. Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. each were detected only once (0.083%). Clostridium perfringens was detected from 7 groundwater samples (0.583%), and E. coli O157:H7 was not detected. With respect to norovirus, only the GII type was detected from six groundwater samples (0.5%), and enterovirus was detected in 15 groundwater samples (1.25%). The frequency of E. coli that we detected was lower than that found in previous studies conducted in South Korea, but we detected higher frequency of fecal coliform than that observed in a previous report. The contamination frequencies of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. were very low, but C. perfringens, which could be an indicator of fecal pollution, was detected in seven regions. Overall, the results of the present study indicate a low possibility of contamination from burial sites. However, consistent monitoring is required to prevent microbial contamination of groundwater near the burial sites. PMID:24351737

Waste management for different fusion reactor designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocco, Paolo; Zucchetti, Massimo

2000-12-01

Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power (SEAFP) waste management studies performed up to 1998 concerned three power tokamak designs. In-vessel structural materials consist of V-alloys or low activation martensitic (LAM) steel; tritium-producing materials are Li 2O, Pb-17Li, Li 4SiO 4 with a Be-multiplier; coolants are helium or water. The strategy chosen reduces permanent radwaste by recycling the in-vessel materials and by clearance of the other structures. Limits of the contact dose rate and specific activity of the waste allowing such options are defined accordingly. SEAFP activities for 1999 enlarge the analysis to three additional reactors with in-vessel structures made with SiC/SiC composites. These materials cannot be recycled due to their form and, according to national regulations of E.C. countries, long-lived activation products hinder near-surface burial (NSB).

"Interred with their bones" - linking soil micromorphology and chemistry to unlock the hidden archive of archaeological human burials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brothwell, Don; Usai, Maria-Raimonda; Keely, Brendan; Pickering, Matt; Wilson, Clare

2010-05-01

"Interred with their bones" Acronym: InterArChive - an ERC-funded project *** " Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; " I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. " The evil that men do lives after them; " The good is oft 'interred with their bones'; " So let it be with Caesar. William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 2. *** Background The state of decay within soils in archaeological graves is often such that degradable objects are not preserved in a condition that can be visually recognised. However, microscopic soil features, inorganic element distributions and organic residues can be measured. Thus, archaeological burial soils have the potential to reveal signatures of decay; pre-burial treatment; presence and nature of associated clothing and perishable artefacts; diet of the individual; cause of death; evidence of morbidity and drug-use. Aims • To develop and test a multidisciplinary approach linking soil micromorphology and chemistry to recover environmental and cultural information; • Revealing the hidden archaeological archive within the burial soil • Developing soil sampling and analysis recommendations for archaeological human burials Methods 1: Sampling and soil field description from archaeological sites contrasting in soil, geology, age, and culture and from experimental piglet burials 2: Microscopic/micromorphological analysis (micro-scale observations) of remains and features in burial soils. We will establish the order of occurrence, spatial patterns, displacement, mode of formation and decay of micromorphological features including exotic components, parasites, hair and remnants of footwear and clothing [cf. pilot study of soils from Yemen]; microfabrics and textural pedofeatures, also to facilitate resolution of body decay products from other accumulations. 3: Microprobe analysis (nano-scale) will generate elemental maps of soil thin sections, allowing identification of features with distinct chemical signatures

Toxicity Assessment of Contaminated Soils of Solid Domestic Waste Landfill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasko, O. A.; Mochalova, T. N.

2014-08-01

The paper delivers the analysis of an 18-year dynamic pattern of land pollutants concentration in the soils of a solid domestic waste landfill. It also presents the composition of the contaminated soils from different areas of the waste landfill during its operating period. The authors calculate the concentrations of the following pollutants: chrome, nickel, tin, vanadium, lead, cuprum, zinc, cobalt, beryllium, barium, yttrium, cadmium, arsenic, germanium, nitrate ions and petrochemicals and determine a consistent pattern of their spatial distribution within the waste landfill area as well as the dynamic pattern of their concentration. Test-objects are used in experiments to make an integral assessment of the polluted soil's impact on living organisms. It was discovered that the soil samples of an animal burial site are characterized by acute toxicity while the area of open waste dumping is the most dangerous in terms of a number of pollutants. This contradiction can be attributed to the synergetic effect of the polluted soil, which accounts for the regularities described by other researchers.

Carbon burial and storage in tropical salt marshes under the influence of sea level rise.

PubMed

Ruiz-Fernández, A C; Carnero-Bravo, V; Sanchez-Cabeza, J A; Pérez-Bernal, L H; Amaya-Monterrosa, O A; Bojórquez-Sánchez, S; López-Mendoza, P G; Cardoso-Mohedano, J G; Dunbar, R B; Mucciarone, D A; Marmolejo-Rodríguez, A J

2018-07-15

Coastal vegetated habitats can be important sinks of organic carbon (C org ) and mitigate global warming by sequestering significant quantities of atmospheric CO 2 and storing sedimentary C org for long periods, although their C org burial and storage capacity may be affected by on-going sea level rise and human intervention. Geochemical data from published 210 Pb-dated sediment cores, collected from low-energy microtidal coastal wetlands in El Salvador (Jiquilisco Bay) and in Mexico (Salada Lagoon; Estero de Urias Lagoon; Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve) were revisited to assess temporal changes (within the last 100years) of C org concentrations, storage and burial rates in tropical salt marshes under the influence of sea level rise and contrasting anthropization degree. Grain size distribution was used to identify hydrodynamic changes, and δ 13 C to distinguish terrigenous sediments from those accumulated under the influence of marine transgression. Although the accretion rate ranges in all sediment records were comparable, C org concentrations (0.2-30%), stocks (30-465Mgha -1 , by extrapolation to 1m depth), and burial rates (3-378gm -2 year -1 ) varied widely within and among the study areas. However, in most sites sea level rise decreased C org concentrations and stocks in sediments, but increased C org burial rates. Lower C org concentrations were attributed to the input of reworked marine particles, which contribute with a lower amount of C org than terrigenous sediments; whereas higher C org burial rates were driven by higher mass accumulation rates, influenced by increased flooding and human interventions in the surroundings. C org accumulation and long-term preservation in tropical salt marshes can be as high as in mangrove or temperate salt marsh areas and, besides the reduction of C org stocks by ongoing sea level rise, the disturbance of the long-term buried C org inventories might cause high CO 2 releases, for which they must be protected as a part of

Synchroneity of cratonic burial phases and gaps in the kimberlite record: Episodic magmatism or preservational bias?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ault, Alexis K.; Flowers, Rebecca M.; Bowring, Samuel A.

2015-01-01

A variety of models are used to explain an apparent episodicity in kimberlite emplacement. Implicit in these models is the assumption that the preserved kimberlite record is largely complete. However, some cratons now mostly devoid of Phanerozoic cover underwent substantial Phanerozoic burial and erosion episodes that should be considered when evaluating models for global kimberlite distributions. Here we show a broad temporal coincidence between regional burial phases inferred from thermochronology and gaps in the kimberlite record in the Slave craton, Superior craton, and cratonic western Australia. A similar pattern exists in the Kaapvaal craton, although its magmatic, deposition, and erosion history differs in key ways from the other localities. One explanation for these observations is that there is a common cause of cratonic subsidence and suppression of kimberlite magmatism. Another possibility is that some apparent gaps in kimberlite magmatism are preservational artifacts. Even if kimberlites occurred during cratonic burial phases, the largest uppermost portions of the pipes would have been subsequently eroded along with the sedimentary rocks into which they were emplaced. In this model, kimberlite magmatism was more continuous than the preserved record suggests, implying that evidence for episodicity in kimberlite genesis should be carefully evaluated in light of potential preservational bias effects. Either way, the correlation between burial and kimberlite gaps suggests that cratonic surface histories are important for understanding global kimberlite patterns.

Genetic research at a fivefold children's burial from medieval Berlin.

PubMed

Rothe, Jessica; Melisch, Claudia; Powers, Natasha; Geppert, Maria; Zander, Judith; Purps, Josephine; Spors, Birgit; Nagy, Marion

2015-03-01

Berlin originated from the two twin cities Berlin and Cölln, which both were founded at the beginning of the 13th century. However the real date of their foundation as well as the origin of the first settlers is still unknown. On the Berlin site the historic city center is still visible in the Nikolaiviertel, but the medieval origin of Cölln disappeared almost completely. In 2007 a large scale excavation, which comprised an area of about 1700m(2) of the historical center of the St. Peters church, recovers the remains of Cölln's first citizens and span a period of 500 years of medieval population. Here we present the first genetic analysis of a fivefold children's burial from excavations in Berlin. The genetic data unveiled next to ancestry and eye color data also the kinship and the gender of the five individuals. Together with the archeological context the new gained information help to shed more light on the possible reasons for this burial. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbonate clumped-isotope constraints on the burial and exhumation history of the Colorado Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryb, U.; Lloyd, M. K.; Eiler, J. M.

2016-12-01

Reconstruction of the thermal history of rocks is key to study the geodynamic evolution of sedimentary basins. Carbonate clumped-isotope measurements of minerals formed or re-equilibrated at elevated temperatures can constrain thermal histories of rocks. Experimental constraints on solid state isotopic reordering in carbonates let us translate clumped-isotope measurements into quantitative statements about the thermal history, and thus burial and exhumation. We use this approach to constrain peak burial temperatures of Paleozoic rocks across the Colorado Plateau, sampled carbonate rocks from the southwestern Plateau margin and from borehole cores in the Plateau interior. We sub-sampled specific fabrics (fossils, cements, etc.), determined their calcite and dolomite proportions using XRD, and analyzed clumped-isotope compositions (reported as apparent temperatures using Stolper and Eiler's (2015) calibration) for pure calcite or dolomite samples (>97 wt.%). At the Plateau margin, calcite and dolomite apparent temperatures are 49-79°C and 67-97°C, respectively. The maximum apparent temperature constrains the minimum peak burial temperature. The distribution of calcite apparent temperatures independently constrains the maximum burial temperature as follows: If the "coldest" sample had an initial apparent temperature of 20°C, then its observed value can be explained by isotopic reordering to a peak temperature of 105-120°C. We therefore hypothesize peak temperature at the base of the Paleozoic was 97-120°C. At the Plateau interior, apparent temperatures of Mississippian calcite samples are depth-dependent: Samples cored from <2km depth have apparent temperatures of 54-68°C; similar samples from 3km depth have apparent temperatures of 105-165°C and a smaller variability between sub-samples, interpreted to result from isotopic reordering at >150°C. Assuming a surface temperature of 20°C and a thermal gradient of 25°C km-1, we calculate total overburden (above

Resource Management Plan for the US Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. Volume 15, Appendix P: waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kelly, B.A.

1984-07-01

Since their inception, the DOE facilities on the Oak Ridge Reservation have been the source of a variety of airborne, liquid, and solid wastes which are characterized as nonhazardous, hazardous, and/or radioactive. The major airborne releases come from three primary sources: steam plant emissions, process discharge, and cooling towers. Liquid wastes are handled in various manners depending upon the particular waste, but in general, major corrosive waste streams are neutralized prior to discharge with the discharge routed to holding or settling ponds. The major solid wastes are derived from construction debris, sanitary operation, and radioactive processes, and the machining operationsmore » at Y-12. Nonradioactive hazardous wastes are disposed in solid waste storage areas, shipped to commercial disposal facilities, returned in sludge ponds, or sent to radioactive waste burial areas. The radioactive-hazardous wastes are treated in two manners: storage of the waste until acceptable disposal options are developed, or treatment of the waste to remove or destroy one of the components prior to disposal. 5 references, 4 figures, 13 tables.« less

Palmer amaranth seed mortality in response to burial depth and time

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Glyphosate resistant Palmer amaranth infests millions of arable acres in the SE US. One proposed method of reducing population numbers is to bury surface seeds deeply, below their optimal emergence zone. The objective of this study was to determine how burial longevity and depth impact Palmer amaran...

New insights into Eastern Beringian mortuary behavior: A terminal Pleistocene double infant burial at Upward Sun River

PubMed Central

Potter, Ben A.; Irish, Joel D.; Reuther, Joshua D.; McKinney, Holly J.

2014-01-01

Here we report on the discovery of two infant burials dating to ∼11,500 calibrated years (cal) B.P. at the Upward Sun River site in central Alaska. The infants were interred in a pit feature with associated organic and lithic grave goods, including the earliest known North American hafted bifaces with decorated antler foreshafts. Skeletal and dental analyses indicate that Individual 1 died shortly after birth and Individual 2 was a late-term fetus, making these the youngest-aged late Pleistocene individuals known for the Americas and the only known prenate, offering, to our knowledge, the first opportunity to explore mortuary treatment of the youngest members of a terminal Pleistocene North American population. This burial was situated ∼40 cm directly below a cremated 3-y-old child previously discovered in association with a central hearth of a residential feature. The burial and cremation are contemporaneous, and differences in body orientation, treatment, and associated grave goods within a single feature and evidence for residential occupation between burial episodes indicate novel mortuary behaviors. The human remains, grave goods, and associated fauna provide rare direct data on organic technology, economy, seasonality of residential occupations, and infant/child mortality of terminal Pleistocene Beringians. PMID:25385599

Effects of sand burial and wind disturbances on moss soil crusts in a revegetated area of the Tennger Desert, Northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, R. L.; Li, X. R.; Liu, L. C.; Gao, Y. H.

2012-04-01

Sand burial and wind are two predominant natural disturbances in the desert ecosystems worldwide. However, the effects of sand burial and wind disturbances on moss soil crusts are still largely unexplored. In this study, two sets of experiments were conducted separately to evaluated the effects of sand burial (sand depth of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm) and wind blowing (wind speed of 0.2, 3, 6 and 9ms-1) on ecophysiological variables of two moss soil crusts collected from a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Firstly, the results from the sand burial experiment revealed that respiration rate was significantly decreased and that moss shoot elongation was significantly increased after burial. In addition, Bryum argenteum crust showed the fastest speed of emergence and highest tolerance index, followed by Didymodon vinealis crust. This sequence was consistent with the successional order of the two moss crusts that happened in our study area, indicating that differential sand burial tolerance explains their succession sequence. Secondly, the results from the wind experiment showed that CO2 exchange, PSII photochemical efficiency, photosynthetic pigments, shoot upgrowth, productivity and regeneration potential of the two moss soil crust mentioned above were all substantially depressed. Furthermore, D. vinealis crust exhibited stronger wind resistance than B. argenteum crust from all aspects mentioned above. And this is comparison was identical with their contrasting microhabitats with B. argenteum crust being excluded from higher wind speed microsites in the windward slopes, suggesting that the differential wind resistance of moss soil crusts explains their microdistribution pattern. In conclusion, the ecogeomorphological processes of moss soil crusts in desert ecosystems can be largely determined by natural disturbances caused by sand burial and wind blowing in desert ecosystems.

Stabilization of kerogen thermal maturation: Evidence from geothermometry and burial history reconstruction, Niobrara Limestone, Berthoud oil field, western Denver Basin, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barker, C.E.; Crysdale, B.L.

1990-05-01

The burial history of this fractured Niobrara Limestone reservoir and source rock offers a setting for studying the stabilization of thermal maturity because soon after peak temperature of approximately 100{degree}C was reached, exhumation lowered temperature to about 60-70{degree}C. Vitrinite reflectance (Rm = 0.6-0.7%) and published clay mineralogy data from the Niobrara Limestone indicate that peak paleotemperature was approximately 100{degree}C. Fluid inclusion data also indicate oil migration occurred at 100{degree}C. Burial history reconstruction indicates 100{degree}C was reached in the Niobrara Limestone only during minimum burial, which occurred at 70 Ma and 8000 ft depth. However, erosion beginning at 70 Ma andmore » continuing until 50 Ma removed over 3,000 ft of rock. This depth of erosion agrees with an Rm of 0.4% measured in surface samples of the Pierre Shale. The exhumation of the reservoir decreased temperature by about 30{degree}C to near the corrected bottom-hole temperature of 50-70{degree}C. Lopatin time-temperature index (TTI) analysis suggests the Niobrara Limestone as a source rock matured to the oil generation stage (TTI = 10) about 25 Ma, significantly later than maximum burial, and after exhumation caused cooling. The Lopatin TTI method in this case seems to overestimate the influence of heating time. If time is an important factor, thermal maturity should continue to increase after peak burial and temperature so that vitrinite reflectance will not be comparable to peak paleotemperatures estimated from geothermometers set at near-peak temperature and those estimated from burial history reconstruction. The agreement between geothermometry and the burial history reconstruction in Berthoud State 4 suggests that the influence of heating time must be small. The elapsed time available at near peak temperatures was sufficient to allow stabilization of thermal maturation in this case.« less

A Probabilistic Performance Assessment Study of Potential Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knowlton, R. G.; Arnold, B. W.; Mattie, P. D.; Kuo, M.; Tien, N.

2006-12-01

For several years now, Taiwan has been engaged in a process to select a low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal site. Taiwan is generating LLW from operational and decommissioning wastes associated with nuclear power reactors, as well as research, industrial, and medical radioactive wastes. The preliminary selection process has narrowed the search to four potential candidate sites. These sites are to be evaluated in a performance assessment analysis to determine the likelihood of meeting the regulatory criteria for disposal. Sandia National Laboratories and Taiwan's Institute of Nuclear Energy Research have been working together to develop the necessary performance assessment methodology and associated computer models to perform these analyses. The methodology utilizes both deterministic (e.g., single run) and probabilistic (e.g., multiple statistical realizations) analyses to achieve the goals. The probabilistic approach provides a means of quantitatively evaluating uncertainty in the model predictions and a more robust basis for performing sensitivity analyses to better understand what is driving the dose predictions from the models. Two types of disposal configurations are under consideration: a shallow land burial concept and a cavern disposal concept. The shallow land burial option includes a protective cover to limit infiltration potential to the waste. Both conceptual designs call for the disposal of 55 gallon waste drums within concrete lined trenches or tunnels, and backfilled with grout. Waste emplaced in the drums may be solidified. Both types of sites are underlain or placed within saturated fractured bedrock material. These factors have influenced the conceptual model development of each site, as well as the selection of the models to employ for the performance assessment analyses. Several existing codes were integrated in order to facilitate a comprehensive performance assessment methodology to evaluate the potential disposal sites. First, a need

The impact of male burials on the construction of Corded Ware identity: Reconstructing networks of information in the 3rd millennium BC.

PubMed

Bourgeois, Quentin; Kroon, Erik

2017-01-01

The emergence of Corded Ware Groups throughout Europe in the 3rd millennium BC is one of the most defining events in European history. From the Wolga to the Rhine communities start to speak Indo-European languages and bury their dead in an extremely similar fashion. Recent ancient DNA-analyses identify a massive migration from the Eurasian steppe as the prime cause for this event. However, there is a fundamental difference between expressing a Corded Ware identity-the sharing of world views and ideas-and having a specific DNA-profile. Therefore, we argue that investigating the exchange of cultural information on burial rites between these communities serves as a crucial complement to the exchange of biological information. By adopting a practice perspective to 1161 Corded Ware burials throughout north-western Europe, combined with similarity indexes and network representations, we demonstrate a high degree of information sharing on the burial ritual between different regions. Moreover, we show that male burials are much more international in character than female burials and as such can be considered as the vector along which cultural information and Corded Ware identity was transmitted. This finding highlights an underlying complex societal organization of Corded Ware burial rites in which gender roles had a significant impact on the composition and transmission of cultural information. Our findings corroborate recent studies that suggest the Corded Ware was a male focused society.

LIDAR-based coastal landscape reconstruction and harbour location: The Viking-age royal burial site of Borre (Norway)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Draganits, Erich; Doneus, Michael; Gansum, Terje

2013-04-01

Airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) has found wide application in archaeological research for the detection and documentation of archaeological and palaeo-environmental features. In this study we demonstrate the analysis of an LIDAR derived 1x1 m digital elevation model (DTM) combined with geoarchaeological research of the coastal Viking-age burial site in Borre, Olso Fjord (Norway). Borre is an exceptional burial site in Scandinavia, containing burial mounds up to 40 m in diameter and 6 m height, mentioned in Nordic Sagas, especially in the skaldic poem Ynglingatal, as the burial place of one or two kings of the Ynglinga dynasty. Archaeological findings and radiocarbon ages indicate that the Borre burial ground had been in use broadly between 600-1000 AD. Despite the reasonable expectation that a coastal site connected with the Viking kings of Vestfold, with hall buildings and ship graves demands a harbour, up to now no harbour has not been found with traditional archaeological surveys. Since the area of Borre is affected by a continuous land uplift related to glacial rebound of Scandinavia, any former harbour site is expected to be exposed to the land surface today. The present day vertical crustal uplift is calculated around 2.5 mm/yr in the area of Borre. Burial mounds and surrounding borrow pits as well as geomorphological features of the uplifted coast of Borre have been analysed by the 1x1 m LIDAR-DTM, using hillshade, slope and local relief model for visualisation. Altogether, 41 burial mounds and further 6 potential mounds are visible in the high-resolution DTM. A succession of more than 14 beach ridges, cross-cut by the burial mounds, is visible from the present shore line up to 18 m asl. They are more or less parallel and similar in size, except between at ca. 4-6 m asl, where the most prominent ridge is located, which probably has been enforced artificially. Using published shoreline displacement curves from nearby areas, the shore-line at

Iron-nickel alloys as canister material for radioactive waste disposal in underground repositories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apps, J. A.

1982-09-01

Canisters containing high-level radioactive waste must retain their integrity in an underground waste repository for at least one thousand years after burial (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1981). Since no direct means of verifying canister integrity is plausible over such a long period, indirect methods must be chosen. A persuasive approach is to examine the natural environment and find a suitable material which is thermodynamically compatible with the host rock under the environmental conditions with the host rock under the environmental conditions expected in a waste repository. Several candidates have been proposed, among them being iron-nickel alloys that are known to occur naturally in altered ultramafic rocks. The following review of stability relations among iron-nickel alloys below 3500 C is the initial phase of a more detailed evaluation of these alloys as suitable canister materials.

Geologic setting of the low-level burial grounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lindsey, K.A.; Jaeger, G.K.; Slate, J.L.

1994-10-13

This report describes the regional and site specific geology of the Hanford Sites low-level burial grounds in the 200 East and West Areas. The report incorporates data from boreholes across the entire 200 Areas, integrating the geology of this area into a single framework. Geologic cross-sections, isopach maps, and structure contour maps of all major geological units from the top of the Columbia River Basalt Group to the surface are included. The physical properties and characteristics of the major suprabasalt sedimentary units also are discussed.

Observing Migration and Burial of Unexploded Ordnance in the Nearshore Environment with Instrumented Surrogates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruder, B. L.; Cristaudo, D.; Puleo, J. A.

2016-12-01

Prior to 1972, it was legal and common practice to unload unexploded ordnance (UXO) into the ocean. Only 60-100 miles off the US coast alone there are 72 dumping sites where it is estimated 31 million pounds of UXO lie. As recently as 2015, UXO have been found not only in the nearshore environment, but on populated beaches. Thus, understanding the migration and burial of these objects is not only of oceanographic interest, but a matter of public safety. The presented project evaluates the efficacy of instrumented UXO surrogates for observing munition migration and burial. Instrumented surrogates were exposed to near prototype scale wave conditions over a mobile bed at the Littoral Warfare Environment at Aberdeen Test Center, MD. Surrogates were deployed in the swash zone, inner and outer surf zones. Dependent on munition size, surrogates housed multiple suites of self-logging sensors. Sensor suites included different combinations of inertial motion units, ultra-wideband tracking tags, pressure transducers, shock recorders, and photocells. Preliminary results show sensor suites can resolve various types of surrogate movement. Pressure transducers accurately record ambient wave conditions as well as changes in mean depth due to surrogate migration. Inertial motion units resolve munition accelerations for rolling and translational motion. Inertial motion unit data is used to estimate trajectory as well when coupled with mean depth and bathymetric data. Photocells, which measure ambient light, resolve munition burial as well as serve as proxies for surrounding environmental conditions such as suspended sediment and water depth. The presented project will continue to utilize and couple surrogate sensor data to resolve munition movement and burial under different conditions. Knowledge of munition migration helps focus UXO detection and recovery, conserving US military and coastal resources.

Patterns of Irregular Burials in Western Europe (1st-5th Century A.D.)

PubMed Central

Milella, Marco; Mariotti, Valentina; Belcastro, Maria Giovanna; Knüsel, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Background Irregular burials (IB—burials showing features that contrast with the majority of others in their geographic and chronological context) have been the focus of archaeological study because of their relative rarity and enigmatic appearance. Interpretations of IB often refer to supposed fear of the dead or to social processes taking place in time-specific contexts. However, a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of IB for various geographical contexts is still lacking, a fact that hampers any discussion of these burials on a larger scale. Methods Here, we collected a bibliographic dataset of 375 IB from both Britain and Continental Europe, altogether spanning a time period from the 1st to the 5th century AD. Each burial has been coded according to ten dichotomous variables, further analyzed by means of chi-squared tests on absolute frequencies, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis. Results Even acknowledging the limits of this study, and in particular the bias represented by the available literature, our results point to interesting patterns. Geographically, IB show a contrast between Britain and Continental Europe, possibly related to historical processes specific to these regions. Different types of IB (especially prone depositions and depositions with the cephalic extremity displaced) present a series of characteristics and associations between features that permit a more detailed conceptualization of these occurrences from a socio-cultural perspective that aids to elucidate their funerary meaning. Conclusions and Significance Altogether, the present work stresses the variability of IB, and the need to contextualize them in a proper archaeological and historical context. It contributes to the discussion of IB by providing a specific geographic and chronological frame of reference that supports a series of hypotheses about the cultural processes possibly underlying their occurrence. PMID:26115408

Patterns of Irregular Burials in Western Europe (1st-5th Century A.D.).

PubMed

Milella, Marco; Mariotti, Valentina; Belcastro, Maria Giovanna; Knüsel, Christopher J

2015-01-01

Irregular burials (IB--burials showing features that contrast with the majority of others in their geographic and chronological context) have been the focus of archaeological study because of their relative rarity and enigmatic appearance. Interpretations of IB often refer to supposed fear of the dead or to social processes taking place in time-specific contexts. However, a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of IB for various geographical contexts is still lacking, a fact that hampers any discussion of these burials on a larger scale. Here, we collected a bibliographic dataset of 375 IB from both Britain and Continental Europe, altogether spanning a time period from the 1st to the 5th century AD. Each burial has been coded according to ten dichotomous variables, further analyzed by means of chi-squared tests on absolute frequencies, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis. Even acknowledging the limits of this study, and in particular the bias represented by the available literature, our results point to interesting patterns. Geographically, IB show a contrast between Britain and Continental Europe, possibly related to historical processes specific to these regions. Different types of IB (especially prone depositions and depositions with the cephalic extremity displaced) present a series of characteristics and associations between features that permit a more detailed conceptualization of these occurrences from a socio-cultural perspective that aids to elucidate their funerary meaning. Altogether, the present work stresses the variability of IB, and the need to contextualize them in a proper archaeological and historical context. It contributes to the discussion of IB by providing a specific geographic and chronological frame of reference that supports a series of hypotheses about the cultural processes possibly underlying their occurrence.

Performance assessment methodology and preliminary results for low-level radioactive waste disposal in Taiwan.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnold, Bill Walter; Chang, Fu-lin; Mattie, Patrick D.

2006-02-01

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Taiwan's Institute for Nuclear Energy Research (INER) have teamed together to evaluate several candidate sites for Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) disposal in Taiwan. Taiwan currently has three nuclear power plants, with another under construction. Taiwan also has a research reactor, as well as medical and industrial wastes to contend with. Eventually the reactors will be decomissioned. Operational and decommissioning wastes will need to be disposed in a licensed disposal facility starting in 2014. Taiwan has adopted regulations similar to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) low-level radioactive waste rules (10 CFR 61) to govern themore » disposal of LLW. Taiwan has proposed several potential sites for the final disposal of LLW that is now in temporary storage on Lanyu Island and on-site at operating nuclear power plants, and for waste generated in the future through 2045. The planned final disposal facility will have a capacity of approximately 966,000 55-gallon drums. Taiwan is in the process of evaluating the best candidate site to pursue for licensing. Among these proposed sites there are basically two disposal concepts: shallow land burial and cavern disposal. A representative potential site for shallow land burial is located on a small island in the Taiwan Strait with basalt bedrock and interbedded sedimentary rocks. An engineered cover system would be constructed to limit infiltration for shallow land burial. A representative potential site for cavern disposal is located along the southeastern coast of Taiwan in a tunnel system that would be about 500 to 800 m below the surface. Bedrock at this site consists of argillite and meta-sedimentary rocks. Performance assessment analyses will be performed to evaluate future performance of the facility and the potential dose/risk to exposed populations. Preliminary performance assessment analyses will be used in the site-selection process and to aid in design of

7 CFR 1779.29 - Fees and charges by lender.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fees and charges by lender. 1779.29 Section 1779.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) WATER AND WASTE DISPOSAL PROGRAMS GUARANTEED LOANS § 1779.29 Fees and charges by...

38 CFR 3.1704 - Burial allowance based on service-connected death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... service-connected death. 3.1704 Section 3.1704 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF....1704 Burial allowance based on service-connected death. Pt. 3, Subpt. B, Nt. (a) General rule. VA will... of the veteran's death that the expenses incurred were less than that amount. Payment of the service...

Determining timing of Alaska Range exhumation and glaciation through cosmogenic nuclide burial dating.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sortor, R. N.; Goehring, B. M.; Bemis, S. P.; Ruleman, C.; Nichols, K. A.; Ward, D. J.; Frothingham, M.

2017-12-01

The Alaska Range is a transpressional orogen with modern exhumation initiating 6 Ma. The stratigraphic record of unroofing and uplift of the foreland basin is largely preserved along the northern flank of the Alaska Range in the Pliocene-Pleistocene aged Nenana Gravel, an extensive alluvial fan and braidplain deposit. Chronometric control on the Nenana Gravel is largely lacking, with the limited available age control based on a single Ar-Ar tephra date in an underlying unit and via stratigraphic inferences for the upper portions. Higher-resolution dating of the Nenana Gravel unit is imperative in order to quantify deposition rates and the timing of uplift and deformation of the foreland basin. Furthermore, a glacial unit has been found to lie unconformably on top of the unit at Suntrana Creek and may represent the initiation of glacial advances in the Alaska Range. We present a suite of 26Al/10Be cosmogenic nuclide burial ages collected from the lower, middle, and upper sections of the Nenana Gravel at Suntrana Creek, as well as the overlying glacial unit. Three samples from the lower Nenana Gravel yield an isochron burial age of 4.42+0.67/-0.13 Ma, which represents initiation of Nenana Gravel deposition and may equate to early unroofing of the Alaska Range. Two samples collected from the middle of the Nenana Gravel unit produced an average simple burial age of 2.25+/-0.45 Ma, with a single sample stratigraphically above dating to 0.99 +/-1.60. Two samples from the upper-most portion of the Nenana Gravel yielded an average simple burial age of 1.27+/-0.22 Ma, and one sample from the glacial unit overlying the Nenana Gravel was dated to 0.97+/-0.06 Ma, representing one of the earliest glacial advances in the region. In addition, the age of the glacial unit provides a minimum age for inception of foreland basin uplift and abandonment of the Nenana Gravel in this region.

[Scientific substantiation of sizes of sanitary protection zones of anthrax burial sites based on the comprehensive evaluation of risk factors].

PubMed

Kartavaya, S A; Simonova, E G; Loktionova, M N; Kolganova, O A; Ladny, V I; Raichich, S R

In the Russian Federation anthrax epizootics are still being registered among animals as well as epidemic foci of the population. This situation is linked to natural reservoirs of the pathogen - numerous anthrax burial sites which belong to class I of dangerous objects. In this connection, a one-kilometer sanitary protective zone is required according to current Russian Federation legislation. As a result, a significant land of the country is unsuitable for any agricultural use. Meanwhile, epizootologo-epidemiological observations indicate to that different anthrax burial sites differ in their characteristics and represent varying degrees of the risk. In connection with the development of the agricultural sector, intensive construction and the development of new and abandoned areas there is a need of creating unified approaches to assess the risk of anthrax burial sites, as well as to determine the size of sanitary protection zones based on the risk assessment. This article represents an original methodology to assess the actual danger of anthrax burial sites. It is based on a comprehensive multi-factor quantity-related risk assessment, described by a model that accounting the importance of each study for natural, social and biological factors. Undertaking this methodology allowed to reveal a degree of danger of anthrax burial sites located in different territories of the Russian Federation, and helped to substantiate the dimensions of their sanitary protection zones.

Analyzing and Interpreting Lime Burials from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): A Case Study from La Carcavilla Cemetery.

PubMed

Schotsmans, Eline M J; García-Rubio, Almudena; Edwards, Howell G M; Munshi, Tasnim; Wilson, Andrew S; Ríos, Luis

2017-03-01

Over 500 victims of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) were buried in the cemetery of La Carcavilla (Palencia, Spain). White material, observed in several burials, was analyzed with Raman spectroscopy and powder XRD, and confirmed to be lime. Archaeological findings at La Carcavilla's cemetery show that the application of lime was used in an organized way, mostly associated with coffinless interments of victims of Francoist repression. In burials with a lime cast, observations made it possible to draw conclusions regarding the presence of soft tissue at the moment of deposition, the sequence of events, and the presence of clothing and other evidence. This study illustrates the importance of analyzing a burial within the depositional environment and taphonomic context. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Management of immunization solid wastes in Kano State, Nigeria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oke, I.A.

Inadequate management of waste generated from injection activities can have a negative impact on the community and environment. In this paper, a report on immunization wastes management in Kano State (Nigeria) is presented. Eight local governments were selected randomly and surveyed by the author. Solid wastes generated during the Expanded Programme on Immunization were characterised using two different methods: one by weighing the waste and the other by estimating the volume. Empirical data was obtained on immunization waste generation, segregation, storage, collection, transportation, and disposal; and waste management practices were assessed. The study revealed that immunization offices were accommodated inmore » either in local government buildings, primary health centres or community health care centres. All of the stations demonstrated a high priority for segregation of the infectious wastes. It can be deduced from the data obtained that infectious waste ranged from 67.6% to 76.7% with an average of 70.1% by weight, and 36.0% to 46.1% with an average of 40.1% by volume. Non-infectious waste generated ranged from 23.3% to 32.5% with an average of 29.9% by weight and 53.9% to 64.0% with an average of 59.9% by volume. Out of non-infectious waste (NIFW) and infectious waste (IFW), 66.3% and 62.4% by weight were combustible and 33.7% and 37.6% were non-combustible respectively. An assessment of the treatment revealed that open pit burning and burial and small scale incineration were the common methods of disposal for immunization waste, and some immunization centres employed the services of the state or local government owned solid waste disposal board for final collection and disposal of their immunization waste at government approved sites.« less

Archaeological and Osteological Analysis of Two Burial Sites Along Harlan County Lake, Nebraska: Chronological and Evolutionary Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-01

14GE4 ( Mound 2), 14GE5 and 14GE6 ......................... 99 9.2 Comparative percentages of bone elements for sites 14CY12 and 14CY32 ( Mounds 1 and 2...100 9.3 Comparative percentages of bone elements for sites 14GE2 ( Mounds 1 and 3), 14GE4 ( Mound 1) and 14GE7...et al. (1981:123) describe the burial patterns of the Valley focus as follows: Many burial mounds (as opposed to habitation sites) attributable to

Buried transuranic wastes at ORNL: Review of past estimates and reconciliation with current data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trabalka, J.R.

1997-09-01

Inventories of buried (generally meaning disposed of) transuranic (TRU) wastes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have been estimated for site remediation and waste management planning over a period of about two decades. Estimates were required because of inadequate waste characterization and incomplete disposal records. For a variety of reasons, including changing definitions of TRU wastes, differing objectives for the estimates, and poor historical data, the published results have sometimes been in conflict. The purpose of this review was (1) to attempt to explain both the rationale for and differences among the various estimates, and (2) to update the estimatesmore » based on more recent information obtained from waste characterization and from evaluations of ORNL waste data bases and historical records. The latter included information obtained from an expert panel`s review and reconciliation of inconsistencies in data identified during preparation of the ORNL input for the third revision of the Baseline Inventory Report for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The results summarize current understanding of the relationship between past estimates of buried TRU wastes and provide the most up-to-date information on recorded burials thereafter. The limitations of available information on the latter and thus the need for improved waste characterization are highlighted.« less

Lab-scale evaluation of aerated burial concept for treatment and emergency disposal of infectious animal carcasses.

PubMed

Koziel, Jacek A; Ahn, Heekwon; Glanville, Thomas D; Frana, Timothy S; van Leeuwen, J Hans; Nguyen, Lam T

2018-06-01

Nearly 55,000 outbreaks of animal disease were reported to the World Animal Health Information Database between 2005 and 2016. To suppress the spread of disease, large numbers of animal mortalities often must be disposed of quickly and are frequently buried on the farm where they were raised. While this method of emergency disposal is fast and relatively inexpensive, it also can have undesirable and lasting impacts (slow decay, concerns about groundwater contamination, pathogens re-emergence, and odor). Following the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the Republic of Korea's National Institute of Animal Science funded research on selected burial alternatives or modifications believed to have potential to reduce undesirable impacts of burial. One such modification involves the injection of air into the liquid degradation products from the 60-70% water from decomposing carcasses in lined burial trenches. Prior to prototype development in the field, a laboratory-scale study of aerated decomposition (AeD) of poultry carcasses was conducted to quantify improvements in time of carcass decomposition, reduction of potential groundwater pollutants in the liquid products of decomposition (since trench liners may ultimately leak), and reduction of odorous VOCs emitted during decomposition. Headspace gases also were monitored to determine the potential for using gaseous biomarkers in the aerated burial trench exhaust stream to monitor completion of the decomposition. Results of the lab-scale experiments show that the mass of chicken carcasses was reduced by 95.0 ± 0.9% within 3 months at mesophilic temperatures (vs. negligible reduction via mesophilic anaerobic digestion typical of trench burial) with concomitant reduction of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD; 99%), volatile suspended solids (VSS; 99%), total suspended solids (TSS; 99%), and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN; 98%) in the liquid digestate. At week #7 BOD and TSS in digestate met the U.S. EPA standards for

Experimental burial inhibits methanogenesis and anaerobic decomposition in water-saturated peats.

PubMed

Blodau, Christian; Siems, Melanie; Beer, Julia

2011-12-01

A mechanistic understanding of carbon (C) sequestration and methane (CH(4)) production is of great interest due to the importance of these processes for the global C budget. Here we demonstrate experimentally, by means of column experiments, that burial of water saturated, anoxic bog peat leads to inactivation of anaerobic respiration and methanogenesis. This effect can be related to the slowness of diffusive transport of solutes and evolving energetic constraints on anaerobic respiration. Burial lowered decomposition constants in homogenized peat sand mixtures from about 10(-5) to 10(-7) yr(-1), which is considerably slower than previously assumed, and methanogenesis slowed down in a similar manner. The latter effect could be related to acetoclastic methanogenesis approaching a minimum energy quantum of -25 kJ mol(-1) (CH(4)). Given the robustness of hydraulic properties that locate the oxic-anoxic boundary near the peatland surface and constrain solute transport deeper into the peat, this effect has likely been critical for building the peatland C store and will continue supporting long-term C sequestration in northern peatlands even under moderately changing climatic conditions.

Long-term sequential monitoring of controlled graves representing common burial scenarios with ground penetrating radar: Years 2 and 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, John J.; Walter, Brittany S.; Healy, Carrie

2016-09-01

Geophysical techniques such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) have been successfully used for forensic searches to locate clandestine graves and physical evidence. However, additional controlled research is needed to fully understand the applicability of this technology when searching for clandestine graves in various environments, soil types, and for longer periods of time post-burial. The purpose of this study was to determine the applicability of GPR for detecting controlled graves in a Spodosol representing multiple burial scenarios for Years 2 and 3 of a three-year monitoring period. Objectives included determining how different burial scenarios are factors in producing a distinctive anomalous response; determining how different GPR imagery options (2D reflection profiles and horizontal time slices) can provide increased visibility of the burials; and comparing GPR imagery between 500 MHz and 250 MHz dominant frequency antennae. The research site contained a grid with eight graves representing common forensic burial scenarios in a Spodosol, a common soil type of Florida, with six graves containing a pig carcass (Sus scrofa). Burial scenarios with grave items (a deep grave with a layer of rocks over the carcass and a carcass wrapped in a tarpaulin) produced a more distinctive response with clearer target reflections over the duration of the monitoring period compared to naked carcasses. Months with increased precipitation were also found to produce clearer target reflections than drier months, particularly during Year 3 when many grave scenarios that were not previously visible became visible after increased seasonal rainfall. Overall, the 250 MHz dominant frequency antenna imagery was more favorable than the 500 MHz. While detection of a simulated grave may be difficult to detect over time, long term detection of a grave in a Spodosol may be possible if the disturbed spodic horizon is detected. Furthermore, while grave visibility increased with the 2D

32 CFR 553.15 - Persons eligible for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Persons eligible for burial in Arlington National Cemetery. 553.15 Section 553.15 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL CEMETERIES ARMY NATIONAL CEMETERIES § 553.15 Persons...

Antagonistic effects of drought and sand burial enable the survival of the biocrust moss Bryum argenteum in an arid sandy desert

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Rongliang; Zhao, Yun; Gao, Yanhong; Hui, Rong; Yang, Haotian; Wang, Zenru; Li, Yixuan

2018-02-01

Biocrust moss is an essential soil surface bio-cover. It can represent the latest succession stage among the diverse range of surface-dwelling cryptogams (e.g., cyanobacteria, green algae, and lichen, which are also referred to as biocrusts), and it can make a major contribution to soil stability and fertility in many arid sandy desert ecosystems. The soil surface represents a very large ecological niche that is poikilohydric in nature. Biocrust moss is therefore highly susceptible to drought and sand burial, which are two ubiquitous stressors in arid sandy deserts. However, little information is available regarding the mechanism by which biocrust moss can survive and flourish in these habitats when stressed simultaneously by the two stressors. The combined effects of drought and sand burial were evaluated in a field experiment using the predominant biocrust moss, Bryum argenteum Hedw., in the Tengger Desert, China. Drought was simulated by applying distilled water in three artificial rainfall regimes at 8-day intervals in spring and autumn: 4 and 6 mm (average rainfall, control), 2 and 3 mm (double drought), and 1 and 1.5 mm (4-fold drought), respectively. The effect of sand burial was determined by applying six treatments, i.e., sand depths of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 10 mm. The four parameters of chlorophyll a content, PSII photochemical efficiency, regeneration potential, and shoot upgrowth were evaluated in the moss. It was found that the combined effects of drought and sand burial did not exacerbate the single negative effects of the four parameters tested. Drought significantly ameliorated the negative effects of deep-sand burial on the retention of chlorophyll a content, PSII photochemical efficiency, and the regeneration potential of B. argenteum. Sand burial diminished and even reversed the negative effects of drought on the maintenance of chlorophyll a content, PSII photochemical efficiency, and regeneration potential. Although drought and sand

The Impact of Physical Disturbance and Increased Sand Burial on Clonal Growth and Spatial Colonization of Sporobolus virginicus in a Coastal Dune System

PubMed Central

Balestri, Elena; Lardicci, Claudio

2013-01-01

Dune plants are subjected to disturbance and environmental stresses, but little is known about the possible combined effects of such factors on growth and spatial colonization. We investigated how clones of Sporobolus virginicus , a widespread dune species, responded to the independent and interactive effects of breakage of rhizomes, breakage position and burial regime. Horizontal rhizomes were severed at three different internode positions relative to the apex to span the range of damage by disturbance naturally observed or left intact, and apical portions exposed to two burial scenarios (ambient vs. increased frequency) for three months in the field. The performance of both parts of severed rhizomes, the apical portion and the remaining basal portion connected to clone containing four consecutive ramets, was compared with that of equivalent parts in intact rhizomes. Apical portions severed proximal to the third internode did not survive and their removal did not enhance branching on their respective basal portions. Severing the sixth or twelfth internode did not affect survival and rhizome extension of apical portions, but suppressed ramet production and reduced total biomass and specific shoot length. Their removal enhanced branching and ramet production on basal portions and changed the original rhizome growth trajectory. However, the gain in number of ramets in basal portions never compensated for the reduction in ramet number in apical portions. Recurrent burial increased biomass allocation to root tissues. Burial also stimulated rhizome extension only in intact rhizomes, indicating that disturbance interacts with, and counteracts, the positive burial effect. These results suggest that disturbance and recurrent burial in combination reduces the regeneration success and spread capacity of S . virginucus . Since global change leads to increasingly severe or frequent storms, the impact of disturbance and burial on clones could be greater in future and possibly

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory EnergyX Macroencapsulated Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shott, Gregory J.

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) EnergyX Macroencapsulated waste stream (B LAMACRONCAP, Revision 1) is suitable for disposal by shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The LLNL EnergyX Macroencapsulated waste stream is macroencapsulated mixed waste generated during research laboratory operations and maintenance (LLNL 2015). The LLNL EnergyX Macroencapsulated waste stream required a special analysis due to tritium (3H), cobalt-60 (60Co), cesium-137 (137Cs), and radium-226 (226Ra) exceeding the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) Action Levels (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclearmore » Security Administration Nevada Field Office [NNSA/NFO] 2015).The results indicate that all performance objectives can be met with disposal of the waste stream in a SLB trench. Addition of the LLNL EnergyX Macroencapsulated inventory slightly increases multiple performance assessment results, with the largest relative increase occurring for the all-pathways annual total effective dose (TED). The maximum mean and 95th percentile 222Rn flux density remain less than the performance objective throughout the compliance period. The LLNL EnergyX Macroencapsulated waste stream is suitable for disposal by SLB at the Area 5 RWMS. The waste stream is recommended for approval without conditions.« less

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Sandia National Laboratory Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gregory, Louis B.

This special analysis evaluates whether the Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream (ASLA000001007, Revision 4) is suitable for disposal by shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The SNL Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream consists of debris from classified nuclear weapons components (SNL 2015). The SNL Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream required a special analysis due to tritium (3H) exceeding the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) Action Levels (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office [NNSA/NFO] 2015). The SNL Classifiedmore » Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream had no significant effect on the maximum mean and 95th percentile results for the resident air pathway and all-pathways annual total effective dose (TED). The SNL Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream increases the mean air pathway and all-pathways annual TED from approximately 100 to 200 years after closure. Addition of the SNL Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream inventory shifts the maximum TED to approximately 100 years after closure and increases the TED for several alternative exposure scenarios. The maximum mean and the 95th percentile 222Rn flux density remain less than the performance objective throughout the compliance period. The SNL Classified Macroencapsulated Mixed Waste stream is suitable for disposal by SLB at the Area 5 RWMS. The waste stream is recommended for approval without conditions.« less

Organic Carbon Burial Rates in Mangrove Soils Along Florida's Coast from Tampa Bay to Biscayne National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smoak, J. M.; Breithaupt, J. L.; Moyer, R. P.; Sanders, C. J.; Proctor, M. R.; Jacobs, J. A.; Chappel, A. R.; Comparetto, K. R.

2016-12-01

Mangrove forests provide a range of valuable ecosystem services including sequestering organic carbon (OC) in their soils at rates much greater on a per area basis than those found in other types of forests. This restricts a large quantity of OC to a relatively small area along tropical and sub-tropical coastal margins, where dramatic climate-driven impacts are expected. Hence this small yet highly-vulnerable area will have a disproportionally large impact on global carbon cycling. One of the fundamental climate-related questions in mangrove systems is whether their soils will continue to function as a globally significant OC sink or become a source as previously buried OC is oxidized and returned to the atmosphere. While changes to precipitation, temperature, cyclone activity, etc. may influence this sink capacity, it is accelerating sea-level rise (SLR) that is of greatest immediate concern because if mangrove peat formation fails to keep pace then all ecosystem services, including carbon burial, will collapse. Mangroves that receive minimal terrigenous sediments (such as those in South Florida) are largely dependent on the rate of OC accumulation as a key contributor to accretion. To investigate these processes, we measured OC burial and accretion rates over the last 100 years (via 210Pb dating) from sites in Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, and the Lower Florida Keys. The mean 100-year burial rate over all sites is 119 ± 33 (SD) g m-2 yr-1 which is lower than the global mean. Mean accretion rates were found to match (within error) the relatively modest average SLR over the last 100 years, but rates may not have kept pace with the substantially higher SLR in the last decade. This investigation contributes to establishing regional-scale Blue Carbon budgets, and examines how OC burial in mangroves has changed over the last 100 years. This improved understanding of past mangrove OC burial response

Micromorphological aspects of forensic geopedology: time-dependent markers of decomposition and permanence in soil in experimental burials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zangarini, Sara; Cattaneo, Cristina; Trombino, Luca

2014-05-01

The importance of the role played by soil scientists grows up in the modern forensic sciences, in particular when buried human remains strongly decomposed or skeletonized are found in different environment situations. An interdisciplinary team, formed by earth and legal medicine researchers from the University of Milan is working on several sets of experimental burial of pigs in different soil types and for different times of burial, in order to get new evidences on environmental responses to the burial, focusing specifically on geopedological and micropedological aspects. The present work is aimed at the micromorphological (petrographic microscope) and ultramicroscopic (SEM) cross characterization of bone tissue in buried remains, in order to describe bone alteration pathways due both to decomposition and to permanence in soil. These methods allow identifying in the tissues of analysed bones: - Unusual concentrations of metal oxides (i.e. Fe, Mn), in the form of violet-blue colorations (in XPL), which seem to be related to chemical conditions in the burial area; their presence could be a method to discriminate permanence in soil rather than a different environment of decomposition. - Magnesium phosphate (i.e. Mg3(PO4)2 ) crystallizations, usually noticed in bones buried from 7 to 103 weeks; their presence seems to be related to the decomposition both of the bones themselves and of soft tissues. - The presence of significant sulphur levels (i.e. SO3) in bones buried for over 7 weeks, which seem to be related to the transport and fixation of soft tissues decomposition fluids. These results point out that micromorphological techniques coupled with spatially resolved chemical analyses allow identifying both indicators of the permanence of the remains into the soil (i.e. metal oxides concentrations) and time-dependent markers of decomposition (i.e. significant sulphur levels and magnesium phosphate) in order to determine PMI (post-mortem-interval) and TSB (time-since-burial

Prioritization of remedial actions for radioactive waste burials in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crossland, Ian

2013-07-01

Large volumes of radioactive waste were urgently buried in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) in the aftermath of the 1986 accident. Twenty-six years later, decisions must be taken about whether and how to remediate these sites. An attempt to resolve two key issues is described here: 1. How to assess the hazards posed by these facilities, recognizing that, for the foreseeable future, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone will remain under institutional control? and 2. What standards to apply in deciding the extent of remediation? This paper presents an examination of the issues and proposes a simple decision-making process. (authors)

Observation of Burial and Migration of Instrumented Surrogate Munitions Deployed in the Swash Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristaudo, D.; Puleo, J. A.; Bruder, B. L.

2017-12-01

Munitions (also known as unexploded ordnance; UXO) in the nearshore environment due to past military activities, may be found on the beach, constituting a risk for beach users. Munitions may be transported from offshore to shallower water and/or migrate along the coast. In addition, munitions may bury in place or be exhumed due to hydrodynamic forcing. Observations on munitions mobility have generally been collected offshore, while observations in the swash zone are scarce. The swash zone is the region of the beach alternately covered by wave runup where hydrodynamic processes may be intense. Studies of munitions mobility require the use of realistic surrogates to quantify mobility/burial and hydrodynamic forcing conditions. Four surrogates (BLU-61 Cluster Bomb, 81 mm Mortar, M151-70 Hydra Rocket and M107 155 mm High Explosive Howitzer) were developed and tested during large-scale laboratory and field studies. Surrogates house sensors that measure different components of motion. Errors between real munitions and surrogate parameters (mass, center of gravity and axial moment of inertia) are all within an absolute error of 20%. Internal munitions sensors consist of inertial motion units (for acceleration and angular velocity in and around the three directions and orientation), pressure transducers (for water depth above surrogate), shock recorders (for high frequency acceleration to detect wave impact on the surrogate), and an in-house designed array of optical sensors (for burial/exposure and rolling). An in situ array of sensors to measure hydrodynamics, bed morphology and sediment concentrations, was deployed in the swash zone, aligned with the surrogate deployment. Data collected during the studies will be shown highlighting surrogate sensor capabilities. Sensors response will be compared with GPS measurements and imagery from cameras overlooking the study sites of surrogate position as a function of time. Examples of burial/exposure and migration of surrogates

Fluxes and burial of particulate organic carbon along the Adriatic mud-wedge (Mediterranean Sea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tesi, T.; Langone, L.; Giani, M.; Ravaioli, M.; Miserocchi, S.

2012-04-01

Clinoform-shaped deposits are ubiquitous sedimentological bodies of modern continental margins, including both carbonate and silicoclastic platforms. They formed after the attainment of the modern sea level high-stand (mid-late Holocene) when river outlets and shoreline migrated landward. As clinoform-shape deposits are essential building blocks of the infill of sedimentary basins, they are sites of intense organic carbon (OC) deposition and account for a significant fraction of OC burial in the ocean during interglacial periods. In this study, we focused on sigmoid clinoforms that are generally associated with low-energy environments. In particular, we characterized the modern accumulation and burial of OC along the late-Holocene sigmoid in the Western Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea). This sedimentary body consists of a mud wedge recognizable on seismic profiles as a progradational unit lying on top the maximum flooding surface that marks the time of maximum landward shift of the shoreline attained around 5.5 kyr cal BP. In the last two decades, several projects have investigated sediment dynamics and organic geochemistry along the Adriatic mud wedge (e.g., PRISMA, EURODELTA, EuroSTRATAFORM, PASTA, CIPE, VECTOR). All these studies increased our understanding of strata formation and organic matter cycling in this epicontinental margin. The overarching goal of this study was to combine the results gained during these projects with newly acquired data to assess fluxes to seabed and burial efficiency of organic carbon along the uppermost strata of the Adriatic mud-wedge. Our study benefited of an extensive number of radionuclide-based (Pb-210, and Cs-137) sediment accumulation rates and numerous biogeochemical data of surface sediments and sediment cores (organic carbon, total nitrogen, radiocarbon measurements, carbon stable isotopes, and biomarkers). In addition, because the accumulation of river-borne sediment may or may not be linked to a specific source, another

Relationship between karstification and burial dolomitization in Permian platform carbonates (Lower Khuff - Oman)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beckert, Julia; Vandeginste, Veerle; John, Cédric M.

2016-08-01

Large breccia fabrics associated with karst constitute an important structure in massive limestone successions. The dimensions and shapes of breccia structures are controlled by the initial fracture pattern of the limestone and preferential pathways of the karstifying fluids, but subsequently breccia fabrics can also govern the migration of later fluids. Therefore, breccias are highly relevant features to capture for reservoir characterisation. Outcrop analogues for Lower Khuff units in the Middle East present in the Central Oman Mountains reveal brecciated fabrics up to 10s of metres in diameter. These brecciated units are closely associated with dolomite bodies of late diagenetic origin. Based on an integrated set of data, the breccias are interpreted as collapsed karst cavities either formed by meteoric or hypogenic fluids. The exact origin of the fluids could not be constrained due to an overprint by later dolomitizing fluids. Based on the composition of the clasts and matrix in the breccias, two dolomitization events are interpreted to have affected the succession, one prior to (early diagenetic [ED] dolomite) and one after brecciation (late diagenetic [DT2] dolomite). Dolomite of shallow burial origin (ED dolomite) was only observed as clasts within breccia and is much more frequent than late diagenetic (medium to deep burial) dolomite clasts. Thus, the timing of the brecciation and collapse is assumed to postdate shallow burial early diagenetic dolomitization. Late diagenetic replacive dolomite (DT2 dolomite) forms 90% of the matrix in the breccia fabrics with the exception of a small area that was not affected by dolomitization, but is rarely present as clasts. Stable isotope measurements [δ18O: - 2.5‰ to - 6‰ VPDB and δ13C: 2.9‰ to 4.8‰ VPDB] suggest a burial origin for the late diagenetic dolomite potentially with the participation of hydrothermal fluids. The dolomitized matrix indicates a migration of late dolomitizing fluids subsequent to or

Burial increases seed longevity of two Artemisia tridentata (Asteraceae) subspecies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wijayratne, Upekala C.; Pyke, David A.

2012-01-01

Premise of the study: Seed longevity and persistence in soil seed banks may be especially important for population persistence in ecosystems where opportunities for seedling establishment and disturbance are unpredictable. The fire regime, an important driver of population dynamics in sagebrush steppe ecosystems, has been altered by exotic annual grass invasion. Soil seed banks may play an active role in postfire recovery of the foundation shrub Artemisia tridentata, yet conditions under which seeds persist are largely unknown. Methods: We investigated seed longevity of two Artemisia tridentata subspecies in situ by retrieving seed bags that were placed at varying depths over a 2 yr period. We also sampled naturally dispersed seeds in litter and soil immediately after seed dispersal and before flowering in subsequent seasons to estimate seed persistence. Key results: After 24 mo, seeds buried at least 3 cm below the soil surface retained 30–40% viability whereas viability of seeds on the surface and under litter declined to 0 and Artemisia tridentata has the potential to form a short-term soil seed bank that persists longer than has been commonly assumed, and that burial is necessary for seed longevity. Use of seeding techniques that promote burial of some seeds to aid in formation of a soil seed bank may increase restoration potential.

Recommended methods for the disposal of sanitary wastes from temporary field medical facilities.

PubMed

Reed, R A; Dean, P T

1994-12-01

Emergency field medical facilities constructed after a disaster are frequently managed by medical staff even though many of the day-to-day problems of hospital management are unrelated to medicine. In this paper we discuss the short-term management of one of these problems, namely the control and disposal of sanitary wastes. It is aimed at persons in the medical profession who may find themselves responsible for a temporary hospital and have little or no previous experience of managing such situations. The wastes commonly generated are excreta, sullage and refuse. In addition, surface water must also be considered because its inadequate disposal is a potential health hazard. The paper concentrates on short-term measures appropriate for the first six months of the hospital or clinic's existence. Facilities expected to last longer are recommended to install conventional waste management systems appropriate to the local community and conditions. In most situations, wastes should be disposed of underground either by burial (for solids) or infiltration (for liquids). The design, construction and management of appropriate disposal systems are described.

Multiple episodes of dolomitization and dolomite recrystallization during shallow burial in Upper Jurassic shelf carbonates: eastern Swabian Alb, southern Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinhold, C.

1998-10-01

The Upper Jurassic of the eastern Swabian Alb is composed of oolitic platform sands with associated microbe-siliceous sponge mounds at the platform margins. They are surrounded by argillaceous or calcareous mudstones and marl-limestone alternations, deposited in adjacent marl basins. Partial to complete dolomitization is predominantly confined to the mound facies. Six types of dolomite, as well as one type of ankerite, document a complex diagenetic history during shallow burial with multiple episodes of dolomite formation and recrystallization. The earliest massive matrix dolomitization is Ca-rich, has slightly depleted oxygen isotope values relative to Late Jurassic seawater, and carbon isotopic values in equilibrium with Late Jurassic seawater. This initial massive matrix dolomitization occurred during latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous and is related to pressure dissolution during very shallow burial at temperatures of at least 50°C. Hydrologic conditions and mass-balance calculations indicate that burial compaction provided sufficient fluids for dolomitization. Mg is derived from negligibly modified seawater, that was expelled from the adjacent off-reef strata into the mound facies. Position of the mounds along the platform margins controlled the distribution of the shallow-burial dolomite. Covariant trends between textural modification, increasing stoichiometry, partial changes in trace element content (Mn, Fe, Sr) and depletion in stable isotopes as well as distinctive CL pattern illustrate two recrystallization phases of the precursor matrix dolomite during further burial at elevated temperatures. Strong Sr enrichment of the second phase of recrystallized dolomite is ascribed to Sr-rich meteoric waters descending from overlying aragonite-bearing reef limestones or evaporite-bearing peritidal carbonates. Late-stage coarsely crystalline dolomite cements occur as vug and fracture fillings and formed during burial. Ankerite, associated with sulphide and

Properties and variability of soil and trench fill at an arid waste-burial site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andraski, Brian J.

1996-01-01

Arid sites commonly are assumed to be ideal for long-term isolation of wastes. Information on properties and variability of desert soils is limited, however, and little is known about how the natural site environment is altered by installation of a waste facility. During fall construction of two test trenches next to the waste facility on the Amargosa Desert near Beatty, NV, samples were collected to: (i) characterize physical and hydraulic properties of native soil (upper 5 m) and trench fill, (ii) determine effects of trench construction on selected properties and vertical variability of these properties, and (iii) develop conceptual models of vertical variation within the soil profile and trench fill. Water retention was measured to air dryness (ψ = 2 × 106 cm water suction). The 15 300-cm pressure-plate data were omitted from the analysis because water-activity measurements showed the actual suction values were significantly less than the expected 15 300-cm value (avg. difference = 8550 ± 2460 cm water). Trench construction significantly altered properties and variability of the natural site environment. For example, water content ranged from 0.029 to 0.041 m3 m-3 for fill vs. 0.030 to 0.095 m3 m-3 for soil; saturated hydraulic conductivity was ≈ 10-4 cm s-1 for fill vs. 10-2 to ≈ 10-4 cm s-1 for soil. Statistical analyses showed that the native soil may be represented by three major horizontal components and the fill by a single component. Under initial conditions, calculated liquid conductivity (Kl) plus isothermal vapor conductivity (Kv) for the upper two soil layers and the trench fill was ≈ 10-13 cm s-1, and Kl was ≤ Kv. For the deeper (2–5 m) soil, total conductivity was ≈ 10-10 cm s-1, and Kl was >Kv. This study quantitatively describes hydraulic characteristics of a site using data measured across a water-content range that is representative of arid conditions, but is seldom studied.

Spatial and temporal patterns of stream burial and its effect on habitat connectivity across headwater stream communities of the Potomac River Basin, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weitzell, R.; Guinn, S. M.; Elmore, A. J.

2012-12-01

The process of directing streams into culverts, pipes, or concrete-lined ditches during urbanization, known as stream burial, alters the primary physical, chemical, and biological processes of streams. Knowledge of the cumulative impacts of reduced structure and ecological function within buried stream networks is crucial for informing management of stream ecosystems, in light of continued growth in urban areas, and the uncertain response of freshwater ecosystems to the stresses of global climate change. To address this need, we utilized recently improved stream maps for the Potomac River Basin (PRB) to describe the extent and severity of stream burial across the basin. Observations of stream burial made from high resolution aerial photographs (>1% of total basin area) and a decision tree using spatial statistics from impervious cover data were used to predict stream burial at 4 time-steps (1975, 1990, 2001, 2006). Of the roughly 95,500 kilometers (km) of stream in the PRB, approximately 4551 km (4.76%) were buried by urban development as of 2001. Analysis of county-level burial trends shows differential patterns in the timing and rates of headwater stream burial, which may be due to local development policies, topographical constraints, and/or time since development. Consistently higher rates of stream burial were observed for small streams, decreasing with stream order. Headwater streams (1st-2nd order) are disproportionately affected, with burial rates continuing to increase over time in relation to larger stream orders. Beyond simple habitat loss, headwater burial decreases connectivity among headwater populations and habitats, with potential to affect a wide range of important ecological processes. To quantify changes to regional headwater connectivity we applied a connectivity model based on electrical circuit theory. Circuit-theoretical models function by treating the landscape as a resistance surface, representing hypothesized relationships between

Earthquake-induced burial of archaeological sites along the southern Washington coast about A.D. 1700

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cole, S.C.; Atwater, B.F.; McCutcheon, P.T.; Stein, J.K.; Hemphill-Haley, E.

1996-01-01

Although inhabited by thousands of people when first reached by Europeans, the Pacific coast of southern Washington has little recognized evidence of prehistoric human occupation. This apparent contradiction may be explained partly by geologic evidence for coastal submergence during prehistoric earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction zone. Recently discovered archaeological sites, exposed in the banks of two tidal streams, show evidence for earthquake-induced submergence and consequent burial by intertidal mud about A.D. 1700. We surmise that, because of prehistoric earthquakes, other archaeological sites may now lie hidden beneath the surfaces of modern tidelands. Such burial of archaeological sites raises questions about the estimation of prehistoric human population densities along coasts subject to earthquake-induced submergence. ?? 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

DBAC: A simple prediction method for protein binding hot spots based on burial levels and deeply buried atomic contacts

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A protein binding hot spot is a cluster of residues in the interface that are energetically important for the binding of the protein with its interaction partner. Identifying protein binding hot spots can give useful information to protein engineering and drug design, and can also deepen our understanding of protein-protein interaction. These residues are usually buried inside the interface with very low solvent accessible surface area (SASA). Thus SASA is widely used as an outstanding feature in hot spot prediction by many computational methods. However, SASA is not capable of distinguishing slightly buried residues, of which most are non hot spots, and deeply buried ones that are usually inside a hot spot. Results We propose a new descriptor called “burial level” for characterizing residues, atoms and atomic contacts. Specifically, burial level captures the depth the residues are buried. We identify different kinds of deeply buried atomic contacts (DBAC) at different burial levels that are directly broken in alanine substitution. We use their numbers as input for SVM to classify between hot spot or non hot spot residues. We achieve F measure of 0.6237 under the leave-one-out cross-validation on a data set containing 258 mutations. This performance is better than other computational methods. Conclusions Our results show that hot spot residues tend to be deeply buried in the interface, not just having a low SASA value. This indicates that a high burial level is not only a necessary but also a more sufficient condition than a low SASA for a residue to be a hot spot residue. We find that those deeply buried atoms become increasingly more important when their burial levels rise up. This work also confirms the contribution of deeply buried interfacial atomic contacts to the energy of protein binding hot spot. PMID:21689480

Design and evaluation of a bioreactor with application to forensic burial environments.

PubMed

Dunphy, Melissa A; Weisensee, Katherine E; Mikhailova, Elena A; Harman, Melinda K

2015-12-01

Existing forensic taphonomic methods lack specificity in estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) in the period following active decomposition. New methods, such as the use of citrate concentration in bone, are currently being considered; however, determining the applicability of these methods in differing environmental contexts is challenging. This research aims to design a forensic bioreactor that can account for environmental factors known to impact decomposition, specifically temperature, moisture, physical damage from animals, burial depth, soil pH, and organic matter content. These forensically relevant environmental variables were characterized in a soil science context. The resulting metrics were soil temperature regime, soil moisture regime, slope, texture, soil horizon, cation exchange capacity, soil pH, and organic matter content. Bioreactor chambers were constructed using sterilized thin-walled polystyrene boxes housed in calibrated temperature units. Gravesoil was represented using mineral soil (Ultisols), and organic soil proxy for Histosols, horticulture mix. Gravesoil depth was determined using mineral soil horizons A and Bt2 to simulate surface scatter and shallow grave burial respectively. A total of fourteen different environmental conditions were created and controlled successfully over a 90-day experiment. These results demonstrate successful implementation and control of forensic bioreactor simulating precise environments in a single research location, rather than site-specific testing occurring in different geographic regions. Bone sections were grossly assessed for weathering characteristics, which revealed notable differences related to exposure to different temperature regimes and soil types. Over the short 90-day duration of this experiment, changes in weathering characteristics were more evident across the different temperature regimes rather than the soil types. Using this methodology, bioreactor systems can be created to replicate many

Burial thermal histories, vitrinite reflectance, and laumontite isograd

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCulloh, T.H.; Fan, J.J.

1985-02-01

The optical reflectance of vitrinite has become the standard basis for quantitative judgments of integrated temperature-time (burial) histories. Inferences about the crystallization temperature of the calcium zeolite laumontite also have been used repeatedly for such purposes. In a few cases, these 2 approaches have been combined or their results compared. As generally employed, neither approach has quantitative validity. Factors other than temperature and time play roles in the way that burial history affects vitrinite reflectance (R/sub o/). In particular, the organic geochemical environment exerts a strong and variable local-to-regional influence on the rate of increase of R/sub o/ versus temperature.more » Hydrocarbon-rich environments retard the rate of R/sub o/ increase; hydrocarbon-deficient environments accelerate it. Local (interbed) R/sub o/ divergencies up to 0.5% result, and regional (interbasin) divergencies are equal or possibly greater. Much of the scatter in compilation plots of R/sub o/ versus TTI may result from such divergencies. Laumontite, where it can crystallize at all, precipitates according to specific stringent requirements of fluid pressure and temperature. The crystallization temperature at the laumontite isograd ranges from 32/sup 0/C (1 atm) to 193/sup 0/C (P/sub f/ = 1325 atm). The crystallization rate is geologically instantaneous, completely unlike the time-dependent organic reactions responsible for the progressive aromatization of coal macerals during kerogen maturation, providing an instantaneous pressure-sensitive maximum-recording thermometer. Paleotemperatures to constrain interpretations of R/sub o/ data may be one of the greatest values to be gained from studies of diagenetic laumontite.« less

32 CFR 553.16 - Persons eligible for burial in Soldiers' Home National Cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Persons eligible for burial in Soldiers' Home National Cemetery. 553.16 Section 553.16 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL CEMETERIES ARMY NATIONAL CEMETERIES § 553.16 Persons...

32 CFR 553.17 - Persons ineligible for burial in an Army national cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Persons ineligible for burial in an Army national cemetery. 553.17 Section 553.17 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY MILITARY RESERVATIONS AND NATIONAL CEMETERIES ARMY NATIONAL CEMETERIES § 553.17 Persons...

The use of the deposit-refund framework in port reception facilities charging systems.

PubMed

Georgakellos, Dimitrios A

2007-05-01

The European Union set in place Directive 2000/59/EC with the aim of substantially reducing discharges of ship-generated waste into the sea by improving the availability and use of port reception facilities. According to the Directive, port administrations shall ensure that the cost recovery system must aim to discourage ships from discharging their waste into the sea, while simultaneously placing the burden of costs on ships, in line with the "polluter pays principle". The present paper examines the extent to which the deposit-refund framework could be used in charging systems of port reception facilities. This has been realized through a case study involving a Greek port. Specifically, the charging system proposed here seems to approach quite close to the primary target, i.e. to a charging system that motivates ships to act more environmentally responsible manner regarding their waste, without significantly affecting their total cost nor the competitiveness of the port.

System dynamic modeling on construction waste management in Shenzhen, China.

PubMed

Tam, Vivian W Y; Li, Jingru; Cai, Hong

2014-05-01

This article examines the complexity of construction waste management in Shenzhen, Mainland China. In-depth analysis of waste generation, transportation, recycling, landfill and illegal dumping of various inherent management phases is explored. A system dynamics modeling using Stella model is developed. Effects of landfill charges and also penalties from illegal dumping are also simulated. The results show that the implementation of comprehensive policy on both landfill charges and illegal dumping can effectively control the illegal dumping behavior, and achieve comprehensive construction waste minimization. This article provides important recommendations for effective policy implementation and explores new perspectives for Shenzhen policy makers.

Historic carbon burial spike in an Amazon floodplain lake linked to riparian deforestation near Santarém, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Luciana M.; Taffs, Kathryn; Stokes, Debra; Sanders, Christian J.; Enrich-Prast, Alex; Amora-Nogueira, Leonardo; Marotta, Humberto

2018-01-01

Forests along the Amazon Basin produce significant quantities of organic material, a portion of which is deposited in floodplain lakes. Deforestation in the watershed may then have potentially important effects on the carbon fluxes. In this study, a sediment core was extracted from an Amazon floodplain lake to examine the relationship between carbon burial and changing land cover and land use. Historical records from the 1930s and satellite data from the 1970s were used to calculate deforestation rates between 1930 to 1970 and 1970 to 2010 in four zones with different distances from the margins of the lake and its tributaries (100, 500, 1000 and 6000 m buffers). A sediment accumulation rate of ˜ 4 mm yr-1 for the previous ˜ 120 years was determined from the 240+239Pu signatures and the excess 210Pb method. The carbon burial rates ranged between 85 and 298 g C m-2 yr-1, with pulses of high carbon burial in the 1950s, originating from the forest vegetation as indicated by δ13C and δ15N signatures. Our results revealed a potentially important spatial dependence of the organic carbon (OC) burial in Amazon lacustrine sediments in relation to deforestation rates in the catchment. These deforestation rates were more intense in the riparian vegetation (100 m buffer) during the period 1930 to 1970 and the larger open water areas (500, 1000 and 6000 m buffer) during 1970 to 2010. The continued removal of vegetation from the interior of the forest was not related to the peak of OC burial in the lake, but only the riparian deforestation which peaked during the 1950s. Therefore, this supports the conservation priority of riparian forests as an important management practice for Amazon flooded areas. Our findings suggest the importance of abrupt and temporary events in which some of the biomass released by deforestation, especially restricted to areas along open water edges, might reach the depositional environments in the floodplain of the Amazon Basin.

32 CFR 553.15 - Persons eligible for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... effect on the date of his separation. (d) Any former member of the Armed Forces whose last active duty... adult child may be interred in the same grave in which the parent has been or will be interred, provided... name of that child's parent, and the military service upon which the burial is being requested. A...

GPR and ERT detection and characterization of a mass burial, Spanish Civil War, Northern Spain.

PubMed

Rubio-Melendi, David; Gonzalez-Quirós, Andrés; Roberts, Daniel; García García, María Del Carmen; Caunedo Domínguez, Amaya; Pringle, Jamie K; Fernández-Álvarez, José-Paulino

2018-06-01

Around 27,000 people were killed in the province of Asturias during the Spanish Civil War, with several thousands killed after the war ended. There are currently over 2,000 known mass burial locations throughout Spain, but many more are unknown. Geophysics is a useful tool employed to help in the active attempts to document and improve knowledge about victims from this conflict. This paper details a non-invasive study of the Cementerio de El Salvador, in the city of Oviedo, Northern Spain. Part of the cemetery contains a known mass burial with approximately 1,300 individuals from the Spanish Civil War and post-war repression eras. Multi-frequency near-surface geophysical techniques were undertaken, after permission, to enhance knowledge about which, if any, techniques should be used to detect, delineate and analyse such mass graves. Multi-frequency (250MHz and 500MHz) ground-penetrating radar surveys were acquired together with 2D and 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography datasets. The results have established the limits of the mass grave and improve the knowledge of the internal mass grave structure. The paper also shows the importance of considering the climatic conditions during data acquisition. This has important implications for the successful detection of recent historical mass burials using near-surface geophysics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Variability of Salt Marsh Vertical Accretion and Carbon Burial Rates along the Gulf of Mexico at Local and Regional Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arriola, J.; Cable, J. E.

2017-12-01

Many studies quantifying salt marsh vertical accretion and carbon burial have been conducted along the Gulf of Mexico over the past several decades. These results are often used in conjunction with sea level rise estimates to evaluate the long term storage, and potential release, of carbon as salt marshes are overtaken by rising waters. However, results from these studies are not always comparable because of diverse sampling and analytical methods, which may skew regional averages. In addition, salt marsh vertical accretion and carbon burial rates can be highly variable on local scales depending on sampling locations within the marsh, e.g. levee vs marsh plain, and methods to determine carbon quantity, such as utilizing linear relationships between % organic matter and % carbon from other studies. Anthropogenic impacts on accretion and carbon burial may also influence interpretation of results. Utilizing consistent methods for local and regional marsh research will improve the accuracy of accretion and burial rates which is fundamental to our ability to predict responses to climate change. Our study examined sediment cores extracted from 6 salt marshes - 5 marshes along Texas to Florida coasts and 1 marsh on the Florida Atlantic coast. These marshes were selected for minimal human influence and consistent sampling and analytical methodologies were employed to compare vertical accretion and carbon burial variability on local and regional scales. Total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen were determined via direct measurement and accretion rates were calculated based on 210Pb via 210Po alpha spectrometry. The lowest TOC inventory was found at Mission-Aransas, TX (18.57 g OC), whereas the highest was found at Apalachicola, FL (35.05 g OC). Anahuac, TX, was found to have the highest modern vertical accretion rates of all 6 sites, whereas Guana Tolomato-Matanzas, FL, has the lowest. This research yields regional carbon burial estimates for the Gulf of Mexico using

Radiologic safety assessment for low level waste storage on TRU pads

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ryan, J.P.

1986-03-17

The reference document (TA 2-1118) proposes to store Low Level Radioactive Solid Waste in B-25 boxes on concrete pads at the 643-G burial ground site, pending resolution of policy concernig its ultimate disposal. This analysis verifies that the reference proposal is safe, as long as it is applied to a limited material quantity of low specific activity, as described in the reference document. The predominant concern in the safety analysis is the emission of airborne activity as a result of tornados and fires. However, containment provided by B-25 boxes is sufficient to mitigate the consequences of these events sufficiently. Nevertheless,more » it is strongly recommended that any above-ground storage procedures include provisions for covering the waste containment boxes to prevent exposure to rainwater and subsequent corrosion if the storage period is to extend beyond one year.« less

Estimating the number of secondary Ebola cases resulting from an unsafe burial and risk factors for transmission during the West Africa Ebola epidemic

PubMed Central

Dalziel, Benjamin D.; Kagume Njenge, Hilary; Johnson, Ginger; Nugba Ballah, Roselyn; James, Daniel; Wone, Abdoulaye; Bedford, Juliet; McClelland, Amanda

2017-01-01

Background Safely burying Ebola infected individuals is acknowledged to be important for controlling Ebola epidemics and was a major component of the 2013–2016 West Africa Ebola response. Yet, in order to understand the impact of safe burial programs it is necessary to elucidate the role of unsafe burials in sustaining chains of Ebola transmission and how the risk posed by activities surrounding unsafe burials, including care provided at home prior to death, vary with human behavior and geography. Methodology/Principal findings Interviews with next of kin and community members were carried out for unsafe burials in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, in six districts where the Red Cross was responsible for safe and dignified burials (SDB). Districts were randomly selected from a district-specific sampling frame comprised of villages and neighborhoods that had experienced cases of Ebola. An average of 2.58 secondary cases were potentially generated per unsafe burial and varied by district (range: 0–20). Contact before and after death was reported for 142 (46%) contacts. Caregivers of a primary case were 2.63 to 5.92 times more likely to become EVD infected compared to those with post-mortem contact only. Using these estimates, the Red Cross SDB program potentially averted between 1,411 and 10,452 secondary EVD cases, reducing the epidemic by 4.9% to 36.5%. Conclusions/Significance SDB is a fundamental control measure that limits community transmission of Ebola; however, for those individuals having contact before and after death, it was impossible to ascertain the exposure that caused their infection. The number of infections prevented through SDB is significant, yet greater impact would be achieved by early hospitalization of the primary case during acute illness. PMID:28640823

Could a secular increase in organic burial explain the rise of oxygen? Insights from a geological carbon cycle model constrained by the carbon isotope record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krissansen-Totton, J.; Kipp, M.; Catling, D. C.

2017-12-01

The stable isotopes of carbon in marine sedimentary rock provide a window into the evolution of the Earth system. Conventionally, a relatively constant carbon isotope ratio in marine sedimentary rocks has been interpreted as implying constant organic carbon burial relative to total carbon burial. Because organic carbon burial corresponds to net oxygen production from photosynthesis, it follows that secular changes in the oxygen source flux cannot explain the dramatic rise of oxygen over Earth history. Instead, secular declines in oxygen sink fluxes are often invoked as causes for the rise of oxygen. However, constant fractional organic burial is difficult to reconcile with tentative evidence for low phosphate concentrations in the Archean ocean, which would imply lower marine productivity and—all else being equal—less organic carbon burial than today. The conventional interpretation of the carbon isotope record rests on the untested assumption that the isotopic ratio of carbon inputs into the ocean reflect mantle isotopic values throughout Earth history. In practice, differing rates of carbonate and organic weathering will allow for changes in isotopic inputs, as suggested by [1] and [2]. However, these inputs can not vary freely because large changes in isotopic inputs would induce secular trends in carbon reservoirs, which are not observed in the isotope record. We apply a geological carbon cycle model to all Earth history, tracking carbon isotopes in crustal, mantle, and ocean reservoirs. Our model is constrained by the carbon isotope record such that we can determine the extent to which large changes in organic burial are permitted. We find both constant organic burial and 3-5 fold increases in organic burial since 4.0 Ga can be reconciled with the carbon isotope record. Changes in the oxygen source flux thus need to be reconsidered as a possible contributor to Earth's oxygenation. [1] L. A. Derry, Organic carbon cycling and the lithosphere, in Treatise on

Siting industrial waste land disposal facilities in Thailand: A risk based approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fingleton, D.J.; Habegger, L.; Peters, R.

The Thailand Industrial Works Department (IWD) has established a toxic industrial waste Central Treatment and Stabilization Center (CTSC) for textile dyeing and electroplating industries located in the Thonburi region of the Bangkok metropolitan area. Industrial waste is treated, stabilized, and stored at the CTSC. Although the IWD plans to ship the stabilized sludge to the Ratchaburi Province in western Thailand for burial, the location for the land disposal site has not been selected. Assessing the relative health risks from exposure to toxic chemicals released from an industrial waste land disposal site is a complicated, data-intensive process that requires a multidisciplinarymore » approach. This process is further complicated by the unique physical and cultural characteristics exhibited by the rapidly industrializing Thai economy. The purpose of this paper is to describe the research approach taken and to detail the constraints to health risk assessments in Thailand. issues discussed include data availability and quality, effectiveness of control or mitigation methods, cultural differences, and the basic assumptions inherent in many of the risk assessment components.« less

Application of geographical information system in disposal site selection for hazardous wastes.

PubMed

Rezaeimahmoudi, Mehdi; Esmaeli, Abdolreza; Gharegozlu, Alireza; Shabanian, Hassan; Rokni, Ladan

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to provide a scientific method based on Geographical Information System (GIS) regarding all sustainable development measures to locate a proper landfill for disposal of hazardous wastes, especially industrial (radioactive) wastes. Seven effective factors for determining hazardous waste landfill were applied in Qom Province, central Iran. These criteria included water, slope, population centers, roads, fault, protected areas and geology. The Analysis Hierarchical Process (AHP) model based on pair comparison was used. First, the weight of each factor was determined by experts; afterwards each layer of maps entered to ARC GIS and with special weight multiplied together, finally the best suitable site was introduced. The most suitable sites for burial were in northwest and west of Qom Province and eventually five zones were introduced as the sample sites. GIs and AHP model is introduced as the technical, useful and accelerator tool for disposal site selection. Furthermore it is determined that geological factor is the most effective layer for site selection. It is suggested that geological conditions should be considered primarily then other factors are taken into consideration.

25 CFR 20.210 - Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS Welfare Reform § 20.210 Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child...

Size charge fractionation of metals in municipal solid waste landfill leachate.

PubMed

Oygard, Joar Karsten; Gjengedal, Elin; Røyset, Oddvar

2007-01-01

Municipal solid waste landfill leachates from 9 Norwegian sites were size charge fractionated in the field, to obtain three fractions: particulate and colloidal matter >0.45microm, free anions/non-labile complexes <0.45microm and free cations/labile complexes <0.45microm. The fractionation showed that Cd and Zn, and especially Cu and Pb, were present to a large degree (63-98%) as particulate and colloidal matter >0.45microm. Cr, Co and Ni were on the contrary present mostly as non-labile complexes (69-79%) <0.45microm. The major cations Ca, Mg, K, and Mn were present mainly as free cations/labile complexes <0.45microm, while As and Mo were present to a large degree (70-90%) as free anions/non-labile complexes <0.45microm. Aluminium was present mainly as particulate and colloidal matter >0.45microm. The particulate and colloidal matter >0.45microm was mainly inorganic; indicating that the metals present in this fraction were bound as inorganic compounds. The fractionation gives important information on the mobility and potential bioavailability of the metals investigated, in contrast to the total metal concentrations usually reported. To study possible changes in respective metal species in leachate in aerated sedimentation tanks, freshly sampled leachate was stored for 48h, and subsequently fractionated. This showed that the free heavy metals are partly immobilized during storage of leachate with oxygen available. The largest effects were found for Cd and Zn. The proportion of As and Cr present as particulate matter or colloids >0.45microm also increased.

A distinct section of the Early Bronze Age society? Stable isotope investigations of burials in settlement pits and multiple inhumations of the Únětice culture in central Germany.

PubMed

Knipper, Corina; Fragata, Matthias; Nicklisch, Nicole; Siebert, Angelina; Szécsényi-Nagy, Anna; Hubensack, Vera; Metzner-Nebelsick, Carola; Meller, Harald; Alt, Kurt W

2016-03-01

Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Únětice culture in central Germany (2200-1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Únětice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or nonlocal individuals. The study comprised up to two teeth and one bone each of 74 human individuals from eight sites and faunal comparative samples. The inhumations included regular, deviant burials in so-called settlement or storage pits, and multiple burials. We investigated radiogenic strontium isotope compositions of tooth enamel ((87) Sr/(86) Sr) and light stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of bone collagen (δ(13) C, δ(15) N) aiming at the disclosure of residential changes and dietary patterns. Site-specific strontium isotope data ranges mirror different geological properties including calcareous bedrock, loess, and glacial till. Independent from burial types, they disclose low portions of nonlocal individuals of up to some 20% at the individual sites. The light stable isotope ratios of burials in settlement pits and rectangular graves overlap widely and indicate highly similar dietary habits. The analytical results let to conclude that inhumations in settlement pits and multiple burials were two of the manifold burial practices of the Early Bronze Age. The selection criteria of the individuals for the different forms of inhumation remained undisclosed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Apparatus and method for quantitative assay of generic transuranic wastes from nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Caldwell, J.T.; Kunz, W.E.; Atencio, J.D.

1982-03-31

A combination of passive and active neutron measurements which yields quantitative information about the isotopic composition of transuranic wastes from nuclear power or weapons material manufacture reactors is described. From the measurement of prompt and delayed neutron emission and the incidence of two coincidentally emitted neutrons from induced fission of fissile material in the sample, one can quantify /sup 233/U, /sup 235/U and /sup 239/Pu isotopes in waste samples. Passive coincidence counting, including neutron multiplicity measurement and determination of the overall passive neutron flux additionally enables the separate quantitative evaluation of spontaneous fission isotopes such as /sup 240/Pu, /sup 244/Cm and /sup 252/Cf, and the spontaneous alpha particle emitter /sup 241/Am. These seven isotopes are the most important constituents of wastes from nuclear power reactors and once the mass of each isotope present is determined by the apparatus and method of the instant invention, the overall alpha particle activity can be determined to better than 1 nCi/g from known radioactivity data. Therefore, in addition to the quantitative analysis of the waste sample useful for later reclamation purposes, the alpha particle activity can be determined to decide whether permanent low-level burial is appropriate for the waste sample.

Apparatus and method for quantitative assay of generic transuranic wastes from nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Caldwell, John T.; Kunz, Walter E.; Atencio, James D.

1984-01-01

A combination of passive and active neutron measurements which yields quantitative information about the isotopic composition of transuranic wastes from nuclear power or weapons material manufacture reactors is described. From the measurement of prompt and delayed neutron emission and the incidence of two coincidentally emitted neutrons from induced fission of fissile material in the sample, one can quantify .sup.233 U, .sup.235 U and .sup.239 Pu isotopes in waste samples. Passive coincidence counting, including neutron multiplicity measurement and determination of the overall passive neutron flux additionally enables the separate quantitative evaluation of spontaneous fission isotopes such as .sup.240 Pu, .sup.244 Cm and .sup.252 Cf, and the spontaneous alpha particle emitter .sup.241 Am. These seven isotopes are the most important constituents of wastes from nuclear power reactors and once the mass of each isotope present is determined by the apparatus and method of the instant invention, the overall alpha particle activity can be determined to better than 1 nCi/g from known radioactivity data. Therefore, in addition to the quantitative analysis of the waste sample useful for later reclamation purposes, the alpha particle activity can be determined to decide whether "permanent" low-level burial is appropriate for the waste sample.

Investigation of the possibility of using hydrogranulation in reprocessing radioactive wastes of radiochemical production facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Revyakin, V.; Borisov, L.M.

1996-05-01

Radio-chemical production facilities are constantly accumulating liquid radioactive wastes (still residues as the result of evaporation of extraction and adsorption solutions etc.) which are a complex multicomponent mixtures. The wastes are frequently stored for extended periods of time while awaiting disposition and in some cases, and this is much worse, they are released into the environment. In this report, I would like to draw your attention to some results we have obtained from investigations aimed at simplifying handing of such wastes by the precipitation of hard to dissolve metal hydroxides, the flocculation of the above into granules with the helpmore » of surface-active agents (in this case a polyacrylamide - PAA), quickly precipitated and easily filtered. The precipitate may be quickly dried and calcinated, if necessary, and transformed into a dense oxide sinter. In other words it may be transformed into a material convenient for storage or burial.« less

Thallium-isotopic compositions of euxinic sediments as a proxy for global manganese-oxide burial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owens, Jeremy D.; Nielsen, Sune G.; Horner, Tristan J.; Ostrander, Chadlin M.; Peterson, Larry C.

2017-09-01

Thallium (Tl) isotopes are a new and potentially powerful paleoredox proxy that may track bottom water oxygen conditions based on the global burial flux of manganese oxides. Thallium has a residence time of ∼20 thousand years, which is longer than the ocean mixing time, and it has been inferred that modern oxic seawater is conservative with respect to both concentration and isotopes. Marine sources of Tl have nearly identical isotopic values. Therefore, the Tl sinks, adsorption onto manganese oxides and low temperature oceanic crust alteration (the dominant seawater output), are the primary controls of the seawater isotopic composition. For relatively short-term, ∼million years, redox events it is reasonable to assume that the dominant mechanism that alters the Tl isotopic composition of seawater is associated with manganese oxide burial because large variability in low temperature ocean crust alteration is controlled by long-term, multi-million years, average ocean crust production rates. This study presents new Tl isotope data for an open ocean transect in the South Atlantic, and depth transects for two euxinic basins (anoxic and free sulfide in the water column), the Cariaco Basin and Black Sea. The Tl isotopic signature of open ocean seawater in the South Atlantic was found to be homogeneous with ε205Tl = -6.0 ± 0.3 (±2 SD, n = 41) while oxic waters from Cariaco and the Black Sea are -5.6 and -2.2, respectively. Combined with existing data from the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, our Atlantic data establish the conservatism of Tl isotopes in the global ocean. In contrast, partially- and predominantly-restricted basins reveal Tl isotope differences that vary between open-ocean (-6) and continental material (-2) ε205Tl, scaling with the degree of restriction. Regardless of the differences between basins, Tl is quantitatively removed from their euxinic waters below the chemocline. The burial of Tl in euxinic sediments is estimated to be an order of magnitude

A Study on Generic Representation of Skeletal Remains Replication of Prehistoric Burial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, C.-W.; Chiu, H.-L.; Chang, S.-K.

2015-08-01

Generic representation of skeletal remains from burials consists of three dimensions which include physical anthropologists, replication technicians, and promotional educators. For the reason that archaeological excavation is irreversible and disruptive, detail documentation and replication technologies are surely needed for many purposes. Unearthed bones during the process of 3D digital scanning need to go through reverse procedure, 3D scanning, digital model superimposition, rapid prototyping, mould making, and the integrated errors generated from the presentation of colours and textures are important issues for the presentation of replicate skeleton remains among professional decisions conducted by physical anthropologists, subjective determination of makers, and the expectations of viewers. This study presents several cases and examines current issues on display and replication technologies for human skeletal remains of prehistoric burials. This study documented detail colour changes of human skeleton over time for the reference of reproduction. The tolerance errors of quantification and required technical qualification is acquired according to the precision of 3D scanning, the specification requirement of rapid prototyping machine, and the mould making process should following the professional requirement for physical anthropological study. Additionally, the colorimeter is adopted to record and analyse the "colour change" of the human skeletal remains from wet to dry condition. Then, the "colure change" is used to evaluate the "real" surface texture and colour presentation of human skeletal remains, and to limit the artistic presentation among the human skeletal remains reproduction. The"Lingdao man No.1", is a well preserved burial of early Neolithic period (8300 B.P.) excavated from Liangdao-Daowei site, Matsu, Taiwan , as the replicating object for this study. In this study, we examined the reproduction procedures step by step for ensuring the surface

38 CFR 3.1606 - Transportation items.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) Procuring permit for shipment. (3) Shipping case. When a box purchased for interment purposes is also used... one removal by hearse direct from common carrier plus one later removal by hearse to place of burial... death and (2) Charge for one later removal by hearse to place of burial. These charges will not exceed...

Nuclear criticality safety assessment of the low level radioactive waste disposal facility trenches

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kahook, S.D.

1994-04-01

Results of the analyses performed to evaluate the possibility of nuclear criticality in the Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility (LLRWDF) trenches are documented in this report. The studies presented in this document are limited to assessment of the possibility of criticality due to existing conditions in the LLRWDF. This document does not propose nor set limits for enriched uranium (EU) burial in the LLRWDF and is not a nuclear criticality safety evaluation nor analysis. The calculations presented in the report are Level 2 calculations as defined by the E7 Procedure 2.31, Engineering Calculations.

Comparative burial and thermal history of lower Upper Cretaceous strata, Powder River basin, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nuccio, V.F.

1989-03-01

Burial histories were reconstructed for three localities in the Powder River basin (PRB), Wyoming. Thermal maturity of lower Upper Cretaceous source rocks was determined by vitrinite reflectance (R/sub m/) and time-temperature index (TTI) modeling, producing independent estimates for timing of the oil window (0.55-1.35% R/sub m/). In the northwestern PRB, lower Upper Cretaceous rocks were buried to about 12,500 ft and achieved a thermal maturity of 0.50% to 0.56% at maximum burial, 10 Ma, based on measured R/sub m/. TTI modeling suggests a slightly higher thermal maturity, with an R/sub m/ equivalent of approximately 0.75%, placing the source rocks atmore » the beginning of the oil window 30 Ma. In the southwestern PRB, lower Upper Cretaceous rocks have been buried to about 15,000 ft and achieved thermal maturities between 0.66% and 0.75% about 10 Ma based on measured R/sub m/; therefore, petroleum generation may have begun slightly earlier. TTI modeling estimates an R/sub m/ equivalent of 1.10%, placing the beginning of the oil window at 45 Ma. In the northeastern PRB, lower Upper Cretaceous rocks have been buried only to approximately 5500 ft. Measured R/sub m/ and TTI modeling indicate a thermal maturity for lower Upper Cretaceous rocks between 0.45% and 0.50% R/sub m/, too low for petroleum generation. The higher R/sub m/ values determined by the TTI models may be due to overestimation of maximum burial depth and/or paleogeothermal gradients. The two independent maturity indicators do, however, constrain fairly narrowly the onset of petroleum generation.« less

Evidence of elevated pressure and temperature during burial of the Salem Limestone in south-central Indiana, USA, and its implications for surprisingly deep burial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambers, Clifford P.

2001-09-01

A minor, normal fault related to compaction of the grainstone shoal facies of the Salem Limestone in south-central Indiana provides an unusual opportunity to test the pressure and temperature of both faulting and associated stylolitization. Syn-deformational sphalerite occurs in voids along the fault where it intersects an organic-rich shale parting in the sand flat facies overlying the grainstone. The sphalerite contains fluid inclusions that can be used for microthermobaric measurements. Most fluid inclusions in the sphalerite are demonstrably cogenetic with the host sphalerite and of the two-phase aqueous type common in Indiana, although many contain petroleum and others contain gas. Crushing tests in kerosene indicate that the aqueous inclusions contain dissolved methane in varying amounts as high as 1000 ppm. Microthermometry shows that late sphalerite growth, late fault movement, and late stylolitization all occurred as conditions approached 108°C and 292 bars. This pressure is in accord with a normal, basinal, geothermal gradient of 32.5°C/km that would produce the observed temperature under hydrostatic conditions at a burial depth of 2.7 km using an average fluid density of 1.1 g/cm 3. These results serve as a reminder that fluid inclusions in diagenetic minerals hold important temperature and pressure information regarding burial diagenesis of Paleozoic rocks across the North American midcontinent. Detailed study of dissolved gases in fluids trapped in disseminated sphalerite that is common across the midcontinent could help resolve the enigma of sedimentary rocks with high thermal maturity exposed at the surface across the region.

Transuranic solid waste management programs. Progress report, July--December 1975

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1976-09-01

Progress is reported for three transuranic solid waste management programs funded at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) Division of Fuel Cycle and Production (NFCP). Under the Transuranic Waste Research and Development Program, continued studies have shown the potential attractiveness of fiber drums as an acceptable substitute for the current mild steel storage containers. Various fire retardants have been evaluated, with one indicating significant ability to inhibit fire propagation. Continued radiolysis studies, under laboratory and field conditions, continue to reaffirm earlier LASL results indicating no significant hazard from radiolytic reactions, assuming nomore » change in current allowable loadings. Care must be exercised to differentiate between radiolytic and chemical reactions. Other efforts have identified a modification of chemical processing to reduce the amounts of plutonium requiring retrievable storage. Studies are also in progress to enhance the sensitivity of the LASL MEGAS assay system. The Transuranic-Contaminated Solid Waste Treatment Development Facility building was 72 percent complete as of December 31, 1975, which is in accord with the existing schedule. Procurement of process components is also on schedule. Certain modifications to the facility have been made, and various pre-facility experiments on waste container handling and processing have been completed. The program for the Evaluation of Transuranic-Contaminated Radioactive Waste Disposal Areas continued development of various computer modules for simulation of radionuclide transport within the biosphere. In addition, program staff contributed to an ERDA document on radioactive waste management through the preparation of a report on burial of radioactive waste at ERDA-contractor and commercial sites.« less

Factors that affect the willingness of residents to pay for solid waste management in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yeung, Iris M H; Chung, William

2018-03-01

In Hong Kong, problems involving solid waste management have become an urgent matter in recent years. To solve these problems, the Hong Kong government proposed three policies, namely, waste charging, landfill extension, and development of new incinerators. In this study, a large sample questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the knowledge and attitude of residents on the three policies, the amount of their daily waste disposal, and their willingness to pay (WTP). Results reveal that only 22.7% of respondents are aware of the earliest time that one of the landfills will be sated, and more than half of respondents support the three policies. However, more than one third of residents (36.1%) are unwilling to pay the minimum waste charge amount of HK$30 estimated by the Council for Sustainable Development in Hong Kong. Logit model results indicate that five key factors affect WTP, namely, knowledge of residents on the timing of landfill fullness, degree of support in waste charge policy, amount of daily waste disposal, age, and income. These results suggest that strong and rigorous promotional and educational programs are needed to improve the knowledge and positive attitude of residents towards recycling methods and the three policies. However, subsidy should be provided to low-income groups who cannot afford to pay the waste charge.

A revised burial dose estimation procedure for optical dating of youngand modern-age sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arnold, L.J.; Roberts, R.G.; Galbraith, R.F.; DeLong, S.B.

2009-01-01

The presence of genuinely zero-age or near-zero-age grains in modern-age and very young samples poses a problem for many existing burial dose estimation procedures used in optical (optically stimulated luminescence, OSL) dating. This difficulty currently necessitates consideration of relatively simplistic and statistically inferior age models. In this study, we investigate the potential for using modified versions of the statistical age models of Galbraith et??al. [Galbraith, R.F., Roberts, R.G., Laslett, G.M., Yoshida, H., Olley, J.M., 1999. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia: Part I, experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41, 339-364.] to provide reliable equivalent dose (De) estimates for young and modern-age samples that display negative, zero or near-zero De estimates. For this purpose, we have revised the original versions of the central and minimum age models, which are based on log-transformed De values, so that they can be applied to un-logged De estimates and their associated absolute standard errors. The suitability of these 'un-logged' age models is tested using a series of known-age fluvial samples deposited within two arroyo systems from the American Southwest. The un-logged age models provide accurate burial doses and final OSL ages for roughly three-quarters of the total number of samples considered in this study. Sensitivity tests reveal that the un-logged versions of the central and minimum age models are capable of producing accurate burial dose estimates for modern-age and very young (<350??yr) fluvial samples that contain (i) more than 20% of well-bleached grains in their De distributions, or (ii) smaller sub-populations of well-bleached grains for which the De values are known with high precision. Our results indicate that the original (log-transformed) versions of the central and minimum age models are still preferable for most routine dating applications

Estimating contamination potential at waste-disposal sites using a natural tracer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, William J.

1992-05-01

Chloride is a conservative, natural tracer found in precipitation, soil water, and groundwater. The chloride mass-balance approach, long used to estimate groundwater recharge, also provides a downward flux of moisture and solute at sites where there is a potential for groundwater contamination. The flux is obtained by dividing the product of the mean annual precipitation and total annual chloride input (via precipitation and dust) by the mean soil-water chloride content. Chlorideversusdepth profiles can also be used to determine optimum depth of waste burial to minimize deterioration of waste containers. The method has been applied to three sites in arid alluvial-basin settings in New Mexico, U.S.A.: a proposed landfill, a battery recycling plant, and a hazardous-waste disposal facility. It is concluded that the method is reliable, economical, and practical. Furthermore, it can be applied at any stage in the development of a site. The chloride method should apply in any recharge area where the base of the root zone is separated from the water table by at least 3 m or so and chloride in soil water comes only from precipitation and dust.

Archaeological Investigations at Nonhabitation and Burial Sites, Chief Joseph Dam Project, Washington.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

Burial 2, 45-D0-244, showing cyst, matting, lithic cache, and organic concentrations ..... .......... 96 Figure 5-6. Rocks and charcoal from 80-100 cm...Hawkes Since archaeological Investigations In north-central Washington have been concentrated along the reservoirs of the Columbia River, the...vinylite resin, acetone, and methyl -isobutyl ketone, which acts as a bonding agent while impregnating the material to be preserved. Although the process of

Apotropaic Practices and the Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland

PubMed Central

Gregoricka, Lesley A.; Betsinger, Tracy K.; Scott, Amy B.; Polcyn, Marek

2014-01-01

Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 cemetery (17th–18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n = 6) of such deviant burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records describe the many potential reasons why some were more susceptible to vampirism than others, no study has attempted to discern differences in social identity between individuals within standard and deviant burials using biogeochemical analyses of human skeletal remains. The hypothesis that the individuals selected for apotropaic burial rites were non-local immigrants whose geographic origins differed from the local community was tested using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from archaeological dental enamel. 87Sr/86Sr ratios ( = 0.7112±0.0006, 1σ) from the permanent molars of 60 individuals reflect a predominantly local population, with all individuals interred as potential vampires exhibiting local strontium isotope ratios. These data indicate that those targeted for apotropaic practices were not migrants to the region, but instead, represented local individuals whose social identity or manner of death marked them with suspicion in some other way. Cholera epidemics that swept across much of Eastern Europe during the 17th century may provide one alternate explanation as to the reason behind these apotropaic mortuary customs, as the first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak was presumed more likely to return from the dead as a vampire. PMID:25427197

Apotropaic practices and the undead: a biogeochemical assessment of deviant burials in post-medieval poland.

PubMed

Gregoricka, Lesley A; Betsinger, Tracy K; Scott, Amy B; Polcyn, Marek

2014-01-01

Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 cemetery (17th-18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n = 6) of such deviant burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records describe the many potential reasons why some were more susceptible to vampirism than others, no study has attempted to discern differences in social identity between individuals within standard and deviant burials using biogeochemical analyses of human skeletal remains. The hypothesis that the individuals selected for apotropaic burial rites were non-local immigrants whose geographic origins differed from the local community was tested using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from archaeological dental enamel. 87Sr/86Sr ratios ( = 0.7112±0.0006, 1σ) from the permanent molars of 60 individuals reflect a predominantly local population, with all individuals interred as potential vampires exhibiting local strontium isotope ratios. These data indicate that those targeted for apotropaic practices were not migrants to the region, but instead, represented local individuals whose social identity or manner of death marked them with suspicion in some other way. Cholera epidemics that swept across much of Eastern Europe during the 17th century may provide one alternate explanation as to the reason behind these apotropaic mortuary customs, as the first person to die from an infectious disease outbreak was presumed more likely to return from the dead as a vampire.

Phosphorus burial in sediments of the sulfidic deep Black Sea: Key roles for adsorption by calcium carbonate and apatite authigenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraal, Peter; Dijkstra, Nikki; Behrends, Thilo; Slomp, Caroline P.

2017-05-01

Sedimentary burial of the essential nutrient phosphorus (P) under anoxic and sulfidic conditions is incompletely understood. Here, we use chemical and micro-scale spectroscopic methods to characterize sedimentary P burial along a water column redox transect (six stations, 78-2107 m water depth) in the Black Sea from the shelf with its oxygenated waters to the anoxic and sulfidic deep basin. Organic P is an important P pool under all redox regimes, accounting for up to 60% of P burial. We find a general down-core increase in the relative importance of organic P, especially on the shelf where P bound to iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) (oxyhydr)oxides is abundant in the uppermost sediment but rapidly declines in concentration with sediment depth. Our chemical and spectroscopic data indicate that the carbonate-rich sediments (Unit I, ∼3000 years, ∼0-30 cm depth) of the sulfidic deep Black Sea contain three major P pools: calcium phosphate (apatite), organic P and P that is strongly associated with CaCO3 and possibly clay surfaces. Apatite concentrations increase from 5% to 25% of total P in the uppermost centimeters of the deep basin sediments, highlighting the importance of apatite formation for long-term P burial. Iron(II)-associated P (ludlamite) was detected with X-ray absorption spectroscopy but was shown to be a minor P pool (∼5%), indicating that lateral Fe-P transport from the shelf ("shuttling") likely occurs but does not impact the P burial budget of the deep Black Sea. The CaCO3-P pool was relatively constant throughout the Unit I sediment interval and accounted for up to 55% of total P. Our results highlight that carbonate-bound P can be an important sink for P in CaCO3-rich sediments of anoxic, sulfidic basins and should also be considered as a potential P sink (and P source in case of CaCO3 dissolution) when reconstructing past ocean P dynamics from geological records.

Comparison between students and residents on determinants of willingness to separate waste and waste separation behaviour in Zhengzhou, China.

PubMed

Dai, Xiaoping; Han, Yuping; Zhang, Xiaohong; Hu, Wei; Huang, Liangji; Duan, Wenpei; Li, Siyi; Liu, Xiaolu; Wang, Qian

2017-09-01

A better understanding of willingness to separate waste and waste separation behaviour can aid the design and improvement of waste management policies. Based on the intercept questionnaire survey data of undergraduate students and residents in Zhengzhou City of China, this article compared factors affecting the willingness and behaviour of students and residents to participate in waste separation using two binary logistic regression models. Improvement opportunities for waste separation were also discussed. Binary logistic regression results indicate that knowledge of and attitude to waste separation and acceptance of waste education significantly affect the willingness of undergraduate students to separate waste, and demographic factors, such as gender, age, education level, and income, significantly affect the willingness of residents to do so. Presence of waste-specific bins and attitude to waste separation are drivers of waste separation behaviour for both students and residents. Improved education about waste separation and facilities are effective to stimulate waste separation, and charging on unsorted waste may be an effective way to improve it in Zhengzhou.

Postmortem microbial communities in burial soil layers of skeletonized humans.

PubMed

Thomas, Torri B; Finley, Sheree J; Wilkinson, Jeremy E; Wescott, Daniel J; Gorski, Azriel; Javan, Gulnaz T

2017-07-01

Microorganisms are major ecological participants in the successional decomposition of vertebrates. The relative abundance, or the scarcity, of certain microbial taxa in gravesoil has the potential to determine the ecological status of skeletons. However, there are substantial knowledge gaps that warrant consideration in the context of the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem. In the current study, we hypothesized that i.) soil microbial diversity is disparate in the latter stage of decomposition (skeletonization) compared to the earlier stages (fresh, bloat, active and advanced decay), and ii.) the three layers of gravesoil (top, middle, and bottom) encompass similar microbial taxa and are analogous with control soil. To test these hypotheses, microbial communities in layers of burial soil of skeletonized bodies (treated) and from control soil, obtained from burial plots with no bodies (untreated), were compared using sequencing data of the 16S rRNA gene. The results demonstrated that Acidobacteria was confirmed as the most abundant microbial genus in all treated and untreated soil layers. Furthermore, Proteobacteria demonstrated a relatively low abundance in skeletonized gravesoil which is dissimilar from previous findings that assessed soil from earlier stages of human decomposition. Also, these results determined that soil microbial signatures were analogous in all three soil layers under the effects of similar abiotic and biotic factors, and they were similar to the communities in untreated soil. Therefore, the current study produced empirical data that give conclusive evidence of soil microbial successional changes, particularly for Proteobacteria, for potential use in forensic microbiology research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Transport of the Pathogenic Prion Protein through Landfill Materials

PubMed Central

Jacobson, Kurt H.; Lee, Seunghak; McKenzie, Debbie; Benson, Craig H.; Pedersen, Joel A.

2009-01-01

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are a class of fatal neurodegenerative diseases affecting a variety of mammalian species including humans. A misfolded form of the prion protein (PrPTSE) is the major, if not sole, component of the infectious agent. Recent TSE outbreaks in domesticated and wild animal populations has created the need for safe and effective disposal of large quantities of potentially infected materials. Here, we report the results of a study to evaluate the potential for transport of PrPTSE derived from carcasses and associated wastes in a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill. Column experiments were conducted to evaluate PrPTSE transport in quartz sand, two fine-textured burial soils currently used in landfill practice, a green waste residual material (a potential burial material), and fresh and aged MSW. PrPTSE was retained by quartz sand and the fine-textured burial soils, with no detectable PrPTSE eluted over more than 40 pore volumes. In contrast, PrPTSE was more mobile in MSW and green waste residual. Transport parameters were estimated from the experimental data and used to model PrPTSE migration in a MSW landfill. To the extent that the PrPTSE used mimics that released from decomposing carcasses, burial of CWD-infected materials at MSW landfills could provide secure containment of PrPTSE provided reasonable burial strategies (e.g., encasement in soil) are used. PMID:19368208

Measured and Predicted Burial of Cylinders During the Indian Rocks Beach Experiment

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

in shallow water (15-16 m) with fine-sand (133-/xm) and coarse-sand (566-/xm) sediments off Indian Rocks Beach (IRB), FL. Scour pits developed...eter) relative to the sediment- water interface, but only 20%-50% relative to surface area covered. The difference was caused by the lack of...sensors intended to indicate the surface area of the cylinder covered by sediment or water (i.e., percent surface area exposed during burial) and

Assessment of regeneration potential in the clonal macrophyte Miscanthus sacchariflorus (Poaceae) after burial disturbance based on bud bank size and sprouting capacity.

PubMed

Chen, Xinsheng; Cao, Chenshu; Deng, Zhengmiao; Xie, Yonghong; Li, Feng; Hou, Zhiyong; Li, Xu

2015-01-01

The demography of the bud bank and its sprouting capacity are important for understanding the population dynamics of clonal plants and their potential responses to disturbances. To this end, we investigated the size and composition of the bud bank of Miscanthus sacchariflorus (Maxim.) Hack. immediately after flooding (November), in winter (January), in spring (March), and before flooding (May) in the wetlands of Dongting Lake. We then examined the sprouting capacity of axillary buds after sediment burial at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 cm. Total bud density of M. sacchariflorus ranged from 2524 buds m(-2) in November to 4293 buds m(-2) in March. Rhizome segments with inactive axillary buds, which represented the majority of the bud population (88.7% in November, 93.3% in May), did not sprout during the 140 days of the experiment (n = 250). The sprouting ratio was the highest for active axillary buds buried at 0 cm (64%) and decreased when buried at 10-20 cm (34%-40%). Due to the large number of active axillary buds in the bud bank (211-277 buds m(-2) from November to the following March), M. sacchariflorus could completely replace its aboveground shoot population, except in May (142 buds m(-2)). Increasing burial depth delayed bud emergence and reduced the growth period of shoots; however, burial depth did not affect the resulting plant height and only reduced the accumulated biomass at 20 cm. Therefore, the belowground bud bank and its strong sprouting capacity are important factors in the maintenance of local populations and colonization of new habitats for M. sacchariflorus after burial disturbances. The present methodology, which combined measurements of bud bank demography and sprouting capacity, may reflect the regeneration potential of clonal plants after burial disturbances.

Minimization of power consumption during charging of superconducting accelerating cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Anirban Krishna; Ziemann, Volker; Ruber, Roger; Goryashko, Vitaliy

2015-11-01

The radio frequency cavities, used to accelerate charged particle beams, need to be charged to their nominal voltage after which the beam can be injected into them. The standard procedure for such cavity filling is to use a step charging profile. However, during initial stages of such a filling process a substantial amount of the total energy is wasted in reflection for superconducting cavities because of their extremely narrow bandwidth. The paper presents a novel strategy to charge cavities, which reduces total energy reflection. We use variational calculus to obtain analytical expression for the optimal charging profile. Energies, reflected and required, and generator peak power are also compared between the charging schemes and practical aspects (saturation, efficiency and gain characteristics) of power sources (tetrodes, IOTs and solid state power amplifiers) are also considered and analysed. The paper presents a methodology to successfully identify the optimal charging scheme for different power sources to minimize total energy requirement.

Development of performance assessment methodology for nuclear waste isolation in geologic media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonano, E. J.; Chu, M. S. Y.; Cranwell, R. M.; Davis, P. A.

The burial of nuclear wastes in deep geologic formations as a means for their disposal is an issue of significant technical and social impact. The analysis of the processes involved can be performed only with reliable mathematical models and computer codes as opposed to conducting experiments because the time scales associated are on the order of tens of thousands of years. These analyses are concerned primarily with the migration of radioactive contaminants from the repository to the environment accessible to humans. Modeling of this phenomenon depends on a large number of other phenomena taking place in the geologic porous and/or fractured medium. These are ground-water flow, physicochemical interactions of the contaminants with the rock, heat transfer, and mass transport. Once the radionuclides have reached the accessible environment, the pathways to humans and health effects are estimated. A performance assessment methodology for a potential high-level waste repository emplaced in a basalt formation has been developed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Carbon source/sink function of a subtropical, eutrophic lake determined from an overall mass balance and a gas exchange and carbon burial balance.

PubMed

Yang, Hong; Xing, Yangping; Xie, Ping; Ni, Leyi; Rong, Kewen

2008-02-01

Although studies on carbon burial in lake sediments have shown that lakes are disproportionately important carbon sinks, many studies on gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface have demonstrated that lakes are supersaturated with CO(2) and CH(4) causing a net release of CO(2) and CH(4) to the atmosphere. In order to more accurately estimate the net carbon source/sink function of lake ecosystems, a more comprehensive carbon budget is needed, especially for gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface. Using two methods, overall mass balance and gas exchange and carbon burial balance, we assessed the carbon source/sink function of Lake Donghu, a subtropical, eutrophic lake, from April 2003 to March 2004. With the overall mass balance calculations, total carbon input was 14 905 t, total carbon output was 4950 t, and net carbon budget was +9955 t, suggesting that Lake Donghu was a great carbon sink. For the gas exchange and carbon burial balance, gaseous carbon (CO(2) and CH(4)) emission across the water-air interface totaled 752 t while carbon burial in the lake sediment was 9477 t. The ratio of carbon emission into the atmosphere to carbon burial into the sediment was only 0.08. This low ratio indicates that Lake Donghu is a great carbon sink. Results showed good agreement between the two methods with both showing Lake Donghu to be a great carbon sink. This results from the high primary production of Lake Donghu, substantive allochthonous carbon inputs and intensive anthropogenic activity. Gaseous carbon emission accounted for about 15% of the total carbon output, indicating that the total output would be underestimated without including gaseous carbon exchange.

WINTER FLOUNDER PSUEDOPLEURONECTES AMERICANUS HATCHING SUCCESS AS A FUNCTION OF BURIAL DEPTH IN THE LABORATORY

EPA Science Inventory

Previous experiments have shown that viable hatch of winter flounder eggs is reduced when the eggs are buried by as little as one half of one egg diameter (approximately 0.5 mm of sediment). This sensitivity to burial has resulted in seasonal banning of dredging in several north...

Utilisation of Acoustics for Monitoring Local and Near-Field Mine Burial Processes: Proof-Of-Concept

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-09-30

IMPACT/ APLICATION The observations presented here and those from other workers (4-6) show that acoustics has an important and expanding role in its...relationship between the presence of the mine, its impact on the local hydrodynamics and sediment mobility , and thereby gain insight into the burial mechanisms

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shott, Gregory J.

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources waste stream (BCLALADOEOSRP, Revision 0) is suitable for disposal by shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The LLNL Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources waste stream consists of sealed sources that are no longer needed. The LLNL Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources waste stream required a special analysis because cobalt-60 (60Co), strontium-90 (90Sr), cesium-137 (137Cs), and radium-226 (226Ra) exceeded the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) Action Levels (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclearmore » Security Administration Nevada Field Office [NNSA/NFO] 2015). The results indicate that all performance objectives can be met with disposal of the LLNL Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources in a SLB trench. The LLNL Low Activity Beta/Gamma Sources waste stream is suitable for disposal by SLB at the Area 5 RWMS. However, the activity concentration of 226Ra listed on the waste profile sheet significantly exceeds the action level. Approval of the waste profile sheet could potentially allow the disposal of high activity 226Ra sources. To ensure that the generator does not include large 226Ra sources in this waste stream without additional evaluation, a control is need on the maximum 226Ra inventory. A limit based on the generator’s estimate of the total 226Ra inventory is recommended. The waste stream is recommended for approval with the control that the total 226Ra inventory disposed shall not exceed 5.5E10 Bq (1.5 Ci).« less

25 CFR 20.210 - Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster Assistance and Emergency Assistance change? 20.210 Section 20.210... SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS Welfare Reform § 20.210 Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster Assistance and Emergency Assistance change? No, unless otherwise...

25 CFR 20.210 - Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster Assistance and Emergency Assistance change? 20.210 Section 20.210... SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS Welfare Reform § 20.210 Can eligibility criteria or payments for Burial Assistance, Child Assistance, and Disaster Assistance and Emergency Assistance change? No, unless otherwise...

Informal Workshop on Burial and Mobility Modeling of Munitions in the Underwater Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law , no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a...responsible for munitions mobility including transport , burial, and re- exposure. A set of field experiments is being performed to characterize the...Motion, Transport , and Fate of Underwater Munitions under Waves, Currents, and Combined-Flows – PI: Dr. Marcelo Garcia, University of Illinois at

Littoral assessment of mine burial signatures (LAMBS): buried-landmine hyperspectral data collections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenton, Arthur C.; Geci, Duane M.; McDonald, James A.; Ray, Kristofer J.; Thomas, Clayton M.; Holloway, John H., Jr.; Petee, Danny A.; Witherspoon, Ned H.

2003-09-01

The objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Rapid Overt Reconnaissance (ROR) program and the Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies project's Littoral Assessment of Mine Burial Signatures (LAMBS) contract is to determine if electro-optical spectral discriminants exist that are useful for the detection of land mines located in littoral regions. Statistically significant buried mine overburden and background signature data were collected over a wide spectral range (0.35 to 14 μm) to identify robust spectral features that might serve as discriminants for new airborne sensor concepts. The LAMBS program further expands the hyperspectral database previously collected and analyzed on the U.S. Army's Hyperspectral Mine Detection Phenomenology program [see "Detection of Land Mines with Hyperspectral Data," and "Hyperspectral Mine Detection Phenomenology Program," Proc. SPIE Vol. 3710, pp 917-928 and 819-829, AeroSense April 1999] to littoral areas where tidal, surf, and wind action can additionally modify spectral signatures. This work summarizes the LAMBS buried mine collections conducted at three beach sites - an inland bay beach site (Eglin AFB, FL, Site A-22), an Atlantic beach site (Duck, NC), and a Gulf beach site (Eglin AFB, FL, Site A-15). Characteristics of the spectral signatures of the various dry and damp beach sands are presented. These are then compared to buried land mine signatures observed for the tested background types, burial ages, and environmental conditions experienced.

Thin terrestrial sediment deposits on intertidal sandflats: effects on pore-water solutes and juvenile bivalve burial behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohaia, A.; Vopel, K.; Pilditch, C. A.

2014-04-01

Nearshore zones experience increased sedimentation due to coastal development and enhanced loads of fine terrestrial sediment (hereafter, TS) in river waters. Deposition of TS can alter seabed biogeochemical processes but the effects on benthic ecosystem functioning are unknown. The results of a past experiment with defaunated, intertidal sediment suggest that a decrease in the oxygenation of this sediment by a thin (mm) TS deposit causes substrate rejection (refusal to bury) by post-settlement juvenile recruits of the tellinid bivalve Macomona liliana. We further examined this behaviour, asking if such deposits negatively affect burial when applied to intertidal sediment that is oxygenated by bioturbation (C) or depleted of dead and living organic matter (D). We observed recruits on the surface of four treatments: C, D, and the same sediments to which we added a 1.7-1.9 mm layer of TS (CTS, DTS). The TS deposit decreased the oxygenation and the pH of the underlying intertidal sediment (CTS) confirming previous results, but significantly increased but not decreased the probability of burial, irrespectively of treatment. Juveniles more likely buried into C than into D. The mechanism that caused previously observed substrate rejection by post-settlement juvenile M. liliana remains unclear but our results suggest that contact of the recruits with the TS deposit does not cause substrate rejection. We now hypothesise that conditioning of sediment by bioturbation can mediate negative effects of TS deposits on the recruits' burial behaviour.

A health assessment for imperial Roman burials recovered from the necropolis of San Donato and Bivio CH, Urbino, Italy.

PubMed

Paine, Robert R; Vargiu, Rita; Signoretti, Carla; Coppa, Alfredo

2009-01-01

Imperial Roman burials recovered from the sites of San Donato and Bivio CH, located in the city of Urbino, Italy were examined for skeletal lesions. Observed pathologies include arthritis, trauma, periostitis, cranial pitting and enamel hypoplasia. All of the adults exhibited at least one enamel hypoplasia. In general, the adult males exhibit greater rates of skeletal pathologies than the females. Clearly, chronic health problems appear to be common among all adults; nearly 89% of them exhibit at least one form of skeletal lesion. This is in stark contrast to what is seen for the sub-adults. Only one sub-adult showed skeletal lesions. Acute health problems may have been the primary contributing factors for the death of the children recovered from the site. Despite previous research and attention to malaria as a critical health problem of Roman sub-adults, it does not seem to be an issue for this burial sample. We compare the frequency of cranial pitting and periostitis for the Urbino burials to several other Imperial Roman skeletal samples as a means to assess the potential for malaria and other casual factors for the observed lesions. In conclusion, we see the extreme rate of skeletal lesions for this community as indication of an extremely poor quality of life for these Romans.

The burial of headwater streams in drainage pipes reduces in-stream nitrate retention: results from two US metropolitan areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaulieu, J. J.; Mayer, P. M.; Kaushal, S.; Pennino, M. J.; Arango, C. P.; Balz, D. A.; Fritz, K. M.; Golden, H. E.; Knightes, C. D.

2012-12-01

Nitrogen (N) retention in stream networks is an important ecosystem service that may be affected by the widespread burial of headwater streams in urban watersheds. Stream burial occurs when segments of a channel are encased in drainage pipe and buried beneath the land surface to facilitate above ground development or stormwater runoff. We predicted that burial suppresses the capacity of streams to retain and transform nitrate, the dominate form of bioavailable N in urban streams, by eliminating primary production, reducing respiration rates, and decreasing water residence time. We tested these predictions by measuring whole-stream nitrate (NO3-) removal rates using 15NO3- isotope tracer releases in reaches that were buried and open to the sunlight in three streams in Cincinnati, Ohio and three streams in Baltimore, Maryland during four seasons. Nitrate uptake lengths in buried reaches (range: 560 - 43,650 m) were 2-98 times greater than open reaches exposed to daylight (range: 85 - 7195 m), indicating that buried reaches were substantially less effective at retaining NO3- than open reaches. Nitrate retention in buried reaches was suppressed by a combination of hydrological and biological processes. High water velocities in buried reaches (buried= 5.8 m/s, open=1.48 m/s) rapidly exported NO3- from the channel, reducing the potential for in-stream NO3- retention. Uptake lengths in the buried reaches were lengthened further by low in-stream biological NO3- demand, as indicated by NO3- uptake velocities 16-fold lower than that of the open reaches. Similarly, buried reaches had lower ecosystem respiration rates than open reaches (buried=1.5g O2/m2/hr, open=4.5g O2/m2/hr), likely due to lower organic matter standing stocks (buried=12 gAFMD/m2, open=48 gAFDM/m2). Biological activity in the buried reaches was further suppressed by the absence of light which precluded photosynthetic activity and the associated assimilative N demand. Overall, our results demonstrate that the

Legacy of human-induced C erosion and burial on soil-atmosphere C exchange.

PubMed

Van Oost, Kristof; Verstraeten, Gert; Doetterl, Sebastian; Notebaert, Bastiaan; Wiaux, François; Broothaerts, Nils; Six, Johan

2012-11-20

Carbon exchange associated with accelerated erosion following land cover change is an important component of the global C cycle. In current assessments, however, this component is not accounted for. Here, we integrate the effects of accelerated C erosion across point, hillslope, and catchment scale for the 780-km(2) Dijle River catchment over the period 4000 B.C. to A.D. 2000 to demonstrate that accelerated erosion results in a net C sink. We found this long-term C sink to be equivalent to 43% of the eroded C and to have offset 39% (17-66%) of the C emissions due to anthropogenic land cover change since the advent of agriculture. Nevertheless, the erosion-induced C sink strength is limited by a significant loss of buried C in terrestrial depositional stores, which lagged the burial. The time lag between burial and subsequent loss at this study site implies that the C buried in eroded terrestrial deposits during the agricultural expansion of the last 150 y cannot be assumed to be inert to further destabilization, and indeed might become a significant C source. Our analysis exemplifies that accounting for the non-steady-state C dynamics in geomorphic active systems is pertinent to understanding both past and future anthropogenic global change.

Legacy of human-induced C erosion and burial on soil–atmosphere C exchange

PubMed Central

Van Oost, Kristof; Verstraeten, Gert; Doetterl, Sebastian; Notebaert, Bastiaan; Wiaux, François; Broothaerts, Nils; Six, Johan

2012-01-01

Carbon exchange associated with accelerated erosion following land cover change is an important component of the global C cycle. In current assessments, however, this component is not accounted for. Here, we integrate the effects of accelerated C erosion across point, hillslope, and catchment scale for the 780-km2 Dijle River catchment over the period 4000 B.C. to A.D. 2000 to demonstrate that accelerated erosion results in a net C sink. We found this long-term C sink to be equivalent to 43% of the eroded C and to have offset 39% (17–66%) of the C emissions due to anthropogenic land cover change since the advent of agriculture. Nevertheless, the erosion-induced C sink strength is limited by a significant loss of buried C in terrestrial depositional stores, which lagged the burial. The time lag between burial and subsequent loss at this study site implies that the C buried in eroded terrestrial deposits during the agricultural expansion of the last 150 y cannot be assumed to be inert to further destabilization, and indeed might become a significant C source. Our analysis exemplifies that accounting for the non–steady-state C dynamics in geomorphic active systems is pertinent to understanding both past and future anthropogenic global change. PMID:23134723

Resetting of RbSr ages of volcanic rocks by low-grade burial metamorphism

USGS Publications Warehouse

Asmeroma, Y.; Damon, P.; Shafiqullah, M.; Dickinson, W.R.; Zartman, R.E.

1991-01-01

We report a nine-point RbSr whole-rock isochron age of 70??3 Ma (MSWD 3.97) for Mid-Jurassic volcanic rocks. The same rocks have also been dated by the UThPb method on zircon, giving a crystallization age of 166 ?? 11 Ma, over twice as old as the RbSr age. The data demonstrate that whole-rock RbSr ages of volcanic rocks, even lava flows with SiO2 content as low as 57 wt.%, are susceptible to complete resetting. The rocks range in composition from rhyodacite tuffs to andesite lavas. The complete breakdown of all major minerals that contain Rb and Sr resulted in an alteration mineral assemblage consisting of phengite, albite, secondary quartz, and minor amounts of chlorite and epidote. Phengite is the K-bearing product of the breakdown of biotite and K-feldspar. Pressure during low-grade metamorphism of the volcanic rocks, estimated from phengite composition to have been in the range of 4 to 6 kbar, points to thrust-related burial as the main cause of resetting. Consequently, such reset isochrons may date large-scale events such as regional thrusting and metamorphism. The coherent resetting of the RbSr isochron suggests large-scale pervasive fluid movement during thrust-related burial metamorphism. ?? 1991.

3rd Quarter Transportation Report FY 2014: Radioactive Waste Shipments to and from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gregory, Louis

2014-09-20

This report satisfies the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) commitment to prepare a quarterly summary report of radioactive waste shipments to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at Area 5. There were no shipments sent for offsite treatment and returned to the NNSS this quarter. This report summarizes the 3rd quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) shipments. This report also includes annual summaries for FY 2014 in Tables 4 and 5. Tabular summaries are provided which includemore » the following: Sources of and carriers for LLW and MLLW shipments to and from the NNSS; Number and external volume of LLW and MLLW shipments; Highway routes used by carriers; and Incident/accident data applicable to LLW and MLLW shipments. In this report shipments are accounted for upon arrival at the NNSS, while disposal volumes are accounted for upon waste burial. The disposal volumes presented in this report do not include minor volumes of non-radioactive materials that were approved for disposal. Volume reports showing cubic feet generated using the Low-Level Waste Information System may vary slightly due to differing rounding conventions.« less

Millennial-scale variability in Holocene aquatic productivity from Burial Lake, Arctic Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkenbinder, Matthew S.; Abbott, Mark B.; Stoner, Joseph S.; Ortiz, Joseph D.; Finney, Bruce P.; Dorfman, Jason M.; Stansell, Nathan D.

2018-05-01

Holocene records of lacustrine primary production are commonly used to reconstruct past changes in environmental and climatic conditions. While several methods exist to infer paleoproductivity trends, few studies to date have applied multiple geochemical indices in the same core sequence from Arctic lakes to evaluate their fidelity and sensitivity to specific climate variables over long (Holocene length) timescales. In this study, we evaluate sub-century to millennial-scale fluctuations in paleoproductivity over the Holocene using geochemical (biogenic opal and sedimentary chlorin) analyses of sediments from Burial Lake in the western Brooks Range, Alaska. Large fluctuations in opal and related proxies occur at millennial timescales over the last 10,000 years. We interpret the changes in opal to result from variability in diatom productivity, which is indirectly mediated by climate primarily through changes in the duration of the ice-free growing season and the availability of limiting nutrients at this oligotrophic, tundra lake. Comparison of the opal and sedimentary chlorin record, which is correlated with TOC, shows contrasting patterns on both short (century to multi-century) and relatively long (millennial) time scales. The concentration of opal far exceeds that of TOC and variations in sediment dry bulk density, driven by changes in the accumulation of opal, are likely responsible in part for the variations in sedimentary chlorin. Further, C/N ratio values indicate a mixed algal-terrestrial source of sedimentary organic matter. This result highlights the complexity in the climatic interpretation of sedimentary chlorin as an index of whole lake production, because the signal is prone to dilution/concentration from opal and also reflects a combination of aquatic and terrestrial production. Time series analysis of the productivity records indicates the presence of a significant ∼1500-yr oscillation in opal concentration, which has been found in North Atlantic

Pyrosequencing-based assessment of microbial community shifts in leachate from animal carcass burial lysimeter.

PubMed

Kim, Hyun Young; Seo, Jiyoung; Kim, Tae-Hun; Shim, Bomi; Cha, Seok Mun; Yu, Seungho

2017-06-01

This study examined the use of microbial community structure as a bio-indicator of decomposition levels. High-throughput pyrosequencing technology was used to assess the shift in microbial community of leachate from animal carcass lysimeter. The leachate samples were collected monthly for one year and a total of 164,639 pyrosequencing reads were obtained and used in the taxonomic classification and operational taxonomy units (OTUs) distribution analysis based on sequence similarity. Our results show considerable changes in the phylum-level bacterial composition, suggesting that the microbial community is a sensitive parameter affected by the burial environment. The phylum classification results showed that Proteobacteria (Pseudomonas) were the most influential taxa in earlier decomposition stage whereas Firmicutes (Clostridium, Sporanaerobacter, and Peptostreptococcus) were dominant in later stage under anaerobic conditions. The result of this study can provide useful information on a time series of leachate profiles of microbial community structures and suggest patterns of microbial diversity in livestock burial sites. In addition, this result can be applicable to predict the decomposition stages under clay loam based soil conditions of animal livestock. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RFID technology for hazardous waste management and tracking.

PubMed

Namen, Anderson Amendoeira; Brasil, Felipe da Costa; Abrunhosa, Jorge José Gouveia; Abrunhosa, Glaucia Gomes Silva; Tarré, Ricardo Martinez; Marques, Flávio José Garcia

2014-09-01

The illegal dumping of hazardous waste is one of the most concerning occurrences related to illegal waste activities. The waste management process is quite vulnerable, especially when it comes to assuring the right destination for the delivery of the hazardous waste. The purpose of this paper is to present a new system design and prototype for applying the RFID technology so as to guarantee the correct destination for the hazardous waste delivery. The aim of this innovative approach, compared with other studies that employ the same technology to the waste disposal process, is to focus on the certification that the hazardous waste will be delivered to the right destination site and that no inappropriate disposal will occur in the transportation stage. These studies were carried out based on data collected during visits to two hazardous waste producer companies in Brazil, where the material transportation and delivery to a company in charge of the waste disposal were closely monitored. © The Author(s) 2014.

Property-close source separation of hazardous waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment--a Swedish case study.

PubMed

Bernstad, Anna; la Cour Jansen, Jes; Aspegren, Henrik

2011-03-01

Through an agreement with EEE producers, Swedish municipalities are responsible for collection of hazardous waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). In most Swedish municipalities, collection of these waste fractions is concentrated to waste recycling centres where households can source-separate and deposit hazardous waste and WEEE free of charge. However, the centres are often located on the outskirts of city centres and cars are needed in order to use the facilities in most cases. A full-scale experiment was performed in a residential area in southern Sweden to evaluate effects of a system for property-close source separation of hazardous waste and WEEE. After the system was introduced, results show a clear reduction in the amount of hazardous waste and WEEE disposed of incorrectly amongst residual waste or dry recyclables. The systems resulted in a source separation ratio of 70 wt% for hazardous waste and 76 wt% in the case of WEEE. Results show that households in the study area were willing to increase source separation of hazardous waste and WEEE when accessibility was improved and that this and similar collection systems can play an important role in building up increasingly sustainable solid waste management systems. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RADIOACTIVE DEMONSTRATION OF FINAL MINERALIZED WASTE FORMS FOR HANFORD WASTE TREATMENT PLANT SECONDARY WASTE BY FLUIDIZED BED STEAM REFORMING USING THE BENCH SCALE REFORMER PLATFORM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crawford, C.; Burket, P.; Cozzi, A.

2012-02-02

ceramic (mineral) waste form. The mineral waste form that is produced by co-processing waste with kaolin clay in an FBSR process has been shown to be as durable as LAW glass. Monolithing of the granular FBSR product is being investigated to prevent dispersion during transport or burial/storage, but is not necessary for performance. A Benchscale Steam Reformer (BSR) was designed and constructed at the SRNL to treat actual radioactive wastes to confirm the findings of the non-radioactive FBSR pilot scale tests and to qualify the waste form for applications at Hanford. BSR testing with WTP SW waste surrogates and associated analytical analyses and tests of granular products (GP) and monoliths began in the Fall of 2009, and then was continued from the Fall of 2010 through the Spring of 2011. Radioactive testing commenced in 2010 with a demonstration of Hanford's WTP-SW where Savannah River Site (SRS) High Level Waste (HLW) secondary waste from the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) was shimmed with a mixture of {sup 125/129}I and {sup 99}Tc to chemically resemble WTP-SW. Prior to these radioactive feed tests, non-radioactive simulants were also processed. Ninety six grams of radioactive granular product were made for testing and comparison to the non-radioactive pilot scale tests. The same mineral phases were found in the radioactive and non-radioactive testing.« less

The formation conditions of the burial site of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and plants in the Kakanaut River basin (Koryak Highlands, Northeastern Asia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shczepetov, S. V.; Herman, A. B.

2017-07-01

The stratigraphic position of layers containing plant and animal remains in the Koryak Highlands (Northeast Asia) is under discussion. Their age is defined as late Campanian-early Maastrichtian. Plant-bearing and bone-bearing rocks represent cemented basaltic tephra. The former contain a small amount of xenogenic material and slightly rounded volcaniclastic material, which indicates its insignificant transportation. Ash particles in bone-bearing rocks are even less rounded. Among them, there are no rock fragments of other composition. Large bones and their fragments, as xenoliths, are chaotically distributed in the rock matrix as if floating in mass of ash material. This burial site was probably formed in a continental environment as a result of the gravitational and eolian transportation of the terrigenous material. The burial of small dinosaur bones and teeth occurred during the deposition of a small stream of a semiliquid water-ash mixture. This work presents a possible mechanism of the formation of burial sites, taking into consideration proposed conditions of the life and reproduction of dinosaurs in the Late Mesozoic Arctic.

Burial and exhumation of temperate bedrock reefs as elucidated by repetitive high-resolution sea floor sonar surveys: Spatial patterns and impacts to species' richness and diversity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Storlazzi, Curt D.; Fregoso, Theresa A.; Figurski, Jared D.; Freiwald, Jan; Lonhart, Steve I.; Finlayson, David P.

2013-01-01

To understand how chronic sediment burial and scour contribute to variation in the structure of algal and invertebrate communities on temperate bedrock reefs, the dynamics of the substrate and communities were monitored at locations that experience sand inundation and adjacent areas that do not. Co-located benthic scuba-transect surveys and high-resolution swath-sonar surveys were completed on bedrock reefs on the inner shelf of northern Monterey Bay, CA, in early winter 2009, spring 2010, and summer 2010. Analysis of the sonar surveys demonstrates that during the 8 months over which the surveys were conducted, 19.6% of the study area was buried by sand while erosion resulted in the exposure of bedrock over 13.8% of the study area; the remainder underwent no change between the surveys. Substrate classifications from the benthic transect surveys correlated with classifications generated from the sonar surveys, demonstrating the capacity of high-resolution sonar surveys to detect burial of bedrock reefs by sediment. On bedrock habitat that underwent burial and exhumation, species' diversity and richness of rock-associated sessile and mobile organisms were 50–66% lower as compared to adjacent stable bedrock habitat. While intermediate levels of disturbance can increase the diversity and richness of communities, these findings demonstrate that burial and exhumation of bedrock habitat are sources of severe disturbance. We suggest that substrate dynamics must be considered when developing predictions of benthic community distributions based on sea floor imagery. These results highlight the need for predictive models of substrate dynamics and for a better understanding of how burial and exhumation shape benthic communities.

Temporal variability of carbon and nutrient burial, sediment accretion, and mass accumulation over the past century in a carbonate platform mangrove forest of the Florida Everglades.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breithaupt, Josh L.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Smith, Thomas J.; Sanders, Christian J.

2014-01-01

The objective of this research was to measure temporal variability in accretion and mass sedimentation rates (including organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP)) from the past century in a mangrove forest on the Shark River in Everglades National Park, USA. The 210Pb Constant Rate of Supply model was applied to six soil cores to calculate annual rates over the most recent 10, 50, and 100 year time spans. Our results show that rates integrated over longer timeframes are lower than those for shorter, recent periods of observation. Additionally, the substantial spatial variability between cores over the 10 year period is diminished over the 100 year record, raising two important implications. First, a multiple-decade assessment of soil accretion and OC burial provides a more conservative estimate and is likely to be most relevant for forecasting these rates relative to long-term processes of sea level rise and climate change mitigation. Second, a small number of sampling locations are better able to account for spatial variability over the longer periods than for the shorter periods. The site average 100 year OC burial rate, 123 ± 19 (standard deviation) g m-2yr-1, is low compared with global mangrove values. High TN and TP burial rates in recent decades may lead to increased soil carbon remineralization, contributing to the low carbon burial rates. Finally, the strong correlation between OC burial and accretion across this site signals the substantial contribution of OC to soil building in addition to the ecosystem service of CO2 sequestration.

A wasted world

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Delbello, A.

1991-03-01

It is still legal under American law to dump waste products in any country whose government consents to accept them. Many developing countries accept waste exports for a per ton charge. It does not matter to them whether the waste is hazardous, toxic, nonhazardous, or nontoxic. Nor does it matter to them whether or not they have the technology for the safe disposal of wastes. In some nations there is little or no thought about the long-term consequences of unsafe disposal of hazardous wastes to their land, air, water, quality of life, crops, animals and children. Some of the mainmore » culprits in the U.S. have been surprising: the Pentagon, other federal agencies, state and local governments, the American business community in general, and, of course, various brokers and entrepreneurs have all been documented, time and again, as exporters of hazardous waste to the Third World. And then there are the illegal waste shipments, perpetrated by hustlers and nice people alike in many industrialized nations. Here is a sample: In September 1987, Italian ships unloaded 10,000 steel drums of hazardous waste in the Nigerian port of Koko and stored them in a vacant residential lot. The press learned of it in June 1988. The Nigerian government ultimately imprisoned 54 people, including Italian nationals, and formally expressed outrage to the Italian government. The Italian government responded by sending a team of experts to arrange removal. A West German ship was loaded with the waste and went back to Ravenna, Italy, but Italian protestors prevented the ship form docking. It attempted to dock in Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, without success. Finally, a home for the waste was found in an unidentified Italian port in mid-September.« less

Does burial diagenesis reset pristine isotopic compositions in paleosol carbonates?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bera, M. K.; Sarkar, A.; Tandon, S. K.; Samanta, A.; Sanyal, P.

2010-11-01

Sedimentological study of early Oligocene continental carbonates from the fluvial Dagshai Formation of the Himalayan foreland basin, India resulted in the recognition of four different types namely, soil, palustrine, pedogenically modified palustrine and groundwater carbonates. Stable oxygen and carbon isotopic ( δ18O and δ13C) analyses of fabric selective carbonate microsamples show that although the pristine isotopic compositions are largely altered during deep-burial diagenesis, complete isotopic homogenization does not occur. δ18O and δ13C analyses of ~ 200 calcrete and palustrine carbonates from different stratigraphic horizons and comparison with δ18O of more robust bioapatite (fossil vertebrate tooth) phase show that dense micrites (~ > 70% carbonate) invariably preserve the pristine δ18O value (mean) of ~ - 9.8‰, while altered carbonates show much lower δ18O value ~ - 13.8‰. Such inhomogeneity causes large intra-sample and intra-soil profile variability as high as > 5‰, suggesting that soils behave like a closed system where diagenetic overprinting occurs in local domains. A simple fluid-rock interaction model suggests active participation of clay minerals to enhance the effect of fluid-rock ratio in local domains during diagenesis. This places an upper limit of 70% micrite concentration above which the effect of diagenetic alteration is minimal. Careful sampling of dense micritic part of the soil carbonate nodules, therefore, does provide pristine isotopic composition and it is inappropriate, as proposed recently, to reject the paleoclimatic potential of all paleosol carbonates affected by burial diagenesis. Based on pristine δ13C value of - 8.8 ± 0.2‰ in soil carbonates an atmospheric CO 2 concentration between ~ 764 and ~ 306 ppmv is estimated for the early Oligocene (~ 31 Ma) Dagshai time. These data show excellent agreement between two independent proxy records (viz. soil carbonate and marine alkenone) and support early Oligocene

1st Quarter Transportation Report FY 2015: Radioactive Waste Shipments to and from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gregory, Louis

2015-02-20

This report satisfies the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) commitment to prepare a quarterly summary report of radioactive waste shipments to and from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at Area 5. There were no shipments sent for offsite treatment and returned to the NNSS this quarter. This report summarizes the 1st quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 low-level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) shipments. Tabular summaries are provided which include the following: Sources of and carriers for LLW and MLLW shipments tomore » and from the NNSS; Number and external volume of LLW and MLLW shipments; Highway routes used by carriers; and Incident/accident data applicable to LLW and MLLW shipments. In this report shipments are accounted for upon arrival at the NNSS, while disposal volumes are accounted for upon waste burial. The disposal volumes presented in this report include minor volumes of non-radioactive classified waste/material that were approved for disposal (non-radioactive classified or nonradioactive classified hazardous). Volume reports showing cubic feet generated using the Low-Level Waste Information System may vary slightly due to rounding conventions for volumetric conversions from cubic meters to cubic feet.« less

Modeling Groundwater Flow and Infiltration at Potential Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, B. W.; Lee, C.; Ma, C.; Knowlton, R. G.

2006-12-01

Taiwan is evaluating representative sites for the potential disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLW), including consideration of shallow land burial and cavern disposal concepts. A representative site for shallow land burial is on a small island in the Taiwan Strait with basalt bedrock. The shallow land burial concept includes an engineered cover to limit infiltration into the waste disposal cell. A representative site for cavern disposal is located on the southeast coast of Taiwan. The tunnel system for this disposal concept would be several hundred meters below the mountainous land surface in argillite bedrock. The LLW will consist of about 966,000 drums, primarily from the operation and decommissioning of four nuclear power plants. Sandia National Laboratories and the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research have collaborated to develop performance assessment models to evaluate the long-term safety of LLW disposal at these representative sites. Important components of the system models are sub-models of groundwater flow in the natural system and infiltration through the engineered cover for the shallow land burial concept. The FEHM software code was used to simulate groundwater flow in three-dimensional models at both sites. In addition, a higher-resolution two-dimensional model was developed to simulate flow through the engineered tunnel system at the cavern site. The HELP software was used to simulate infiltration through the cover at the island site. The primary objective of these preliminary models is to provide a modeling framework, given the lack of site-specific data and detailed engineering design specifications. The steady-state groundwater flow model at the island site uses a specified recharge boundary at the land surface and specified head at the island shoreline. Simulated groundwater flow vectors are extracted from the FEHM model along a cross section through one of the LLW disposal cells for utilization in radionuclide transport simulations in

Monumental megalithic burial and rock art tell a new story about the Levant Intermediate Bronze "Dark Ages".

PubMed

Sharon, Gonen; Barash, Alon; Eisenberg-Degen, Davida; Grosman, Leore; Oron, Maya; Berger, Uri

2017-01-01

The Intermediate Bronze Age (IB) in the Southern Levant (ca. 2350-2000 BCE) is known as the "Dark Ages," following the collapse of Early Bronze urban society and predating the establishment of the Middle Bronze cities. The absence of significant settlements and monumental building has led to the reconstruction of IB social organization as that of nomadic, tribal society inhabiting rural villages with no central governmental system. Excavation in the Shamir Dolmen Field (comprising over 400 dolmens) on the western foothills of the Golan Heights was carried out following the discovery of rock art engravings on the ceiling of the central chamber inside one of the largest dolmens ever recorded in the Levant. Excavation of this multi-chambered dolmen, covered by a basalt capstone weighing some 50 tons, revealed a secondary multi-burial (of both adults and children) rarely described in a dolmen context in the Golan. Engraved into the rock ceiling above the multi-burial is a panel of 14 forms composed of a vertical line and downturned arc motif. 3D-scanning by structured-light technology was used to sharpen the forms and revealed the technique employed to create them. Building of the Shamir dolmens required a tremendous amount of labor, architectural mastery, and complex socio-economic organization well beyond the capacity of small, rural nomadic groups. The monumental megalithic burial of the Shamir dolmens indicates a hierarchical, complex, non-urban governmental system. This new evidence supports a growing body of recent criticism stemming from new discoveries and approaches that calls for rethinking our views of the Levantine IB "Dark Ages."

Patinas developed in environmental burial conditions: the Neolithic steles of Reguers de Seró (Lleida, Spain).

PubMed

Garcia-Valles, Maite; Aulinas, Meritxell; López-Melción, Joan B; Moya-Garra, Andreu

2010-08-01

Weathering patinas in rocks are the result of interaction processes between rock surfaces and atmosphere, biosphere and soil. Therefore, their textural and mineral composition is strongly related to environmental and bioactivity conditions. Whereas the development of weathering patinas in atmospheric conditions is well documented (e.g. typical Mediterranean patina), only very few studies focus on their formation in a burial environment. Our study of patinas developed on the tumular structure of Reguers de Seró deals with the knowledge of burial patinas from a textural and mineralogical point of view. The aims of this study include: (1) the characterisation of the rock used in this megalithic monument as well as inferences regarding the origin of the raw material; (2) the evaluation of the patinas developed on the surface of the carved steles; and (3) the discussion of the environmental conditions (atmospheric or burial) that favoured the development of the patinas. Whole rock and related patinas (powdered samples and small single pieces) were carefully sampled in five of the seven Neolithic steles discovered during a municipal excavation. Some whole rock samples from the surrounding outcrops were also collected in order to correlate them with the stone forming the megalith. Samples were analysed macroscopically, using a glass binocular, and microscopically, by means of a polarising light microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDAX). The mineralogical composition was determined by X-ray diffraction, and a colorimetric analysis was also carried out in all the sampled patinas. The obtained results evidence a strong textural and mineralogical correlation between the whole rock of the megalith and the collected samples of the nearby outcrops; both are classified as calcarenite. A uniformly distributed beige-orange patina (35-100 microm thick) covering the surface of the steles modifies their aspect. A layer of calcite (micrite) with granular texture was

The privileged burial of the Pava Pieve (Siena, 8th Century AD).

PubMed

Ricci, Paola; Mongelli, Valeria; Vitiello, Angelica; Campana, Stefano; Sirignano, Carmina; Rubino, Mauro; Fornaciari, Gino; Lubritto, Carmine

2012-10-30

The 6(th) archaeological excavation campaign performed at the 'Pieve di Pava' (San Giovanni d'Asso, Siena, Italy) unearthed a privileged stone burial of a single individual (US 2378), covered by a monolithic slab and placed in front of an altar. The skeletal remains of a young male (18-20 years old), not in anatomical connection, were found at the bottom floor of a tomb (160 cm long, 40 cm large and over 70 cm deep). A multidisciplinary study has been carried out concerning that privileged bone burial. The study combines paleopathology studies, stable isotope palaeodietary reconstruction, radiocarbon dating and archaeological analyses. (14)  C dating of the skeleton revealed a date between 650 and 688 AD. Stable isotope analysis (δ(18) O, δ(13) C, δ(15) N) attested that he was probably a member of the local population, whose diet was rather rich in animal proteins. The paleopathological study diagnosed a case of acromesomelic dysplasia, a congenital anomaly with disproportion of the limbs. Archaeological evidence regarding the circular delimitation of the bones suggested that the skeleton was a secondary deposition, transported to the church in a sack. We argue that the relic was used for the re-consecration of the church, following the restoration work in the 8(th) century. We conclude that the skeleton belonged to an eminent personage (e.g., either the member of a local elite family or a saint). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Emplacement, rapid burial, and exhumation of 90-Ma plutons in southeastern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Himmelberg, G.R.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Brew, D.A.

2004-01-01

In southeastern Alaska, granodiorite-tonalite plutons of the Admiralty-Revillagigedo belt intruded the Jurassic-Cretaceous Gravina belt along the eastern side of the Alexander terrane around 90 Ma. These plutons postdate some deformation related to a major contractional event between the previously amalgamated Wrangellia and Alexander terranes and the previously accreted terranes of the North American margin. We studied the aureole mineral assemblages of these plutons near Petersburg, Alaska, determined pressure and temperature of equilibration, and examined structures that developed within and adjacent to these plutons. Parallelism of magmatic and submagmatic fabrics with fabrics in the country rock indicates synchroneity of pluton emplacement with regional deformation and suggests that magma transport to higher crustal levels was assisted by regional deformation. Replacement of andalusite by kyanite or sillimanite indicates crustal thickening soon after pluton emplacement. Regional structural analysis indicates the crustal thickening was accomplished by thrust burial. Thermobarometric analyses indicate the aureoles reached near-peak temperatures of 525 to 635 ??C at pressures of 570 to 630 MPa. Consideration of the rate of thermal decay of the aureoles suggests that burial was rapid and occurred at rates around 5 to 8 mm/year. Structural observations indicate there was contractional deformation before, during, and after emplacement of the 90-Ma plutons. Initial exhumation of the Admiralty-Revillagedo belt in the Petersburg area may have occurred along a thrust west of the pluton belt within the Gravina belt. ?? 2004 NRC Canada.

An evaluation of temporal changes in sediment accumulation and impacts on carbon burial in Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Christopher G.; Osterman, Lisa E.

2014-01-01

The estuarine environment can serve as either a source or sink of carbon relative to the coastal ocean carbon budget. A variety of time-dependent processes such as sedimentation, carbon supply, and productivity dictate how estuarine systems operate, and Mobile Bay is a system that has experienced both natural and anthropogenic perturbations that influenced depositional processes and carbon cycling. Sediments from eight box cores provide a record of change in bulk sediment accumulation and carbon burial over the past 110 years. Accumulation rates in the central part of the basin (0.09 g cm−2) were 60–80 % less than those observed at the head (0.361 g cm−2) and mouth (0.564 g cm−2) of the bay. Sediment accumulation in the central bay decreased during the past 90 years in response to both anthropogenic (causeway construction) and natural (tropical cyclones) perturbations. Sediment accumulation inevitably increased the residence time of organic carbon in the oxic zone, as observed in modeled remineralization rates, and reduced the overall carbon burial. Such observations highlight the critical balance among sediment accumulation, carbon remineralization, and carbon burial in dynamic coastal environments. Time-series analysis based solely on short-term observation would not capture the long-term effects of changes in sedimentation on carbon cycling. Identifying these relationships over longer timescales (multi-annual to decadal) will provide a far better evaluation of coastal ocean carbon budgets.

Special Analysis of Transuranic Waste in Trench T04C at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, Revision 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greg Shott, Vefa Yucel, Lloyd Desotell

2008-05-01

This Special Analysis (SA) was prepared to assess the potential impact of inadvertent disposal of a limited quantity of transuranic (TRU) waste in classified Trench 4 (T04C) within the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The Area 5 RWMS is a low-level radioactive waste disposal site in northern Frenchman Flat on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The Area 5 RWMS is regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under DOE Order 435.1 and DOE Manual (DOE M) 435.1-1. The primary objective of the SA is to evaluate if inadvertent disposal of limitedmore » quantities of TRU waste in a shallow land burial trench at the Area 5 RWMS is in compliance with the existing, approved Disposal Authorization Statement (DAS) issued under DOE M 435.1-1. In addition, supplemental analyses are performed to determine if there is reasonable assurance that the requirements of Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 191, Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level, and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes, can be met. The 40 CFR 191 analyses provide supplemental information regarding the risk to human health and the environment of leaving the TRU waste in T04C. In 1989, waste management personnel reviewing classified materials records discovered that classified materials buried in trench T04C at the Area 5 RWMS contained TRU waste. Subsequent investigations determined that a total of 102 55-gallon drums of TRU waste from Rocky Flats were buried in trench T04C in 1986. The disposal was inadvertent because unclassified records accompanying the shipment indicated that the waste was low-level. The exact location of the TRU waste in T04C was not recorded and is currently unknown. Under DOE M 435.1-1, Chapter IV, Section P.5, low-level waste disposal facilities must obtain a DAS. The DAS specifies conditions that must be met to operate within the radioactive waste management basis

Continuous Monitoring of Mobility, Burial and Re exposure of Underwater Munitions in Energetic Near Shore Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

parameters on Wasque Shoals ..................................................... 22 Figure 19. Rotary sonar imagery showing migrating mega- ripples and the...shown by the green and yellow lines reveals the convergence and divergence of the migrating mega- ripples ...26 Figure 24. Succesive rotary sonar images showing transient burial and reexposure of a surrogate UXO by migrating mega- ripples

Geophysical Survey of an Abandoned Cemetery in Prairie View, Texas: Unmarked Burials from Slave Era Discovered on College Campus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henning, A. T.; Sawyer, D. S.; Wallace, D.; Kahera, A.

2009-12-01

Wyatt Chapel Cemetery is an abandoned cemetery located in Prairie View, Texas. Oral histories from local residents suggest that the cemetery originated as a slave burial ground in the mid-nineteenth century. The local community is interested in examining the cemetery in order to document the history of the area. Over the past three years, we have acquired total station, global positioning system (GPS) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data at the cemetery. We utilized a GSSI cart-mounted 400 MHz radar system to image the subsurface. The soil at the field site is ideally suited for radar work and the subsurface image quality is excellent. The dielectric constant was determined to be 17 based upon the depth to a known target. Records were 80 ns in length, which corresponds to a depth of about 105 inches (8.75 feet). Data were processed to time zero and stacked. The stratigraphy consists of 3-6 feet of sand overlying a hard clay, and the boundary produces a very bright reflector. This stratigraphy is interpreted as fluvial Pleistocene sands overlying Tertiary clay. Samples were taken at multiple depths down to this boundary and radiocarbon dates are pending. Numerous anomalies were identified that are consistent with unmarked burials. Two of these anomalies were excavated and confirmed as burials. In the main clearing of the cemetery site, the sand-clay boundary deepens abruptly from 3 feet to approximately 5 feet. This anomaly was initially considered a possible man-made excavation, perhaps a mass burial site. While the stratigraphy does contain abrupt terminations, most depth changes occur gradually, suggesting formation by natural processes. Aerial photographs from 1930 indicate three adjacent creek paths west of the site, originally thought to be abandoned meanders. However, GPS data indicate the outer meander is the active creek bed, suggesting that the other paths were created during isolated flood events. Severe flood events could have caused significant

Melter feed viscosity during conversion to glass: Comparison between low-activity waste and high-level waste feeds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jin, Tongan; Chun, Jaehun; Dixon, Derek R.

During nuclear waste vitrification, a melter feed (generally a slurry-like mixture of a nuclear waste and various glass forming and modifying additives) is charged into the melter where undissolved refractory constituents are suspended together with evolved gas bubbles from complex reactions. Knowledge of flow properties of various reacting melter feeds is necessary to understand their unique feed-to-glass conversion processes occurring within a floating layer of melter feed called a cold cap. The viscosity of two low-activity waste (LAW) melter feeds were studied during heating and correlated with volume fractions of undissolved solid phase and gas phase. In contrast to themore » high-level waste (HLW) melter feed, the effects of undissolved solid and gas phases play comparable roles and are required to represent the viscosity of LAW melter feeds. This study can help bring physical insights to feed viscosity of reacting melter feeds with different compositions and foaming behavior in nuclear waste vitrification.« less

High pCO2-induced exopolysaccharide-rich ballasted aggregates of planktonic cyanobacteria could explain Paleoproterozoic carbon burial.

PubMed

Kamennaya, Nina A; Zemla, Marcin; Mahoney, Laura; Chen, Liang; Holman, Elizabeth; Holman, Hoi-Ying; Auer, Manfred; Ajo-Franklin, Caroline M; Jansson, Christer

2018-05-29

The contribution of planktonic cyanobacteria to burial of organic carbon in deep-sea sediments before the emergence of eukaryotic predators ~1.5 Ga has been considered negligible owing to the slow sinking speed of their small cells. However, global, highly positive excursion in carbon isotope values of inorganic carbonates ~2.22-2.06 Ga implies massive organic matter burial that had to be linked to oceanic cyanobacteria. Here to elucidate that link, we experiment with unicellular planktonic cyanobacteria acclimated to high partial CO 2 pressure (pCO 2 ) representative of the early Paleoproterozoic. We find that high pCO 2 boosts generation of acidic extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) that adsorb Ca and Mg cations, support mineralization, and aggregate cells to form ballasted particles. The down flux of such self-assembled cyanobacterial aggregates would decouple the oxygenic photosynthesis from oxidative respiration at the ocean scale, drive export of organic matter from surface to deep ocean and sustain oxygenation of the planetary surface.

Development and Application of a Paleomagnetic/Geochemical Method for Constraining the Timing of Burial Diagenetic and Fluid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elmore, Richard D.; Engel, Michael H.

2005-03-10

Studies of diagenesis caused by fluid migration or other events are commonly hindered by a lack of temporal control. Our results to date demonstrate that a paleomagnetic/geochemical approach can be used to date fluid migration as well as burial diagenetic events. Our principal working hypothesis is that burial diagenetic processes (e.g., maturation of organic-rich sediments and clay diagenesis) and the migration of fluids can trigger the authigenesis of magnetic mineral phases. The ages of these events can be constrained by comparing chemical remanent magnetizations (CRMs) to independently established Apparent Polar Wander Paths. While geochemical (e.g. stable isotope and organic analyses)more » and petrographic studies provide important clues for establishing these relationships, the ultimate test of this hypothesis requires the application of independent dating methods to verify the paleomagnetic ages. Towards this end, we have used K-Ar dating of illitization as an alternative method for constraining the ages of magnetic mineral phases in our field areas.« less

High pCO 2-induced exopolysaccharide-rich ballasted aggregates of planktonic cyanobacteria could explain Paleoproterozoic carbon burial

DOE PAGES

Kamennaya, Nina A.; Zemla, Marcin; Mahoney, Laura; ...

2018-05-29

Here, the contribution of planktonic cyanobacteria to burial of organic carbon in deep-sea sediments before the emergence of eukaryotic predators ~1.5 Ga has been considered negligible owing to the slow sinking speed of their small cells. However, global, highly positive excursion in carbon isotope values of inorganic carbonates ~2.22–2.06 Ga implies massive organic matter burial that had to be linked to oceanic cyanobacteria. Here to elucidate that link, we experiment with unicellular planktonic cyanobacteria acclimated to high partial CO 2 pressure ( pCO 2) representative of the early Paleoproterozoic. We find that high pCO 2 boosts generation of acidic extracellularmore » polysaccharides (EPS) that adsorb Ca and Mg cations, support mineralization, and aggregate cells to form ballasted particles. The down flux of such self-assembled cyanobacterial aggregates would decouple the oxygenic photosynthesis from oxidative respiration at the ocean scale, drive export of organic matter from surface to deep ocean and sustain oxygenation of the planetary surface.« less

High pCO 2-induced exopolysaccharide-rich ballasted aggregates of planktonic cyanobacteria could explain Paleoproterozoic carbon burial

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kamennaya, Nina A.; Zemla, Marcin; Mahoney, Laura

Here, the contribution of planktonic cyanobacteria to burial of organic carbon in deep-sea sediments before the emergence of eukaryotic predators ~1.5 Ga has been considered negligible owing to the slow sinking speed of their small cells. However, global, highly positive excursion in carbon isotope values of inorganic carbonates ~2.22–2.06 Ga implies massive organic matter burial that had to be linked to oceanic cyanobacteria. Here to elucidate that link, we experiment with unicellular planktonic cyanobacteria acclimated to high partial CO 2 pressure ( pCO 2) representative of the early Paleoproterozoic. We find that high pCO 2 boosts generation of acidic extracellularmore » polysaccharides (EPS) that adsorb Ca and Mg cations, support mineralization, and aggregate cells to form ballasted particles. The down flux of such self-assembled cyanobacterial aggregates would decouple the oxygenic photosynthesis from oxidative respiration at the ocean scale, drive export of organic matter from surface to deep ocean and sustain oxygenation of the planetary surface.« less

A 37,000-year environmental magnetic record of aeolian dust deposition from Burial Lake, Arctic Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorfman, J. M.; Stoner, J. S.; Finkenbinder, M. S.; Abbott, M. B.; Xuan, C.; St-Onge, G.

2015-11-01

Environmental magnetism and radiocarbon dating of Burial Lake sediments constrain the timing and magnitude of regional aeolian deposition for the Noatak region of western Arctic Alaska for the last ∼37,000 years. Burial Lake (68.43°N, 159.17°W, 21.5 m water depth) is optimally located to monitor regional dust deposition because it is perched above local drainage and isolated from glacial processes. Cores collected in the summer of 2010 were studied through the application of magnetizations and progressive alternating field (AF) demagnetization of u-channel samples, with additional data provided by computed tomography (CT) derived density, hysteresis measurements, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition experiments, organic carbon content, biogenic silica, physical grain size, radiocarbon dating of wood, seeds, and plant macrofossils, point source magnetic susceptibility, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). With similar magnetic properties to regional Alaskan loess deposits, low coercivity, highly magnetic material deposited during the late-Pleistocene contrasts with a high coercivity, weakly magnetic component found throughout the record, consistent with locally-derived detritus. The relative proportion of low coercivity to high coercivity magnetic material, defined by the S-Ratios, is used to reconstruct the regional input of dust to the basin over time. A four-fold decrease in the low coercivity component through the deglacial transition is interpreted to reflect diminished dust input to the region. Comparisons with potential sources of dust show that the timing of deposition in Burial Lake is largely consistent with general aridity, lack of vegetative cover, and increased windiness, rather than glacial advances or retreats. The influence from subaerial exposure of continental shelves cannot be ruled out as a significant far-field source of dust to interior Alaska during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), but is unlikely to have been the sole source, or to

38 CFR 1.10 - Eligibility for and disposition of the United States flag for burial purposes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... request to a close friend or associate of the deceased veteran. Such action will constitute final and... phrase close friend or associate for the purpose of disposing of the burial flag means any person who... establishes by evidence that he or she was a close friend or associate of the veteran may be furnished the...

Waste isolation and contaminant migration - Tools and techniques for monitoring the saturated zone-unsaturated zone-plant-atmosphere continuum

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andraski, Brian J.; Stonestrom, David A.; Nicholson, T.J.; Arlt, H.D.

2011-01-01

In 1976 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of unsaturated zone hydrology next to the Nation’s first commercial disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) near Beatty, NV. Recognizing the need for long-term data collection, the USGS in 1983 established research management areas in the vicinity of the waste-burial facility through agreements with the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Nevada. Within this framework, the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS; http://nevada.usgs.gov/adrs/) is serving as a field laboratory for the sustained study of water-, gas-, and contaminant-transport processes, and the development of models and methods to characterize flow and transport. The research is built on multiple lines of data that include: micrometeorology; evapotranspiration; plant metrics; soil and sediment properties; unsaturated-zone moisture, temperature, and gas composition; geology and geophysics; and groundwater. Contaminant data include tritium, radiocarbon, volatile-organic compounds (VOCs), and elemental mercury. Presented here is a summary of monitoring tools and techniques that are being applied in studies of waste isolation and contaminant migration.

Impact of Cultivation and Subsequent Burial on Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

PubMed

Baughman, William B; Nelson, Peter N; Grieshop, Matthew J

2015-06-01

We assessed the efficacy of cultivation as a potential management strategy for codling moth, Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in apple orchards. Cocooned codling moth pupae and thinning apples infested with plum curculio larvae were cultivated over in the field. Emergence, percent burial, damage to buried fruit, and depth of burial was recorded. In the laboratory, both insects were buried at variable depths in sand and potting soil and emergence was measured. A greater proportion of plum curculio larvae buried in infested fruit under laboratory conditions survived to adulthood compared with unburied infested fruit, down to 15 cm. No codling moth adults emerged from under 1 cm or more of sand. Buried codling moth larvae experienced drastically reduced survival to adulthood compared with unburied larvae. These results indicate that strip cultivation may negatively impact codling moth diapausing larvae and pupae on the ground, but not likely to negatively impact plum curculio in infested dropped apples. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Determination of post-burial interval using entomology: A review.

PubMed

Singh, Rajinder; Sharma, Sahil; Sharma, Arun

2016-08-01

Insects and other arthropods are used in different matters pertinent to the criminal justice system as they play very important role in the decomposition of cadavers. They are used as evidence in a criminal investigation to determine post mortem interval (PMI). Various researches and review articles are available on forensic entomology to determine PMI in the terrestrial environment but very less work has been reported in context to buried bodies. Burring the carcass, is one of the methods used by criminals to conceal the crime. So, to drive the attention of researchers toward this growing field and to help various investigating agencies, the present paper reviews the studies done on determination of post-burial interval (PBI), its importance and future prospective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Morphogenetic evolution of the Têt river valley (eastern Pyrenees) using 10Be/21Ne cosmogenic burial dating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sartégou, Amandine; Blard, Pierre-Henri; Braucher, Régis; Bourlès, Didier L.; Calvet, Marc; Zimmermann, Laurent; Tibari, Bouchaïb; Hez, Gabriel; Gunnell, Yanni; Aumaitre, Georges; Keddadouche, Karim

2016-04-01

The rates and chronologies of valley incision are closely modulated by the tectonic uplift of active mountain ranges and were controlled by repeated climate changes during the Quaternary. The continental collision between the Iberian and Eurasian plates induced a double vergence orogen, the Pyrenees, which has been considered as a mature mountain range in spite of significant seismicity (e.g. Chevrot et al., 2011) and evidence of neotectonics (e.g. Goula et al., 1999). Nevertheless, recent studies indicate that the range may have never reached a steady state (Ford et al., in press). One option for resolving this controversy is to quantify the incision rates since the Miocene by reconstructing the vertical movement of geometric markers such as fluvial terraces. However, the few available ages from the Pyrenean terrace systems do not exceed the middle Pleistocene. Thus, to enlarge the time span of this dataset, we studied alluvium-filled horizontal epiphreatic passages in limestone karstic networks. Such landforms are used as substitutes of fluvial terraces because they represent former valley floors (e.g. Palmer, 2007; Audra et al., 2013). They record the transient position of former local base levels during the process of valley deepening. The Têt river valley (southern Pyrenees) was studied near the Villefranche-de-Conflent limestone gorge where 8 cave levels have been recognized over a vertical height of 600 meters. Given that 26Al/10Be cosmogenic burial dating in this setting was limited to the last ~5 Ma (Calvet et al., 2015), here we used the cosmogenic 10Be/21Ne method in order to restore a more complete chronology of valley incision (e.g. Balco & Shuster, 2009; McPhilipps et al., 2016). Burial age results for alluvial deposits from 12 caves document incision rates since the Langhian (~14 Ma). Preliminary results indicate a history of valley deepening in successive stages. The data show a regular incision rate of 70-80 mm/a from the Langhian to the Messinian

Earliest floral grave lining from 13,700-11,700-y-old Natufian burials at Raqefet Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel.

PubMed

Nadel, Dani; Danin, Avinoam; Power, Robert C; Rosen, Arlene M; Bocquentin, Fanny; Tsatskin, Alexander; Rosenberg, Danny; Yeshurun, Reuven; Weissbrod, Lior; Rebollo, Noemi R; Barzilai, Omry; Boaretto, Elisabetta

2013-07-16

Flowering plants possess mechanisms that stimulate positive emotional and social responses in humans. It is difficult to establish when people started to use flowers in public and ceremonial events because of the scarcity of relevant evidence in the archaeological record. We report on uniquely preserved 13,700-11,700-y-old grave linings made of flowers, suggesting that such use began much earlier than previously thought. The only potentially older instance is the questionable use of flowers in the Shanidar IV Neanderthal grave. The earliest cemeteries (ca. 15,000-11,500 y ago) in the Levant are known from Natufian sites in northern Israel, where dozens of burials reflect a wide range of inhumation practices. The newly discovered flower linings were found in four Natufian graves at the burial site of Raqefet Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel. Large identified plant impressions in the graves include stems of sage and other Lamiaceae (Labiatae; mint family) or Scrophulariaceae (figwort family) species; accompanied by a plethora of phytoliths, they provide the earliest direct evidence now known for such preparation and decoration of graves. Some of the plant species attest to spring burials with a strong emphasis on colorful and aromatic flowers. Cave floor chiseling to accommodate the desired grave location and depth is also evident at the site. Thus, grave preparation was a sophisticated planned process, embedded with social and spiritual meanings reflecting a complex preagricultural society undergoing profound changes at the end of the Pleistocene.

How is a stream impacted by burial? Examining the spatial variation within urban buried streams in Cincinnati, OH

EPA Science Inventory

While the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems have been well-documented, little is known regarding the impact of burying streams within culverts. Our project aims to explore the ecological impacts of stream burial at a fine spatial scale. Two culverted urban streams in C...

Geohydrologic aspects for siting and design of low-level radioactive-waste disposal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bedinger, M.S.

1989-01-01

The objective for siting and design of low-level radioactive-waste repository sites is to isolate the waste from the biosphere until the waste no longer poses an unacceptable hazard as a result of radioactive decay. Low-level radioactive waste commonly is isolated at shallow depths with various engineered features to stabilize the waste and to reduce its dissolution and transport by ground water. The unsaturated zone generally is preferred for isolating the waste. Low-level radioactive waste may need to be isolated for 300 to 500 years. Maintenance and monitoring of the repository site are required by Federal regulations for only the first 100 years. Therefore, geohydrology of the repository site needs to provide natural isolation of the waste for the hazardous period following maintenance of the site. Engineering design of the repository needs to be compatible with the natural geohydrologic conditions at the site. Studies at existing commercial and Federal waste-disposal sites provide information on the problems encountered and the basis for establishing siting guidelines for improved isolation of radioactive waste, engineering design of repository structures, and surveillance needs to assess the effectiveness of the repositories and to provide early warning of problems that may require remedial action.Climate directly affects the hydrology of a site and probably is the most important single factor that affects the suitability of a site for shallow-land burial of low-level radioactive waste. Humid and subhumid regions are not well suited for shallow isolation of low-level radioactive waste in the unsaturated zone; arid regions with zero to small infiltration from precipitation, great depths to the water table, and long flow paths to natural discharge areas are naturally well suited to isolation of the waste. The unsaturated zone is preferred for isolation of low-level radioactive waste. The guiding rationale is to minimize contact of water with the waste and to

Radionuclides in shallow groundwater at Solid Waste Storage Area 5 North, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashwood, T.L.; Marsh, J.D. Jr.

1994-04-01

This report presents a compilation of groundwater monitoring data from Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 5 North at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) between November 1989 and September 1993. Monitoring data were collected as part of the Active Sites Environmental Monitoring Program that was implemented in 1989 in response to DOE Order 5820.2A. SWSA 5 North was established for the retrievable storage of transuranic (TRU) wastes in 1970. Four types of storage have been used within SWSA 5 North: bunkers, vaults, wells, and trenches. The fenced portion of SWSA 5 North covers about 3.7 ha (9 acres) in the Whitemore » Oak Creek watershed south of ORNL. The area is bounded by White Oak Creek and two ephemeral tributaries of White Oak Creek. Since 1989, groundwater has been monitored in wells around SWSA 5 North. During that time, elevated gross alpha contamination (reaching as high as 210 Bq/L) has consistently been detected in well 516. This well is adjacent to burial trenches in the southwest corner of the area. Water level measurements in wells 516 and 518 suggest that water periodically inundates the bottom of some of those trenches. Virtually all of the gross alpha contamination is generated by Curium 244 and Americium 241. A special geochemical investigation of well 516 suggests that nearly all of the Curium 44 and Americium 241 is dissolved or associated with dissolved organic matter. These are being transported at the rate of about 2 m/year from the burial trenches, through well 516, to White Oak Creek, where Curium 244 has been detected in a few bank seeps. Concentrations at these seeps are near detection levels (<1 Bq/L).« less

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NSTec Environmental Management

2013-01-31

The purpose of this Special Analysis (SA) is to determine if the Oak Ridge (OR) Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project (CEUSP) uranium-233 (233U) waste stream (DRTK000000050, Revision 0) is acceptable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The CEUSP 233U waste stream requires a special analysis because the concentrations of thorium-229 (229Th), 230Th, 232U, 233U, and 234U exceeded their NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria action levels. The acceptability of the waste stream is evaluated by determining if performance assessment (PA) modeling provides a reasonable expectation that SLBmore » disposal is protective of human health and the environment. The CEUSP 233U waste stream is a long-lived waste with unique radiological hazards. The SA evaluates the long-term acceptability of the CEUSP 233U waste stream for near-surface disposal as a two tier process. The first tier, which is the usual SA process, uses the approved probabilistic PA model to determine if there is a reasonable expectation that disposal of the CEUSP 233U waste stream can meet the performance objectives of U.S. Department of Energy Manual DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management,” for a period of 1,000 years (y) after closure. The second tier addresses the acceptability of the OR CEUSP 233U waste stream for near-surface disposal by evaluating long-term site stability and security, by performing extended (i.e., 10,000 and 60,000 y) modeling analyses, and by evaluating the effect of containers and the depth of burial on performance. Tier I results indicate that there is a reasonable expectation of compliance with all performance objectives if the OR CEUSP 233U waste stream is disposed in the Area 5 RWMS SLB disposal units. The maximum mean and 95th percentile PA results are all less than the performance objective for 1,000 y. Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis indicates that there is a high

Pathways for Disposal of Commercially-Generated Tritiated Waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halverson, Nancy V.

transportation, processing and disposal vary based a number of factors. In many cases, wastes with very low radioactivity are priced primarily based on weight or volume. For higher activities, costs are based on both volume and activity, with the activity-based charges usually being much larger than volume-based charges. Other factors affecting cost include location, waste classification and form, other hazards in the waste, etc. Costs may be based on general guidelines used by an individual disposal or processing site, but final costs are established by specific contract with each generator. For this report, seven hypothetical waste streams intended to represent commercially-generated tritiated waste were defined in order to calculate comparative costs. Ballpark costs for disposition of these hypothetical waste streams were calculated. These costs ranged from thousands to millions of dollars. Due to the complexity of the cost-determining factors mentioned above, the costs calculated in this report should be understood to represent very rough cost estimates for the various hypothetical wastes. Actual costs could be higher or could be lower due to quantity discounts or other factors.« less

Monitoring controlled graves representing common burial scenarios with ground penetrating radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, John J.; Martin, Michael M.

2012-08-01

Implementing controlled geophysical research is imperative to understand the variables affecting detection of clandestine graves during real-life forensic searches. This study focused on monitoring two empty control graves (shallow and deep) and six burials containing a small pig carcass (Sus scrofa) representing different burial forensic scenarios: a shallow buried naked carcass, a deep buried naked carcass, a deep buried carcass covered by a layer of rocks, a deep buried carcass covered by a layer of lime, a deep buried carcass wrapped in an impermeable tarpaulin and a deep buried carcass wrapped in a cotton blanket. Multi-frequency, ground penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected monthly over a 12-month monitoring period. The research site was a cleared field within a wooded area in a humid subtropical environment, and the soil consisted of a Spodosol, a common soil type in Florida. This study compared 2D GPR reflection profiles and horizontal time slices obtained with both 250 and 500 MHz dominant frequency antennae to determine the utility of both antennae for grave detection in this environment over time. Overall, a combination of both antennae frequencies provided optimal detection of the targets. Better images were noted for deep graves, compared to shallow graves. The 250 MHz antenna provided better images for detecting deep graves, as less non-target anomalies were produced with lower radar frequencies. The 250 MHz antenna also provided better images detecting the disturbed ground. Conversely, the 500 MHz antenna provided better images when detecting the shallow pig grave. The graves that contained a pig carcass with associated grave items provided the best results, particularly the carcass covered with rocks and the carcass wrapped in a tarpaulin. Finally, during periods of increased soil moisture levels, there was increased detection of graves that was most likely related to conductive decompositional fluid from the carcasses.

Assessment of the risk of introduction of Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in municipal solid waste from the quarantine area of New York City to landfills outside of the quarantine area: a pathway analysis of the risk of spread and establishment.

PubMed

Auclair, Allan N D; Fowler, G; Hennessey, M K; Hogue, A T; Keena, M; Lance, D R; McDowell, R M; Oryang, D O; Sawyer, A J

2005-02-01

The risk associated with spread of Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), from infested areas in New York City to the wide array of landfills across the eastern United States contracted by the city since 1997 was unknown, but of great concern. Landfills, some as far as South Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio, occupied forest types and climates at high risk of Asian longhorned beetle establishment. The city proposed a separate waste wood collection known as the "311 System;" this was estimated to cost federal and state agencies $6.1 to $9.1 million per year, including the cost of processing and disposal of the wood. Pathway analysis was used to quantify the probability that Asian longhorned beetle present in wood waste collected at curbside would survive transport, compaction, and burial to form a mated pair. The study found that in seven alternate management scenarios, risks with most pathways are very low, especially given existing mitigations. Mitigations included chemical control, removal of infested trees, and burial of wood waste in managed landfills that involved multiple-layering, compaction, and capping of dumped waste with a 15-cm soil cover at the end of each day. Although the risk of business-as-usual collection and disposal practices was virtually nil, any changes of policy or practice such as illegal dumping or disposal at a single landfill increased the risk many thousandfold. By rigorously maintaining and monitoring existing mitigations, it was estimated that taxpayers would save $75 to $122 million dollars over the next decade.

Effect of intermediate soil cover on municipal solid waste decomposition.

PubMed

Márquez-Benavides, L; Watson-Craik, I

2003-01-01

A complex series of chemical and microbiological reactions is initiated with the burial of refuse in a sanitary landfill. At the end of each labour day, the municipal solid wastes (MSW) are covered with native soil (or an alternative material). To investigate interaction between the intermediate cover and the MSW, five sets of columns were set up, one packed with refuse only, and four with a soil-refuse mixture (a clay loam, an organic-rich peaty soil, a well limed sandy soil and a chalky soil). The anaerobic degradation over 6 months was followed in terms of leachate volatile fatty acids, chemical oxygen demand, pH and ammoniacal-N performance. Results suggest that the organic-rich peaty soil may accelerate the end of the acidogenic phase. Clay appeared not to have a significant effect on the anaerobic degradation process.

Phanerozoic burial and unroofing history of the western Slave craton and Wopmay orogen from apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ault, Alexis K.; Flowers, Rebecca M.; Bowring, Samuel A.

2009-06-01

Low temperature thermochronometry of cratonic regions can illuminate relationships among burial and unroofing patterns, surface subsidence and uplift, and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions. The Slave craton, initially stabilized by the development of a thick lithospheric mantle root in late Archean time, is an excellent location in which to examine these connections. Although the Slave craton currently lacks Phanerozoic cover, Phanerozoic sedimentary xenoliths entrained in ca. 610 to 45 Ma kimberlites indicate that the region underwent a more dynamic history of burial and unroofing than widely recognized. We report new apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry data along a southeast to northwest transect from the interior of the Slave craton into the adjacent Paleoproterozoic Wopmay orogen to resolve the region's depositional and denudational history. Six samples from the western Slave craton and three samples from Wopmay orogen yield mean dates from 296 ± 41 Ma to 212 ± 39 Ma. Individual apatite dates are broadly uniform over a wide span of apatite [eU], and this pattern can be used to more tightly restrict the spectrum of viable temperature-time paths that can explain the dataset. When coupled with geologic and stratigraphic information, temperature-time simulations of the thermochronometry results suggest complete He loss from the apatites at minimum peak temperatures of ~ 88 °C in Devonian-Pennsylvanian time, cooling to near-surface conditions by the Early Cretaceous, followed by reheating to ≤ 72 °C during Cretaceous-Early Tertiary time. Consideration of modern and ancient geotherm constraints implies ≥ 3.3 km of burial during the first Phanerozoic heating phase, with an ancillary phase of reburial in late Mesozoic-Cenozoic time. The uniformity of the apatite (U-Th)/He dates indicates that the rocks encompassed by our > 250 km-long sample transect experienced similar Phanerozoic thermal histories. Despite the distinctly different lithospheric

A BIM-based system for demolition and renovation waste estimation and planning.

PubMed

Cheng, Jack C P; Ma, Lauren Y H

2013-06-01

Due to the rising worldwide awareness of green environment, both government and contractors have to consider effective construction and demolition (C&D) waste management practices. The last two decades have witnessed the growing importance of demolition and renovation (D&R) works and the growing amount of D&R waste disposed to landfills every day, especially in developed cities like Hong Kong. Quantitative waste prediction is crucial for waste management. It can enable contractors to pinpoint critical waste generation processes and to plan waste control strategies. In addition, waste estimation could also facilitate some government waste management policies, such as the waste disposal charging scheme in Hong Kong. Currently, tools that can accurately and conveniently estimate the amount of waste from construction, renovation, and demolition projects are lacking. In the light of this research gap, this paper presents a building information modeling (BIM) based system that we have developed for estimation and planning of D&R waste. BIM allows multi-disciplinary information to be superimposed within one digital building model. Our system can extract material and volume information through the BIM model and integrate the information for detailed waste estimation and planning. Waste recycling and reuse are also considered in our system. Extracted material information can be provided to recyclers before demolition or renovation to make recycling stage more cooperative and more efficient. Pick-up truck requirements and waste disposal charging fee for different waste facilities will also be predicted through our system. The results could provide alerts to contractors ahead of time at project planning stage. This paper also presents an example scenario with a 47-floor residential building in Hong Kong to demonstrate our D&R waste estimation and planning system. As the BIM technology has been increasingly adopted in the architectural, engineering and construction industry

RADIOACTIVE DEMONSTRATIONS OF FLUIDIZED BED STEAM REFORMING AS A SUPPLEMENTARY TREATMENT FOR HANFORD'S LOW ACTIVITY WASTE AND SECONDARY WASTES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jantzen, C.; Crawford, C.; Cozzi, A.

/sulfides, chlorides, fluorides, volatile radionuclides or other aqueous components. The FBSR technology can process these wastes into a crystalline ceramic (mineral) waste form. The mineral waste form that is produced by co-processing waste with kaolin clay in an FBSR process has been shown to be as durable as LAW glass. Monolithing of the granular FBSR product is being investigated to prevent dispersion during transport or burial/storage but is not necessary for performance. A Benchscale Steam Reformer (BSR) was designed and constructed at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to treat actual radioactive wastes to confirm the findings of the non-radioactive FBSR pilot scale tests and to qualify the waste form for applications at Hanford. Radioactive testing commenced in 2010 with a demonstration of Hanford's WTP-SW where Savannah River Site (SRS) High Level Waste (HLW) secondary waste from the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) was shimmed with a mixture of I-125/129 and Tc-99 to chemically resemble WTP-SW. Ninety six grams of radioactive product were made for testing. The second campaign commenced using SRS LAW chemically trimmed to look like Hanford's LAW. Six hundred grams of radioactive product were made for extensive testing and comparison to the non-radioactive pilot scale tests. The same mineral phases were found in the radioactive and non-radioactive testing.« less

The Influence of Organic Material and Temperature on the Burial Tolerance of the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis: Considerations for the Management of Marine Aggregate Dredging

PubMed Central

Cottrell, Richard S.; Black, Kenny D.; Hutchison, Zoë L.; Last, Kim S.

2016-01-01

Rationale and Experimental Approach Aggregate dredging is a growing source of anthropogenic disturbance in coastal UK waters and has the potential to impact marine systems through the smothering of benthic fauna with organically loaded screening discards. This study investigates the tolerance of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis to such episodic smothering events using a multi-factorial design, including organic matter concentration, temperature, sediment fraction size and duration of burial as important predictor variables. Results and Discussion Mussel mortality was significantly higher in organically loaded burials when compared to control sediments after just 2 days. Particularly, M. edulis specimens under burial in fine sediment with high (1%) concentrations of organic matter experienced a significantly higher mortality rate (p<0.01) than those under coarse control aggregates. Additionally, mussels exposed to the summer maximum temperature treatment (20°C) exhibited significantly increased mortality (p<0.01) compared to those in the ambient treatment group (15°C). Total Oxygen Uptake rates of experimental aggregates were greatest (112.7 mmol m-2 day-1) with 1% organic loadings in coarse sediment at 20°C. Elevated oxygen flux rates in porous coarse sediments are likely to be a function of increased vertical migration of anaerobically liberated sulphides to the sediment-water interface. However, survival of M. edulis under bacterial mats of Beggiatoa spp. indicates the species’ resilience to sulphides and so we propose that the presence of reactive organic matter within the burial medium may facilitate bacterial growth and increase mortality through pathogenic infection. This may be exacerbated under the stable interstitial conditions in fine sediment and increased bacterial metabolism under high temperatures. Furthermore, increased temperature may impose metabolic demands upon the mussel that cannot be met during burial-induced anaerobiosis. Summary Lack of

Shear-enhanced compaction bands formed at shallow burial conditions; implications for fluid flow (Provence, France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballas, Gregory; Soliva, Roger; Sizun, Jean-Pierre; Fossen, Haakon; Benedicto, Antonio; Skurtveit, Elin

2013-02-01

Field observations of highly porous and permeable sandstone in the Orange area (S-E Basin, France) show that networks of shear-enhanced compaction bands can form in a contractional regime at burial depths of about 400 m ± 100 m. These bands show equal compaction and shear displacements, are organized in conjugate and densely distributed networks, and are restricted to the coarse-grained (mean grain diameter of 0.6 ± 0.1 mm) and less porous (porosity of 26 ± 2%) sand layers. The bands are crush microbreccia with limited grain comminution and high grain microfracture density. They show reductions of permeability (mD) ranging from 0 to little more than 1 order of magnitude. They show no control on the alteration products related to meteoric water flow, which suggests that these shear-enhanced compaction bands have no or only negligible influence on subsurface fluid flow. Their selective occurrence and small (20%) reduction in transmissibility in densely populated layers prevented them from compartmentalizing the sandstone reservoirs. A comparison with compaction-band populations in the Navajo and Aztec sandtsones (western U.S.) emphasizes the role of burial depth and the presence of chemical compaction processes for the sealing potential of deformation bands.

Tall guys and fat ladies: Grimaldi's Upper Paleolithic burials and figurines in an historical perspective.

PubMed

Formicola, Vincenzo; Holt, Brigitte

2015-07-20

The importance of the Grimaldi complex of caves and rock shelters is twofold: scientific and historical. Scientifically, it is one of the major Upper Paleolithic sites, considering the variety of mobiliary and parietal art, the number of single and multiple burials and associated grave goods, and the abundant lithic and fauna remains. Historically, the documentation of activity that took place in this site starting from the second half of the 19 th century and the studies carried out on the materials that have been recovered in the decades between 1870s-1910s, provide instructive examples of methods and goals of Paleolithic archeology and anthropology of the epoch. This paper combines the scientific and the historic interest of the site through a chronicle of the events that took place during the period of the most sensational discoveries, i.e. beginning with the identification in 1872 of the first Upper Paleolithic burial and ending with the results of the excavations carried out in 1901 at Grotte des Enfants published in four volumes a few years later. The paper discusses early interpretations and modern views on the different findings and documents changes in perspectives and goals of paleoanthropological research in over a century, raising some of the major issues of contemporary Upper Paleolithic studies.

Difference of brightness temperatures between 19.35 GHz and 37.0 GHz in CHANG'E-1 MRM: implications for the burial of shallow bedrock at lunar low latitude

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Wen; Li, Xiongyao; Wei, Guangfei; Wang, Shijie

2016-03-01

Indications of buried lunar bedrock may help us to understand the tectonic evolution of the Moon and provide some clues for formation of lunar regolith. So far, the information on distribution and burial depth of lunar bedrock is far from sufficient. Due to good penetration ability, microwave radiation can be a potential tool to ameliorate this problem. Here, a novel method to estimate the burial depth of lunar bedrock is presented using microwave data from Chang'E-1 (CE-1) lunar satellite. The method is based on the spatial variation of differences in brightness temperatures between 19.35 GHz and 37.0 GHz (ΔTB). Large differences are found in some regions, such as the southwest edge of Oceanus Procellarum, the area between Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Nectaris, and the highland east of Mare Smythii. Interestingly, a large change of elevation is found in the corresponding region, which might imply a shallow burial depth of lunar bedrock. To verify this deduction, a theoretical model is derived to calculate the ΔTB. Results show that ΔTB varies from 12.7 K to 15 K when the burial depth of bedrock changes from 1 m to 0.5 m in the equatorial region. Based on the available data at low lunar latitude (30°N-30°S), it is thus inferred that the southwest edge of Oceanus Procellarum, the area between Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Nectaris, the highland located east of Mare Smythii, the edge of Pasteur and Chaplygin are the areas with shallow bedrock, the burial depth is estimated between 0.5 m and 1 m.

Monumental megalithic burial and rock art tell a new story about the Levant Intermediate Bronze “Dark Ages”

PubMed Central

Barash, Alon; Eisenberg-Degen, Davida; Grosman, Leore; Oron, Maya; Berger, Uri

2017-01-01

The Intermediate Bronze Age (IB) in the Southern Levant (ca. 2350–2000 BCE) is known as the “Dark Ages,” following the collapse of Early Bronze urban society and predating the establishment of the Middle Bronze cities. The absence of significant settlements and monumental building has led to the reconstruction of IB social organization as that of nomadic, tribal society inhabiting rural villages with no central governmental system. Excavation in the Shamir Dolmen Field (comprising over 400 dolmens) on the western foothills of the Golan Heights was carried out following the discovery of rock art engravings on the ceiling of the central chamber inside one of the largest dolmens ever recorded in the Levant. Excavation of this multi-chambered dolmen, covered by a basalt capstone weighing some 50 tons, revealed a secondary multi-burial (of both adults and children) rarely described in a dolmen context in the Golan. Engraved into the rock ceiling above the multi-burial is a panel of 14 forms composed of a vertical line and downturned arc motif. 3D-scanning by structured-light technology was used to sharpen the forms and revealed the technique employed to create them. Building of the Shamir dolmens required a tremendous amount of labor, architectural mastery, and complex socio-economic organization well beyond the capacity of small, rural nomadic groups. The monumental megalithic burial of the Shamir dolmens indicates a hierarchical, complex, non-urban governmental system. This new evidence supports a growing body of recent criticism stemming from new discoveries and approaches that calls for rethinking our views of the Levantine IB “Dark Ages.” PMID:28253312

Solution speciation of plutonium and Americium at an Australian legacy radioactive waste disposal site.

PubMed

Ikeda-Ohno, Atsushi; Harrison, Jennifer J; Thiruvoth, Sangeeth; Wilsher, Kerry; Wong, Henri K Y; Johansen, Mathew P; Waite, T David; Payne, Timothy E

2014-09-02

During the 1960s, radioactive waste containing small amounts of plutonium (Pu) and americium (Am) was disposed in shallow trenches at the Little Forest Burial Ground (LFBG), located near the southern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Because of periodic saturation and overflowing of the former disposal trenches, Pu and Am have been transferred from the buried wastes into the surrounding surface soils. The presence of readily detected amounts of Pu and Am in the trench waters provides a unique opportunity to study their aqueous speciation under environmentally relevant conditions. This study aims to comprehensively investigate the chemical speciation of Pu and Am in the trench water by combining fluoride coprecipitation, solvent extraction, particle size fractionation, and thermochemical modeling. The predominant oxidation states of dissolved Pu and Am species were found to be Pu(IV) and Am(III), and large proportions of both actinides (Pu, 97.7%; Am, 86.8%) were associated with mobile colloids in the submicron size range. On the basis of this information, possible management options are assessed.

ONDRAF/NIRAS and high-level radioactive waste management in Belgium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Decamps, F.

1993-12-31

The National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials, ONDRAF/NIRAS, is a public body with legal personality in charge of managing all radioactive waste on Belgian territory, regardless of its origin and source. It is also entrusted with tasks related to the management of enriched fissile materials, plutonium containing materials and used or unused nuclear fuel, and with certain aspects of the dismantling of closed down nuclear facilities. High-level radioactive waste management comprises essentially and for the time being the storage of high-level liquid waste produced by the former EUROCHEMIC reprocessing plant and of high-level and very high-level heatmore » producing waste resulting from the reprocessing in France of Belgian spent fuel, as well as research and development (R and D) with regard to geological disposal in clay of this waste type.« less

Development and Application of a Paleomagnetic/Geochemical Method for Constraining the Timing of Burial Diagenetic Events

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elmore, Richard D.; Engel, Michael H.

2006-01-05

Studies of diagenesis caused by fluid migration or other events are commonly hindered by a lack of temporal control. Our results to date demonstrate that a paleomagnetic/geochemical approach can be used to date fluid migration as well as burial diagenetic events. Our principal working hypothesis is that burial diagenetic processes (e.g., maturation of organic-rich sediments and clay diagenesis) and the migration of fluids can trigger the authigenesis of magnetic mineral phases. The ages of these events can be constrained by comparing chemical remanent magnetizations (CRMs) to independently established Apparent Polar Wander Paths. Whilst geochemical (e.g. stable isotope and organic analyses)more » and petrographic studies provide important clues for establishing these relationships, the ultimate test of this hypothesis requires the application of independent dating methods to verify the paleomagnetic ages. Towards this end, we have used K-Ar dating of illitization as an alternative method for constraining the ages of magnetic mineral phases in our field areas. We have made significant progress toward understanding the origin and timing of chemical remagnetization related to burial diagenetic processes. For example, a recently completed field study documents a relationship between remagnetization and the maturation of organic matter (Blumstein et al., 2004). We have tested the hypothesized connection between clay diagenesis and remagnetization by conducting K-Ar dating of authigenic illites in units in Scotland and Montana with CRMs (e.g., Elliott et al., 2006a; Elliott et al., 2006b). We have also developed a fluid related model for alteration and remagnetization of Appalachian red beds that involves reduction and mobilization of iron phases by hydrocarbons and precipitation of authigenic hematite as a result of the introduction of meteoric fluid recharge (Cox et al., 2005). In addition, our recent studies of fluid-related CRMs along faults in Scotland provide

Identification, Geochemical Characterisation and Significance of Bitumen among the Grave Goods of the 7th Century Mound 1 Ship-Burial at Sutton Hoo (Suffolk, UK).

PubMed

Burger, Pauline; Stacey, Rebecca J; Bowden, Stephen A; Hacke, Marei; Parnell, John

2016-01-01

The 7th century ship-burial at Sutton Hoo is famous for the spectacular treasure discovered when it was first excavated in 1939. The finds include gold and garnet jewellery, silverware, coins and ceremonial armour of broad geographical provenance which make a vital contribution to understanding the political landscape of early medieval Northern Europe. Fragments of black organic material found scattered within the burial were originally identified as 'Stockholm Tar' and linked to waterproofing and maintenance of the ship. Here we present new scientific analyses undertaken to re-evaluate the nature and origin of these materials, leading to the identification of a previously unrecognised prestige material among the treasure: bitumen from the Middle East. Whether the bitumen was gifted as diplomatic gesture or acquired through trading links, its presence in the burial attests to the far-reaching network within which the elite of the region operated at this time. If the bitumen was worked into objects, either alone or in composite with other materials, then their significance within the burial would certainly have been strongly linked to their form or purpose. But the novelty of the material itself may have added to the exotic appeal. Archaeological finds of bitumen from this and earlier periods in Britain are extremely rare, despite the abundance of natural sources of bitumen within Great Britain. This find provides the first material evidence indicating that the extensively exploited Middle Eastern bitumen sources were traded northward beyond the Mediterranean to reach northern Europe and the British Isles.

Identification, Geochemical Characterisation and Significance of Bitumen among the Grave Goods of the 7th Century Mound 1 Ship-Burial at Sutton Hoo (Suffolk, UK)

PubMed Central

Bowden, Stephen A.; Hacke, Marei; Parnell, John

2016-01-01

The 7th century ship-burial at Sutton Hoo is famous for the spectacular treasure discovered when it was first excavated in 1939. The finds include gold and garnet jewellery, silverware, coins and ceremonial armour of broad geographical provenance which make a vital contribution to understanding the political landscape of early medieval Northern Europe. Fragments of black organic material found scattered within the burial were originally identified as ‘Stockholm Tar’ and linked to waterproofing and maintenance of the ship. Here we present new scientific analyses undertaken to re-evaluate the nature and origin of these materials, leading to the identification of a previously unrecognised prestige material among the treasure: bitumen from the Middle East. Whether the bitumen was gifted as diplomatic gesture or acquired through trading links, its presence in the burial attests to the far-reaching network within which the elite of the region operated at this time. If the bitumen was worked into objects, either alone or in composite with other materials, then their significance within the burial would certainly have been strongly linked to their form or purpose. But the novelty of the material itself may have added to the exotic appeal. Archaeological finds of bitumen from this and earlier periods in Britain are extremely rare, despite the abundance of natural sources of bitumen within Great Britain. This find provides the first material evidence indicating that the extensively exploited Middle Eastern bitumen sources were traded northward beyond the Mediterranean to reach northern Europe and the British Isles. PMID:27906999

Effectiveness of unit-based pricing of waste in the Netherlands: applying a general equilibrium model.

PubMed

van Beukering, Pieter J H; Bartelings, Heleen; Linderhof, Vincent G M; Oosterhuis, Frans H

2009-11-01

Differential and variable rates (DVR) in waste collection charging give a price incentive to households to reduce their waste and increase recycling. International empirical evidence confirms the effectiveness of DVR schemes, with limited unwanted side effects. In the Netherlands, currently some 20% of the population is charged at DVR. This is less than in several other countries. Taking into account differences between types of households and dwellings, this study analyses various scenarios for extended use of DVR in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that further penetration of DVR is a cost-effective instrument for waste reduction and more recycling. Moreover, DVR can itself be seen as a necessary condition for the successful implementation of other economic instruments, such as waste taxes. It is therefore recommended to stimulate municipalities to adopt DVR schemes in the Netherlands, accompanied by the provision of adequate facilities for waste separation by households. Before introducing DVR in 'very strongly urbanized' municipalities (i.e. the 12 largest cities in the Netherlands) a pilot experiment in one of them might be useful to test the behavioral response in this category.

Discussion of Carbon Emissions for Charging Hot Metal in EAF Steelmaking Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ling-zhi; Jiang, Tao; Li, Guang-hui; Guo, Yu-feng

2017-07-01

As the cost of hot metal is reduced for iron ore prices are falling in the international market, more and more electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking enterprises use partial hot metal instead of scrap as raw materials to reduce costs and the power consumption. In this paper, carbon emissions based on 1,000 kg molten steel by charging hot metal in EAF steelmaking is studied. Based on the analysis of material and energy balance calculation in EAF, the results show that 146.9, 142.2, 137.0, and 130.8 kg/t of carbon emissions are produced at a hot metal ratio of 0 %, 30 %, 50 %, and 70 %, while 143.4, 98.5, 65.81, and 31.5 kg/t of carbon emissions are produced at a hot metal ratio of 0 %, 30 %, 50 %, and 70 % by using gas waste heat utilization (coal gas production) for EAF steelmaking unit process. However, carbon emissions are increased by charging hot metal for the whole blast furnace-electric arc furnace (BF-EAF) steelmaking process. In the condition that the hot metal produced by BF is surplus, as carbon monoxide in gas increased by charging hot metal, the way of coal gas production can be used for waste heat utilization, which reduces carbon emissions in EAF steelmaking unit process.

Burial of downed deadwood is strongly affected by log attributes, forest ground vegetation, edaphic conditions, and climate zones

Treesearch

Jogeir N. Stokland; Christopher W. Woodall; Jonas Fridman; Göran Ståhl

2016-01-01

Deadwood can represent a substantial portion of forest ecosystem carbon stocks and is often reported following good practice guidance associated with national greenhouse gas inventories. In high-latitude forest ecosystems, a substantial proportion of downed deadwood is overgrown by ground vegetation and buried in the humus layer. Such burial obfuscates the important...

76 FR 31683 - Proposed Information Collection (NCA PreNeed Burial Evaluation) Activity: Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-01

...The National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed new collection and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on information needed to determine a claimant's eligibility for burial at a National Cemetery.

Water-vapor movement through unsaturated alluvium in Amargosa Desert near Beatty, Nevada - Current understanding and continuing studies: A section in Joint US Geological Survey, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission workshop on research related to low-level radioactive waste disposal, May 4-6, 1993, National Center, Reston, Virginia; Proceedings (WRI 95-4015)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Stevens, Peter R.; Nicholson, Thomas J.

1996-01-01

Disposal of low-level radioactive wastes has been a concern since the 1950's. These wastes commonly are buried in shallow trenches (Fischer, 1986, p. 2). Water infiltrating into the trenches is considered the principal process by which contaminants are transported away from the buried wastes, although gaseous transport in some areas may be important. Arid regions in the western United States have been suggested as places that could provide safe containment of the wastes, because little or no water would infiltrate into the trenches (Richardson, 1962), and because thick unsaturated zones would slow contaminant movement. Although burial in arid regions may greatly reduce the amount of water coming in contact with the waste and consequently may provide longterm containment, insufficient data are available on the effectiveness of burial in such regions. Of particular interest is the potential for contaminant movement, either as liquid or vapor, through unsaturated sediments to land surface or to underlying ground water.Since 1962, low-level radioactive wastes have been buried at a disposal facility in the Amargosa Desert, about 17 km south of Beatty, Nevada (fig. 50). This facility is in one of the most arid regions of the United States. Annual precipitation at the disposal facility averaged 82 mm for 1985-92; the minimum was 14 mm, recorded for 1989 (Wood and Andraski, 1992, p. 12).Investigations to determine the hydrogeology, water movement, and potential for contaminant movement at the facility began in 1976. Results from an initial study indicated that a potential exists for deep percolation of infiltrated water at the burial site (Nichols, 1987), assuming that the only water loss is by evaporation because the trenches are kept clear of vegetation. Results from a subsequent study of water movement beneath an undisturbed, vegetated site indicate that percolation of infiltrated water may be limited to the uppermost 9 m of sediments, on the basis of water potentials

75 FR 72845 - Notice of Availability; NUREG-1307, Revision 14, “Report on Waste Burial Charges Changes in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-26

... problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR Reference Staff at 1-800-397-4209... annually adjust the estimate of the cost of decommissioning their plants, in dollars of the current year.... The sources of information used in the formula are identified, and the values developed for the...

Evapotranspiration Cover for the 92-Acre Area Retired Mixed Waste Pits:Interim CQA Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

The Delphi Groupe, Inc., and J. A. Cesare and Associates, Inc.

This Interim Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) Report is for the 92-Acre Evapotranspiration Cover, Area 5 Waste Management Division (WMD) Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada for the period of January 20, 2011 to May 12, 2011. This Interim Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) Report is for the 92-Acre Evapotranspiration Cover, Area 5 Waste Management Division (WMD) Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada for the period of January 20, 2011 to May 12, 2011. Construction was approved by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) under the Approval of Corrective Action Decision Document/Corrective Action Plan (CADD/CAP)more » for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 111: Area 5 WMD Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, on January 6, 2011, pursuant to Subpart XII.8a of the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. The project is located in Area 5 of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), formerly known as the Nevada Test Site, located in southern Nevada, approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, in Nye County. The project site, in Area 5, is located in a topographically closed basin approximately 14 additional miles north of Mercury Nevada, in the north-central part of Frenchman Flat. The Area 5 RWMS uses engineered shallow-land burial cells to dispose of packaged waste. The 92-Acre Area encompasses the southern portion of the Area 5 RWMS, which has been designated for the first final closure operations. This area contains 13 Greater Confinement Disposal (GCD) boreholes, 16 narrow trenches, and 9 broader pits. With the exception of two active pits (P03 and P06), all trenches and pits in the 92-Acre Area had operational covers approximately 2.4 meters thick, at a minimum, in most areas when this project began. The units within the 92-Acre Area are grouped into the following six informal categories based on physical

Vegetative soil covers for hazardous waste landfills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peace, Jerry L.

Shallow land burial has been the preferred method for disposing of municipal and hazardous wastes in the United States because it is the simplest, cheapest, and most cost-effective method of disposal. Arid and semiarid regions of the western United States have received considerable attention over the past two decades in reference to hazardous, radioactive, and mixed waste disposal. Disposal is based upon the premise that low mean annual precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and low or negligible recharge, favor waste isolation from the environment for long periods of time. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that containment of municipal and hazardous wastes in arid and semiarid environments can be accomplished effectively without traditional, synthetic materials and complex, multi-layer systems. This research demonstrates that closure covers utilizing natural soils and native vegetation i.e., vegetative soil covers, will meet the technical equivalency criteria prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for hazardous waste landfills. Vegetative soil cover design combines layers of natural soil, native plant species, and climatic conditions to form a sustainable, functioning ecosystem that maintains the natural water balance. In this study, percolation through a natural analogue and an engineered cover is simulated using the one-dimensional, numerical code UNSAT-H. UNSAT-H is a Richards' equation-based model that simulates soil water infiltration, unsaturated flow, redistribution, evaporation, plant transpiration, and deep percolation. This study incorporates conservative, site-specific soil hydraulic and vegetation parameters. Historical meteorological data from 1919 to 1996 are used to simulate percolation through the natural analogue and an engineered cover, with and without vegetation. This study indicates that a 1 m (3 ft) cover is the minimum design thickness necessary to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Design, Development, Pre-Testing and Preparation for Full Scale Cold Testing of a System for Field Remediation of Vertical Pipe Units at the Hanford Site 618-10 Burial Grounds -12495

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halliwell, Stephen

2012-07-01

At the Hanford site, in the 1950's and 60's, radioactive waste materials, including Transuranic (TRU) wastes from a number of laboratories were stored in vertical pipe units (VPUs) in what are now the 618-10 and 618-11 burial grounds. Although the current physical condition of the VPUs is unknown, initial R and D studies had shown that in-ground size reduction and stabilization of VPU contents was feasible. This paper describes the R and D work and testing activities to validate the concept of in-ground size reduction and stabilization of VPU contents, and the design and pre-testing of major plant items andmore » augering systems on full size simulated VPUs. The paper also describes the full size prototype equipment which will be used in full size cold testing of simulated VPUs off the Hanford site, to prove the equipment, develop operating procedures, and train operators prior to deployment on site. Safe and effective field remediation, removal and disposal of the VPUs in the 600 area are critical to the success of the River Corridor Closure Contract at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site. Safe and effective field remediation, removal and disposal of the VPUs in the 600 area are critical to the success of the River Corridor Closure Contract at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site. (authors)« less

Resetting of Mg isotopes between calcite and dolomite during burial metamorphism: Outlook of Mg isotopes as geothermometer and seawater proxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Zhongya; Hu, Wenxuan; Wang, Xiaomin; Lu, Yizhou; Wang, Lichao; Liao, Zhiwei; Li, Weiqiang

2017-07-01

Magnesium isotopes are an emerging tool to study the geological processes recorded in carbonates. Calcite, due to its ubiquitous occurrence and the large Mg isotope fractionation associated with the mineral, has attracted great interests in applications of Mg isotope geochemistry. However, the fidelity of Mg isotopes in geological records of carbonate minerals (e.g., calcite and dolomite) against burial metamorphism remains poorly constrained. Here we report our investigation on the Mg isotope systematics of a dolomitized Middle Triassic Geshan carbonate section in eastern China. Magnesium isotope analysis was complemented by analyses of Sr-C-O isotopic compositions, major and trace element concentrations, and petrographic and mineralogical features. Multiple lines of evidence consistently indicated that post-depositional diagenesis of carbonate minerals occurred to the carbonate rocks. Magnesium isotope compositions of the carbonate rocks closely follow a mixing trend between a high δ26Mg dolomite end member and a low δ26Mg calcite end member, irrespective of sample positions in the section and calcite/dolomite ratio in the samples. By fitting the measured Mg isotope data using a two-end member mixing model, an inter-mineral Δ26Mgdolomite-calcite fractionation of 0.72‰ was obtained. Based on the experimentally derived Mg isotope fractionation factors for dolomite and calcite, a temperature of 150-190 °C was calculated to correspond to the 0.72‰ Δ26Mgdolomite-calcite fractionation. Such temperature range matches with the burial-thermal history of the local strata, making a successful case of Mg isotope geothermometry. Our results indicate that both calcite and dolomite had been re-equilibrated during burial metamorphism, and based on isotope mass balance of Mg, the system was buffered by dolomite in the section. Therefore, burial metamorphism may reset Mg isotope signature of calcite, and Mg isotope compositions in calcite should be dealt with caution in

Phanerozoic burial, uplift and denudation of the Equatorial Atlantic margin of South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Japsen, Peter; Bonow, Johan M.; Green, Paul F.; dall'Asta, Massimo; Roig, Jean-Yves; Theveniaut, Hervé

2017-04-01

We have initiated a study aimed at understanding the history of burial, uplift and denudation of the South American Equatorial Atlantic Margin (SAEAM Uplift) including the Guiana Shield to provide a framework for investigating the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the offshore region. We report first results including observations from fieldwork at the northern and southern flank of the Guiana Shield. The study combines apatite fission-track analysis (AFTA) and vitrinite reflectance data from samples of outcrops and drillcores, sonic velocity data from drill holes and stratigraphic landscape analysis (mapping of peneplains) - all constrained by geological evidence, following the methods of Green et al. (2013). The study will thus combine the thermal history from AFTA data with the denudation history from stratigraphic landscape analysis to provide magnitudes and timing of vertical movements (Japsen et al. 2012, 2016). Along the Atlantic margin of Suriname and French Guiana, tilted and truncated Lower Cretaceous strata rest on Precambrian basement (Sapin et al. 2016). Our AFTA data show that the basement underwent Mesozoic exhumation prior to deposition of the Lower Cretaceous cover. Sub-horizontal peneplains define the landscape of the Guiana Shield at elevations up to 500 m a.s.l. As these sub-horizontal peneplains truncate the tilted, sub-Cretaceous surface along the Atlantic margin, these peneplains were therefore formed and uplifted in post-Cretaceous time. This interpretation is in good agreement with our AFTA data that define Paleogene exhumation along the margin and with the results of Theveniaut and Freyssinet (2002) who used palaeomagnetic data to conclude that bauxitic surfaces across basement at up to 400 m a.s.l. on the Guiana Shield formed during the Palaeogene. Integration of the results from AFTA with stratigraphic landscape analysis (currently in progress) and geological evidence will provide a robust reconstruction of the tectonic development of the

Impacts of leachates from livestock carcass burial and manure heap sites on groundwater geochemistry and microbial community structure

PubMed Central

Yun, Seong-Taek; Ham, Baknoon; Lee, Jeong-Ho; Oh, Jun-Seop; Jheong, Weon-Wha

2017-01-01

We investigated the impacts of leachates from a swine carcass burial site and a cow manure heap on the geochemical and microbiological properties of agricultural water samples, including leachate, groundwater from monitoring wells and background wells, and stream water. The leachate from the livestock burial site showed extremely high electrical conductivity, turbidity, and major ion concentrations, but low redox potential and dissolved oxygen levels. The groundwater in the monitoring wells adjacent to both sites showed severe contamination from the leachate, as indicated by the increases in EC, turbidity, Cl-, and SO42-. Bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes and Bacteriodetes and Archaea from the phylum Euryarchaeota were the major phyla in both the leachates and manure heap. However, the class- or genus-level components of these phyla differed markedly between the leachate and manure heap samples. The relative abundance of Firmicutes decreased from 35% to 0.3~13.9% in the monitoring wells and background wells at both sites. The Firmicutes in these wells was unlikely to have originated from the transportation of leachate to the surrounding environment because Firmicutes genera differed drastically between the leachate and monitoring wells. Meanwhile, sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) from the livestock carcass burial site were detected in the monitoring wells close to the leachate. This was likely because the release of carcass decomposition products, such as organic acids, to adjacent areas improved the suitability of the local environments for SRB, which were not abundant in the leachate. This study highlights the need to better understand microbial community dynamics along groundwater flow paths to evaluate bacterial transport in subsurface environments and provides new insights into the effective management of groundwater quality at both farm and regional scales. PMID:28771598

Particulate organic matter quality influences nitrate retention and denitrification in stream sediments: evidence from a carbon burial experiment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stelzer, Robert S.; Scott, J. Thad; Bartsch, Lynn; Parr, Thomas B.

2014-01-01

Organic carbon supply is linked to nitrogen transformation in ecosystems. However, the role of organic carbon quality in nitrogen processing is not as well understood. We determined how the quality of particulate organic carbon (POC) influenced nitrogen transformation in stream sediments by burying identical quantities of varying quality POC (northern red oak (Quercus rubra) leaves, red maple (Acer rubrum) leaves, red maple wood) in stream mesocosms and measuring the effects on nitrogen retention and denitrification compared to a control of combusted sand. We also determined how POC quality affected the quantity and quality of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater. Nitrate and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) retention were assessed by comparing solute concentrations and fluxes along groundwater flow paths in the mesocosms. Denitrification was measured by in situ changes in N2 concentrations (using MIMS) and by acetylene block incubations. POC quality was measured by C:N and lignin:N ratios and DOC quality was assessed by fluorescence excitation emission matrix spectroscopy. POC quality had strong effects on nitrogen processing. Leaf treatments had much higher nitrate retention, TDN retention and denitrification rates than the wood and control treatments and red maple leaf burial resulted in higher nitrate and TDN retention rates than burial of red oak leaves. Leaf, but not wood, burial drove pore water to severe hypoxia and leaf treatments had higher DOC production and different DOC chemical composition than the wood and control treatments. We think that POC quality affected nitrogen processing in the sediments by influencing the quantity and quality of DOC and redox conditions. Our results suggest that the type of organic carbon inputs can affect the rates of nitrogen transformation in stream ecosystems.

Identification of kinship and occupant status in Mongolian noble burials of the Yuan Dynasty through a multidisciplinary approach

PubMed Central

Cui, Yinqiu; Song, Li; Wei, Dong; Pang, Yuhong; Wang, Ning; Ning, Chao; Li, Chunmei; Feng, Binxiao; Tang, Wentao; Li, Hongjie; Ren, Yashan; Zhang, Chunchang; Huang, Yanyi; Hu, Yaowu; Zhou, Hui

2015-01-01

The Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368) was the first dynasty in Chinese history where a minority ethnic group (Mongols) ruled. Few cemeteries containing Mongolian nobles have been found owing to their tradition of keeping burial grounds secret and their lack of historical records. Archaeological excavations at the Shuzhuanglou site in the Hebei province of China led to the discovery of 13 skeletons in six separate tombs. The style of the artefacts and burials indicate the cemetery occupants were Mongol nobles. However, the origin, relationships and status of the chief occupant (M1m) are unclear. To shed light on the identity of the principal occupant and resolve the kin relationships between individuals, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted, combining archaeological information, stable isotope data and molecular genetic data. Analysis of autosomal, mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA show that some of the occupants were related. The available evidence strongly suggests that the principal occupant may have been the Mongol noble Korguz. Our study demonstrates the power of a multidisciplinary approach in elucidating information about the inhabitants of ancient historical sites. PMID:25487330

40 CFR 35.929-2 - General requirements for all user charge systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false General requirements for all user charge systems. 35.929-2 Section 35.929-2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... than every 2 years the waste water contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation...

40 CFR 35.929-2 - General requirements for all user charge systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false General requirements for all user charge systems. 35.929-2 Section 35.929-2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... than every 2 years the waste water contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation...

40 CFR 35.929-2 - General requirements for all user charge systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false General requirements for all user charge systems. 35.929-2 Section 35.929-2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... than every 2 years the waste water contribution of users and user classes, the total costs of operation...

An ecological engineering approach for keeping water from reaching interred wastes in arid or semiarid regions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, J.E.

1997-12-31

This paper describes application of a soil-plant cover system (SPCS) to preclude water from reaching interred wastes in arid and semiarid regions. Where potential evapotranspiration far exceeds precipitation, water can be kept from reaching buried wastes by (1) providing a sufficiently deep cap of soil to store precipitation that falls while plants are dormant and (2) maintaining plant cover to deplete soil moisture during the growing season, thereby emptying the storage reservoir. Research at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) has shown that 2 m of soil is adequate to store moisture from snowmelt and spring rains. Healthy stands ofmore » perennial grasses and shrubs adapted to the INEL climate use all available soil moisture, even during a very wet growing season. However, burrowing by small mammals or ants may affect the performance of a SPCS by increasing infiltration of water. Intrusion barriers of gravel and cobble can be used to restrict burrowing, but emplacement of such barriers affects soil moisture storage and plant rooting depths. A replicated field experiment to investigate the implications of those effects is in progress. Incorporation of an SPCS should be considered in the design of isolation barriers for shallow land burial of hazardous wastes in and regions.« less

Yield and Depth of Burial Hydrodynamic Calculations in Granodiorite: Implications for the North Korean Test Site

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

the existence of a test site body wave magnitude (mb) bias between U. S. and the former Soviet Union test sites in Nevada and Semipalatinsk . The use...YIELD AND DEPTH OF BURIAL HYDRODYNAMIC CALCULATIONS IN GRANODIORITE:IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NORTH KOREAN TEST SITE Esteban Rougier, Christopher R...Korean test site and the May 2009 test . When compared to the Denny and Johnson (1991) and to the Heard and Ackerman (1967) cavity radius scaling models

Triboelectrostatic separation for granular plastic waste recycling: a review.

PubMed

Wu, Guiqing; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2013-03-01

The world's plastic consumption has increased incredibly in recent decades, generating more and more plastic waste, which makes it a great public concern. Recycling is the best treatment for plastic waste since it cannot only reduce the waste but also reduce the consumption of oil for producing new virgin plastic. Mechanical recycling is recommended for plastic waste to avoid the loss of its virgin value. As a mechanical separation technology, triboelectrostatic separation utilizes the difference between surface properties of different materials to get them oppositely charged, deflected in the electric field and separately collected. It has advantages such as high efficiency, low cost, no concern of water disposal or secondary pollution and a relatively wide processing range of particle size especially suitable for the granular plastic waste. The process of triboelectrostatic separation for plastic waste is reviewed in this paper. Different devices have been developed and proven to be effective for separation of plastic waste. The influence factors are also discussed. It can be concluded that the triboelectrostatic separation of plastic waste is a promising technology. However, more research is required before it can be widely applied in industry. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon and nitrogen burial in a plateau lake during eutrophication and phytoplankton blooms.

PubMed

Huang, Changchun; Zhang, Linlin; Li, Yunmei; Lin, Chen; Huang, Tao; Zhang, Mingli; Zhu, A-Xing; Yang, Hao; Wang, Xiaolei

2018-03-01

Organic carbon (OC) buried in lake sediment is an important component of the global carbon cycle. The impact of eutrophication on OC burial in lakes should be addressed due to worldwide lake eutrophication. Fourteen 210 Pb- and 137 Cs-dated sediment cores taken in Dianchi Lake (China) in August 2006 (seven cores) and July 2014 (seven cores) were analyzed to evaluate the response of the organic carbon accumulation rate (OCAR) to eutrophication and algal blooms over the past hundred years. The mean value of OCAR before eutrophication occurred in 1979, 16.62±7.53 (mean value±standard deviation), increased to 54.33±27.29gm -2 yr -1 after eutrophication. It further increased to 61.98±28.94gm -2 yr -1 after algal blooms occurred (1989). The accumulation rate of organic nitrogen (ONAR) is coupled with OCAR. The high loss rate of OC and organic nitrogen (ON) leads to a long-term burial efficiency of only 10% and 5% of OC and ON. However, this efficiency can still lead to an increase in OCAR by a factor of 4.55 during algal blooms in Dianchi Lake. Dianchi Lake stored 1.26±0.32 Tg carbon and 0.071±0.018 Tg nitrogen, including 0.94±0.23 Tg OC and 0.32±0.14 Tg inorganic carbon, 0.066±0.018 Tg ON, 0.002±0.001 Tg nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 -N) and 0.003±0.001 Tg ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 -N) between 1900 and 2012. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transmembrane helices containing a charged arginine are thermodynamically stable.

PubMed

Ulmschneider, Martin B; Ulmschneider, Jakob P; Freites, J Alfredo; von Heijne, Gunnar; Tobias, Douglas J; White, Stephen H

2017-10-01

Hydrophobic amino acids are abundant in transmembrane (TM) helices of membrane proteins. Charged residues are sparse, apparently due to the unfavorable energetic cost of partitioning charges into nonpolar phases. Nevertheless, conserved arginine residues within TM helices regulate vital functions, such as ion channel voltage gating and integrin receptor inactivation. The energetic cost of arginine in various positions along hydrophobic helices has been controversial. Potential of mean force (PMF) calculations from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations predict very large energetic penalties, while in vitro experiments with Sec61 translocons indicate much smaller penalties, even for arginine in the center of hydrophobic TM helices. Resolution of this conflict has proved difficult, because the in vitro assay utilizes the complex Sec61 translocon, while the PMF calculations rely on the choice of simulation system and reaction coordinate. Here we present the results of computational and experimental studies that permit direct comparison with the Sec61 translocon results. We find that the Sec61 translocon mediates less efficient membrane insertion of Arg-containing TM helices compared with our computational and experimental bilayer-insertion results. In the simulations, a combination of arginine snorkeling, bilayer deformation, and peptide tilting is sufficient to lower the penalty of Arg insertion to an extent such that a hydrophobic TM helix with a central Arg residue readily inserts into a model membrane. Less favorable insertion by the translocon may be due to the decreased fluidity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane compared with pure palmitoyloleoyl-phosphocholine (POPC). Nevertheless, our results provide an explanation for the differences between PMF- and experiment-based penalties for Arg burial.

Evidence of adipocere in a burial pit from the foot and mouth epidemic of 1967 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Vane, Christopher H; Trick, Julian K

2005-11-10

Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to characterise the fatty acids from soils and associated tissues excavated from a 1967 Foot and Mouth burial pit. Subcutaneous fats were mainly comprised of 55-75% palmitic acid, 17-22% stearic acid and 3-16% oleic acid as well as 5-7% myristic acid. The distribution of fatty acids confirmed that the tissues were decayed to adipocere. The loss of oleic acid to <3% in two of the decayed fats suggested advanced stages of adipocere. However, adipocere formation was limited in a third tissue sample recovered from greater depth. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry of the pore waters revealed a decrease in Ca concentration and concurrent increase in Na concentrations this suggested that insoluble calcium salt had formed through displacement of sodium. The use of fatty acid profiles from soils and soil interstitial pore waters provide complementary evidence of adipocere formation in foot and mouth burial pits.

Deep burial dolomitization driven by plate collision: Evidence from strontium-isotopes of Jurassic Arab IV dolomites from offshore Qatar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vahrenkamp, V.C.; Taylor, S.R.

The use of strontium-isotope ratios of dolomites to constrain timing and mechanism of diagenesis has been investigated on Jurassic Arab IV dolomites from offshore Qatar. Reservoir quality is determined by two types of dolomites, which were differentiated geochemically (cathodoluminescence, fluid inclusions, and carbon and oxygen stable isotopes): (1) stratigraphically concordant sucrosic dolomites with high porosity formed during early near-surface diagenesis (Jurassic) and (2) stratigraphically discordant cylindrical bodies of massive, porosity-destroying dolomites formed late during deep burial diagenesis (Eocene-Pliocene). Detailed Sr-isotope analysis of dolomites from the Arab IV confirms an Early Jurassic age of the sucrosic, high porosity dolomites ({sup 87}Sr/{supmore » 86}SR = 0.70707 for NBS 987 = 0.71024) with magnesium and strontium being derived from Jurassic seawater. Late Tertiary compressional orogeny of the Zagros belt to the north is proposed to have caused large-scale squeezing of fluids from the pore system of sedimentary rocks. A regional deep fluid flow system developed dissolving infra-Cambrian evaporites upflow and causing large-scale deep burial dolomitization downflow.« less

Deviant burials and social identity in a postmedieval Polish cemetery: An analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the "vampires" of Drawsko.

PubMed

Gregoricka, Lesley A; Scott, Amy B; Betsinger, Tracy K; Polcyn, Marek

2017-08-01

Deviant burials can reveal important information about both social and individual identity, particularly when the mortuary record is supplemented by an examination of skeletal remains. At the postmedieval (17th to 18th c. AD) cemetery of Drawsko (Site 1), Poland, six individuals (of n = 285) received deviant, anti-vampiristic mortuary treatment. A previous study using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios ( x¯= 0.7112 ± 0.0006, 1σ, n = 60) found that these "vampires" were in fact locals, not migrants to the region targeted for deviant burial due to their status as immigrant outsiders. However, considerable geologic overlap in strontium isotope ratios across the North European Plain may have masked the identification of at least some nonlocal individuals. This study further contextualizes strontium isotope ratios using additional biogeochemical data to test the hypothesis that additional nonlocals were present in the Drawsko cemetery. Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the dental enamel of 58 individuals interred in both normative and atypical burials at Drawsko were analyzed. Both δ 18 O c(VPDB) ( x¯= -4.5 ± 0.7‰) and δ 13 C ap isotope values ( x¯= -13.6 ± 0.8‰) displayed little variability and were not significantly different between vampire and normative burials, supporting prior strontium results of a largely local population. Nevertheless, homogeneity in oxygen isotope values across other northern European sites makes it difficult to speculate about isotopic regional diversity, leaving open the possibility that additional migrants to the region remain undetected. Additionally, carbon isotope values point to a locally sourced diet dominated by C 3 resources but with some supplementation by C 4 goods that likely included millet, fitting with historic descriptions of postmedieval diet in Poland. Those interred as vampires appear local to the region and thus likely underwent deviant funerary treatment due to some other social

Hydrologic Drivers of Soil Organic Carbon Erosion and Burial: Insights from a Spatially-explicit Model of a Degraded Landscape at the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dialynas, Y. G.; Bras, R. L.; Richter, D. D., Jr.

2017-12-01

Soil erosion and burial of organic material may constitute a substantial sink of atmospheric CO2. Attempts to quantify impacts of soil erosion on the soil-atmosphere C exchange are limited by difficulties in accounting for the fate of eroded soil organic carbon (SOC), a key factor in estimating of the net effect of erosion on the C cycle. Processes that transport SOC are still inadequately represented in terrestrial carbon (C) cycle models. This study investigates hydrologic controls on SOC redistribution across the landscape focusing on dynamic feedbacks between watershed hydrology, soil erosional processes, and SOC burial. We use tRIBS-ECO (Triangulated Irregular Network-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator-Erosion and Carbon Oxidation), a spatially-explicit model of SOC dynamics coupled with a physically-based hydro-geomorphic model. tRIBS-ECO systematically accounts for the fate of eroded SOC across the watershed: Rainsplash erosion and sheet erosion redistribute SOC from upland sites to depositional environments, altering depth-dependent soil biogeochemical properties in diverse soil profiles. Eroded organic material is transferred with sediment and can be partially oxidized upon transport, or preserved from decomposition by burial. The model was applied in the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), a site that is recovering from some of the most serious agricultural erosion in North America. Soil biogeochemical characteristics at multiple soil horizons were used to initialize the model and test performance. Remotely sensed soil moisture data (NASA SMAP) were used for model calibration. Results show significant rates of hydrologically-induced burial of SOC at the Calhoun CZO. We find that organic material at upland eroding soil profiles is largely mobilized by rainsplash erosion. Sheet erosion mainly drives C transport in lower elevation clayey soils. While SOC erosion and deposition rates declined with recent reforestation at the study site, the

Isotopically zoned carbonate cements in Early Paleozoic sandstones of the Illinois Basin: δ18O and δ13C records of burial and fluid flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denny, Adam C.; Kozdon, Reinhard; Kitajima, Kouki; Valley, John W.

2017-11-01

SEM/SIMS imaging and analysis of δ18O and δ13C in sandstones from a transect through the Illinois Basin (USA) show systematic μm-scale isotopic zonation of up to 10‰ in both carbonate and quartz cements of the middle-Ordovician St. Peter and Cambrian Mt. Simon formations. Quartz δ18O values are broadly consistent with the model of Hyodo et al. (2014), wherein burial and heating in the Illinois Basin is recorded in systematically zoned quartz overgrowths. Observations of zoned dolomite/ankerite cements indicate that they preserve a more extended record of temperature and fluid compositions than quartz, including early diagenesis before or during shallow burial, and late carbonates formed after quartz overgrowths. Many carbonate cements show innermost dolomite with δ18O values (21-25‰ VSMOW) that are too low to have formed by deposition at low temperatures from ancient seawater (δ18O > - 3‰) and most likely reflect mixing with meteoric water. A sharp increase in Fe content is commonly observed in zoned carbonate cements to be associated with a drop in δ18O and an abrupt shift in δ13C to higher or lower values. These changes are interpreted to record the passage of hot metal-rich brines through sandstone aquifers, that was associated with Mississippi-Valley Type (MVT) Pb-Zn deposits (ca. 270 Ma) of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Local variability and individual trends in δ13C are likely controlled by the sources of carbon and the degree to which carbon is sourced from adjacent carbonate units or thermal maturation of organic matter. Quartz overgrowths in sandstones provide an excellent record of conditions during burial, heating, and pressure-solution, whereas carbonate cements in sandstones preserve a more-extended record including initial pre-burial conditions and punctuated fluid flow events.

Burial, thermal, and petroleum generation history of the Upper Cretaceous Steele Member of the Cody Shale (Shannon Sandstone Bed Horizon), Powder River Basin, Wyoming (Chapter A). Bulletin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nuccio, V.F.

The purposes of the study are to (1) present burial histories representative of the northwestern and southwestern parts of the Powder River Basin (south of lat 45 N.), (2) show the maximum level of thermal maturity for the Steele Member and its Shannon Sandstone Bed, and (3) show the source-rock potential and timing of petroleum generation for the Steele. It is hoped that data presented in the study will also lead to a better understanding of the burial and temperature history of the Shannon Sandstone Bed, an understanding crucial for diagenetic studies, fluid-flow modeling, and reservoir-rock characterization.

Constraining Marsh Carbon Budgets Using Long-Term C Burial and Contemporary Atmospheric CO2 Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forbrich, I.; Giblin, A. E.; Hopkinson, C. S.

2018-03-01

Salt marshes are sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide that respond to environmental changes related to sea level rise and climate. Here we assess how climatic variations affect marsh-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide in the short term and compare it to long-term burial rates based on radiometric dating. The 5 years of atmospheric measurements show a strong interannual variation in atmospheric carbon exchange, varying from -104 to -233 g C m-2 a-1 with a mean of -179 ± 32 g C m-2 a-1. Variation in these annual sums was best explained by differences in rainfall early in the growing season. In the two years with below average rainfall in June, both net uptake and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index were less than in the other three years. Measurements in 2016 and 2017 suggest that the mechanism behind this variability may be rainfall decreasing soil salinity which has been shown to strongly control productivity. The net ecosystem carbon balance was determined as burial rate from four sediment cores using radiometric dating and was lower than the net uptake measured by eddy covariance (mean: 110 ± 13 g C m-2 a-1). The difference between these estimates was significant and may be because the atmospheric measurements do not capture lateral carbon fluxes due to tidal exchange. Overall, it was smaller than values reported in the literature for lateral fluxes and highlights the importance of investigating lateral C fluxes in future studies.

Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK

PubMed Central

Tucker, Katie; Filipek-Ogden, Kori; Montgomery, Janet; Cameron, Jamie; O’Connell, Tamsin; Evans, Jane; Marter, Phil; Taylor, G. Michael

2017-01-01

We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18–25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th–early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. Several lines of evidence in connection with the burial suggested this was an individual of some means and prestige. Although buried within the leprosarium cemetery, the skeleton showed only minimal skeletal evidence for leprosy, which was confined to the bones of the feet and legs. Nonetheless, molecular testing of several skeletal elements, including uninvolved bones all showed robust evidence of DNA from Mycobacterium leprae, consistent with the lepromatous or multibacillary form of the disease. We infer that in life, this individual almost certainly suffered with multiple soft tissue lesions. Genotyping of the M.leprae strain showed this belonged to the 2F lineage, today associated with cases from South-Central and Western Asia. During osteological examination it was noted that the cranium and facial features displayed atypical morphology for northern European populations. Subsequently, geochemical isotopic analyses carried out on tooth enamel indicated that this individual was indeed not local to the Winchester region, although it was not possible to be more specific about their geographic origin. PMID:28125649

Investigation of a Medieval Pilgrim Burial Excavated from the Leprosarium of St Mary Magdalen Winchester, UK.

PubMed

Roffey, Simon; Tucker, Katie; Filipek-Ogden, Kori; Montgomery, Janet; Cameron, Jamie; O'Connell, Tamsin; Evans, Jane; Marter, Phil; Taylor, G Michael

2017-01-01

We have examined the remains of a Pilgrim burial from St Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The individual was a young adult male, aged around 18-25 years at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating showed the remains dated to the late 11th-early 12th centuries, a time when pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. Several lines of evidence in connection with the burial suggested this was an individual of some means and prestige. Although buried within the leprosarium cemetery, the skeleton showed only minimal skeletal evidence for leprosy, which was confined to the bones of the feet and legs. Nonetheless, molecular testing of several skeletal elements, including uninvolved bones all showed robust evidence of DNA from Mycobacterium leprae, consistent with the lepromatous or multibacillary form of the disease. We infer that in life, this individual almost certainly suffered with multiple soft tissue lesions. Genotyping of the M.leprae strain showed this belonged to the 2F lineage, today associated with cases from South-Central and Western Asia. During osteological examination it was noted that the cranium and facial features displayed atypical morphology for northern European populations. Subsequently, geochemical isotopic analyses carried out on tooth enamel indicated that this individual was indeed not local to the Winchester region, although it was not possible to be more specific about their geographic origin.

The Tompkins County Solid Waste Annual Fee: Background and overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Penniman, P.W.

1995-05-01

This report outlines the development by Tompkins County of a new revenue source for solid waste programs -- The Solid Waste Annual Fee. Over the past two decades in New York State, regulatory demands and the decline in available landfill space have combined to cause a rapid escalation in the cost of solid waste disposal. While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has implemented tighter regulations for the siting of solid waste landfills, they have also mandated the permitting or closure of all existing landfills in the state. The result is that all communities have been requiredmore » to invest millions of dollars in landfill siting, closure and solid waste processing facilities. In addition, programs for reducing and recycling solid wastes have been mandated to reduce the outflow to landfills. Until recent years, solid waste services in most New York counties have been funded almost entirely through a collection of property taxes. During the past six years, fiscal stress has stimulated a movement toward funding solid waste programs by other means. Alternatives to the property tax include: (1) special assessment taxes or fees; (2) user charges (including tipping fees); and (3) intergovernment grants.« less

Mathematical modeling to predict residential solid waste generation.

PubMed

Benítez, Sara Ojeda; Lozano-Olvera, Gabriela; Morelos, Raúl Adalberto; Vega, Carolina Armijo de

2008-01-01

One of the challenges faced by waste management authorities is determining the amount of waste generated by households in order to establish waste management systems, as well as trying to charge rates compatible with the principle applied worldwide, and design a fair payment system for households according to the amount of residential solid waste (RSW) they generate. The goal of this research work was to establish mathematical models that correlate the generation of RSW per capita to the following variables: education, income per household, and number of residents. This work was based on data from a study on generation, quantification and composition of residential waste in a Mexican city in three stages. In order to define prediction models, five variables were identified and included in the model. For each waste sampling stage a different mathematical model was developed, in order to find the model that showed the best linear relation to predict residential solid waste generation. Later on, models to explore the combination of included variables and select those which showed a higher R(2) were established. The tests applied were normality, multicolinearity and heteroskedasticity. Another model, formulated with four variables, was generated and the Durban-Watson test was applied to it. Finally, a general mathematical model is proposed to predict residential waste generation, which accounts for 51% of the total.

Health care waste management practice in a hospital.

PubMed

Paudel, R; Pradhan, B

2010-10-01

Health-care waste is a by-product of health care. Its poor management exposes health-care workers, waste handlers and the community to infections, toxic effects and injuries including damage of the environment. It also creates opportunities for the collection of disposable medical equipment, its re-sale and potential re-use without sterilization, which causes an important burden of disease worldwide. The purpose of this study was to find out health care waste management practice in hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Narayani Sub-Regional Hospital, Birgunj from May to October 2006 using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Study population was four different departments of the hospital (Medical/Paediatric, Surgical/Ortho, Gynae/Obstetric and Emergency), Medical Superintendent, In-charges of four different departments and all sweepers. Data was collected using interview, group discussion, observation and measurement by weight and volume. Total health-care waste generated was 128.4 kg per day while 0.8 kg per patient per day. The composition of health care waste was found to be 96.8 kg (75.4%) general waste, 24.1 kg (8.8%) hazardous waste and 7.5 kg (5.8%) sharps per day by weight. Health staffs and sweepers were not practicing the waste segregation. Occupational health and safety was not given due attention. Majority of the sweepers were unaware of waste management and need of safety measures to protect their own health. Health care waste management practice in the hospital was unsatisfactory because of the lack of waste management plan and carelessness of patients, visitors and staffs. Therefore the hospital should develop the waste management plan and strictly follow the National Health Care Waste Management Guideline.

Strategic exploration of battery waste management: A game-theoretic approach.

PubMed

Kaushal, Rajendra Kumar; Nema, Arvind K; Chaudhary, Jyoti

2015-07-01

Electronic waste or e-waste is the fastest growing stream of solid waste today. It contains both toxic substances as well as valuable resources. The present study uses a non-cooperative game-theoretic approach for efficient management of e-waste, particularly batteries that contribute a major portion of any e-waste stream and further analyses the economic consequences of recycling of these obsolete, discarded batteries. Results suggest that the recycler would prefer to collect the obsolete batteries directly from the consumer rather than from the manufacturer, only if, the incentive return to the consumer is less than 33.92% of the price of the battery, the recycling fee is less than 6.46% of the price of the battery, and the price of the recycled material is more than 31.08% of the price of the battery. The manufacturer's preferred choice of charging a green tax from the consumer can be fruitful for the battery recycling chain. © The Author(s) 2015.

Charge Storage, Conductivity and Charge Profiles of Insulators as Related to Spacecraft Charging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennison, J. R.; Swaminathan, Prasanna; Frederickson, A. R.

2004-01-01

Dissipation of charges built up near the surface of insulators due to space environment interaction is central to understanding spacecraft charging. Conductivity of insulating materials is key to determine how accumulated charge will distribute across the spacecraft and how rapidly charge imbalance will dissipate. To understand these processes requires knowledge of how charge is deposited within the insulator, the mechanisms for charge trapping and charge transport within the insulator, and how the profile of trapped charge affects the transport and emission of charges from insulators. One must consider generation of mobile electrons and holes, their trapping, thermal de-trapping, mobility and recombination. Conductivity is more appropriately measured for spacecraft charging applications as the "decay" of charge deposited on the surface of an insulator, rather than by flow of current across two electrodes around the sample. We have found that conductivity determined from charge storage decay methods is 102 to 104 smaller than values obtained from classical ASTM and IEC methods for a variety of thin film insulating samples. For typical spacecraft charging conditions, classical conductivity predicts decay times on the order of minutes to hours (less than typical orbit periods); however, the higher charge storage conductivities predict decay times on the order of weeks to months leading to accumulation of charge with subsequent orbits. We found experimental evidence that penetration profiles of radiation and light are exceedingly important, and that internal electric fields due to charge profiles and high-field conduction by trapped electrons must be considered for space applications. We have also studied whether the decay constants depend on incident voltage and flux or on internal charge distributions and electric fields; light-activated discharge of surface charge to distinguish among differing charge trapping centers; and radiation-induced conductivity. Our

CH4 and CO2 production relative to carbon burial in wetlands undergoing sediment loss and accretion in coastal Louisiana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaisas, N. A.; Maiti, K.; Rivera-Monroy, V. H.

2016-02-01

The coastal Louisiana region encompasses the largest deltaic system at the mouth of the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico, and includes the largest wetlands area in the United States. Given the critical functional role of coastal wetlands in carbon (C) storage and sequestration it is essential to assess the potential role of wetlands and adjacent tidal channels as sources (via CH4 and CO2 production) and sinks of carbon (via burial) along hydrological gradients. Such information is necessary to construct and constrain landscape-level C budgets. We investigate C burial and CO2 and CH4 emissions in two distinct sediment deposition environments undergoing land loss (Barataria Bay) and land formation (Wax Delta) in coastal Louisiana. Sediment cores (depth, 20 cm) were sampled at both sites along tidal channels, ridges and low elevation marshes during spring (March 10oC), early summer (May 20oC) and late summer (August 30oC) to evaluate seasonal and spatial scale variability in CH4 and CO2 production. CH4 production ranged from 0.003 to 20.8 moles/m2/day and differences were correlated to location, ambient temperature, dissolved O2 concentration in the overlying water and core sediment redox conditions. Seasonal CH4 fluxes into overlying water were significantly higher in the spring compared to the summer season. The CO2 fluxes ranged from 0.42 to 214 moles/m2/day and also showed higher fluxes at colder temperature ( 10 o C). These net fluxes will provide valuable information to evaluate the ratio of greenhouse gas production to carbon burial at two contrasting estuarine environments undergoing both loss and net gain of wetland area in coastal Louisiana.

Evaluating Late Cretaceous OAEs and the influence of marine incursions on organic carbon burial in an expansive East Asian paleo-lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Matthew M.; Ibarra, Daniel E.; Gao, Yuan; Sageman, Bradley B.; Selby, David; Chamberlain, C. Page; Graham, Stephan A.

2018-02-01

Expansive Late Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of East Asia offer unique stratigraphic records to better understand regional responses to global climate events, such as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), and terrestrial organic carbon burial dynamics. This study presents bulk organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg), elemental concentrations (XRF), and initial osmium ratios (187Os/188Os, Osi) from the Turonian-Coniacian Qingshankou Formation, a ∼5 Ma lacustrine mudstone succession in the Songliao Basin of northeast China. A notable δ13Corg excursion (∼ + 2.5‰) in organic carbon-lean Qingshankou Members 2-3 correlates to OAE3 in the Western Interior Basin (WIB) of North America within temporal uncertainty of high-precision age models. Decreases in carbon isotopic fractionation (Δ13C) through OAE3 in the WIB and Songliao Basin, suggest that significantly elevated global rates of organic carbon burial drew down pCO2, likely cooling climate. Despite this, Osi chemostratigraphy demonstrates no major changes in global volcanism or weathering trends through OAE3. Identification of OAE3 in a lake system is consistent with lacustrine records of other OAEs (e.g., Toarcian OAE), and underscores that terrestrial environments were sensitive to climate perturbations associated with OAEs. Additionally, the relatively radiogenic Osi chemostratigraphy and XRF data confirm that the Qingshankou Formation was deposited in a non-marine setting. Organic carbon-rich intervals preserve no compelling Osi evidence for marine incursions, an existing hypothesis for generating Member 1's prolific petroleum source rocks. Based on our results, we present a model for water column stratification and source rock deposition independent of marine incursions, detailing dominant biogeochemical cycles and lacustrine organic carbon burial mechanisms.

Cosmogenic Nuclides 10Be-21Ne Burial Dating of Middle Miocene Sedimentary Formation of the Hongliu Valley in Southern Ningxia Basin: A Case of Isotopic Geochronology Study for the Cenozoic Sedimentary Strata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Y.; Zhang, H.; Wang, W.; Wu, Y.; Pang, J.; Zheng, D.; Li, D.

2015-12-01

Chronology studies for the Cenozoic sedimentary strata based on the magnetostratigraphy cannot afford the unique chronological sequences in the absence of absolute ages from biostratigraphy or volcanic ash chronology. In situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides provide a powerful tool for the sediment dating based on the time-dependent concentration ratio of two nuclides, which are produced in the same mineral but with different half-lives. Thereinto, 10Be-26Al is the most widely used nuclide pairs, of which the available dating range spans the Plio-Pleistocene. But the coupling of 10Be with the stable nuclide 21Ne would significantly improve the burial dating range up to the middle Miocene, which is promising in revolutionizing the chronology study for the Late Cenozoic terrestrial sedimentary sequences. We have applied 10Be-21Ne pair for dating the middle Miocene sediments of the Hongliu Valley in southern Ningxia basin. Two major features of the sediments are involved in our study: (1) sediments originated from the steady erosion of the source area, and (2) the burial depth of our sample after deposition is time dependent due to the gradual accumulation of sediments into basin. The post-burial nuclide production is estimated to be less than 3%, including the contribution by muon interactions, of the total nuclide concentrations measured in our sample. Our 10Be-21Ne analysis demonstrates the age of the burial sample is 12.4(+0.6/-0.4) Ma, and the erosion rate at the source area is 0.26±0.01 cm ka-1. The sample's burial age is consistent with the age constraint set by the Hongliugou Formation (16.7-5.4 Ma) which we collected the sample in. Vertebrate fossils of Platybelodon tongxinensis with an age between 12 and 15 Ma exhumated along with our sample further verifies the reliability of our dating results for the middle Miocene sediments.This study has shown the improved age range of cosmogenic-nuclide burial dating method by incorporating the stable nuclide 21Ne, and

Sampling of resident earthworms using mustard expellant to evaluate ecological risk at a mixed hazardous and radioactive waste site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stair, D.M. Jr.; Keller, L.J.; Hensel, T.W.

1994-12-31

As residents of contaminated soils and as prey for many species of wildlife, earthworms can serve as integrative biomonitors of soil contamination, which is biologically available to the terrestrial food chain. The assessment of contaminants within earthworm tissue provides a more realistic measurement of the potential biological hazards and ecological risks than physical and chemical measurements of soil. A unique sampling procedure using a mixture of ground mustard powder and water was implemented for cost-effectively collecting earthworms without digging; the procedure minimized occupational exposure to soil contaminants and reduced the quantity of investigation-derived wastes. The study site is located atmore » a closed burial ground for low-level radioactive waste and transuranic waste that lies within the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province of East Tennessee. Earthworms were maintained in the laboratory for four days to allow passage of the contents of the digestive tract. Earthworm body burdens, castings, and soil were analyzed for gamma-emitting radioisotopes (potassium 40, cobalt 60, cesium 137), strontium 90, trace metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, and selenium), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Ecological effects of soil contamination on the earthworms were also assessed through analysis of weight, abundance, and reproductive success.« less

42 CFR 405.506 - Charges higher than customary or prevailing charges or lowest charge levels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Charges higher than customary or prevailing charges... prevailing charges or lowest charge levels. A charge which exceeds the customary charge of the physician or other person who rendered the medical or other health service, or the prevailing charge in the locality...

Mobile colloid generation induced by a cementitious plume: mineral surface-charge controls on mobilization.

PubMed

Li, Dien; Kaplan, Daniel I; Roberts, Kimberly A; Seaman, John C

2012-03-06

Cementitious materials are increasingly used as engineered barriers and waste forms for radiological waste disposal. Yet their potential effect on mobile colloid generation is not well-known, especially as it may influence colloid-facilitated contaminant transport. Whereas previous papers have studied the introduction of cement colloids into sediments, this study examined the influence of cement leachate chemistry on the mobilization of colloids from a subsurface sediment collected from the Savannah River Site, USA. A sharp mobile colloid plume formed with the introduction of a cement leachate simulant. Colloid concentrations decreased to background concentrations even though the aqueous chemical conditions (pH and ionic strength) remained unchanged. Mobile colloids were mainly goethite and to a lesser extent kaolinite. The released colloids had negative surface charges and the mean particle sizes ranged primarily from 200 to 470 nm. Inherent mineralogical electrostatic forces appeared to be the controlling colloid removal mechanism in this system. In the background pH of ~6.0, goethite had a positive surface charge, whereas quartz (the dominant mineral in the immobile sediment) and kaolinite had negative surface charges. Goethite acted as a cementing agent, holding kaolinite and itself onto the quartz surfaces due to the electrostatic attraction. Once the pH of the system was elevated, as in the cementitious high pH plume front, the goethite reversed to a negative charge, along with quartz and kaolinite, then goethite and kaolinite colloids were mobilized and a sharp spike in turbidity was observed. Simulating conditions away from the cementitious source, essentially no colloids were mobilized at 1:1000 dilution of the cement leachate or when the leachate pH was ≤ 8. Extreme alkaline pH environments of cementitious leachate may change mineral surface charges, temporarily promoting the formation of mobile colloids.

Improving Charging-Breeding Simulations with Space-Charge Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilek, Ryan; Kwiatkowski, Ania; Steinbrügge, René

2016-09-01

Rare-isotope-beam facilities use Highly Charged Ions (HCI) for accelerators accelerating heavy ions and to improve measurement precision and resolving power of certain experiments. An Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) is able to create HCI through successive electron impact, charge breeding trapped ions into higher charge states. CBSIM was created to calculate successive charge breeding with an EBIT. It was augmented by transferring it into an object-oriented programming language, including additional elements, improving ion-ion collision factors, and exploring the overlap of the electron beam with the ions. The calculation is enhanced with the effects of residual background gas by computing the space charge due to charge breeding. The program assimilates background species, ionizes and charge breeds them alongside the element being studied, and allows them to interact with the desired species through charge exchange, giving fairer overview of realistic charge breeding. Calculations of charge breeding will be shown for realistic experimental conditions. We reexamined the implementation of ionization energies, cross sections, and ion-ion interactions when charge breeding.

Numerical modelling of GPR electromagnetic fields for locating burial sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carcione, José M.; Karczewski, Jerzy; Mazurkiewicz, Ewelina; Tadeusiewicz, Ryszard; Tomecka-Suchoń, Sylwia

2017-11-01

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is commonly used for locating burial sites. In this article, we acquired radargrams at a site where a domestic pig cadaver was buried. The measurements were conducted with the ProEx System GPR manufactured by the Swedish company Mala Geoscience with an antenna of 500MHz. The event corresponding to the pig can be clearly seen in the measurements. In order to improve the interpretation, the electromagnetic field is compared to numerical simulations computed with the pseudo-spectral Fourier method. A geological model has been defined on the basis of assumed electromagnetic properties (permittivity, conductivity and magnetic permeability). The results, when compared with the GPR measurements, show a dissimilar amplitude behaviour, with a stronger reflection event from the bottom of the pit. We have therefore performed another simulation by decreasing the electrical conductivity of the body very close to that of air. The comparison improved, showing more reflections, which could be an indication that the body contains air or has been degraded to a certain extent that the electrical resistivity has greatly increased.

Implicit membrane treatment of buried charged groups: application to peptide translocation across lipid bilayers.

PubMed

Lazaridis, Themis; Leveritt, John M; PeBenito, Leo

2014-09-01

The energetic cost of burying charged groups in the hydrophobic core of lipid bilayers has been controversial, with simulations giving higher estimates than certain experiments. Implicit membrane approaches are usually deemed too simplistic for this problem. Here we challenge this view. The free energy of transfer of amino acid side chains from water to the membrane center predicted by IMM1 is reasonably close to all-atom free energy calculations. The shape of the free energy profile, however, for the charged side chains needs to be modified to reflect the all-atom simulation findings (IMM1-LF). Membrane thinning is treated by combining simulations at different membrane widths with an estimate of membrane deformation free energy from elasticity theory. This approach is first tested on the voltage sensor and the isolated S4 helix of potassium channels. The voltage sensor is stably inserted in a transmembrane orientation for both the original and the modified model. The transmembrane orientation of the isolated S4 helix is unstable in the original model, but a stable local minimum in IMM1-LF, slightly higher in energy than the interfacial orientation. Peptide translocation is addressed by mapping the effective energy of the peptide as a function of vertical position and tilt angle, which allows identification of minimum energy pathways and transition states. The barriers computed for the S4 helix and other experimentally studied peptides are low enough for an observable rate. Thus, computational results and experimental studies on the membrane burial of peptide charged groups appear to be consistent. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Interfacially Active Peptides and Proteins. Guest Editors: William C. Wimley and Kalina Hristova. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HIGH TEMPERATURE TREATMENT OF INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES - SIA RADON EXPERIENCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sobolev, I.A.; Dmitriev, S.A.; Lifanov, F.A.

2003-02-27

This review describes high temperature methods of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) treatment currently used at SIA Radon. Solid and liquid organic and mixed organic and inorganic wastes are subjected to plasma heating in a shaft furnace with formation of stable leach resistant slag suitable for disposal in near-surface repositories. Liquid inorganic radioactive waste is vitrified in a cold crucible based plant with borosilicate glass productivity up to 75 kg/h. Radioactive silts from settlers are heat-treated at 500-700 0C in electric furnace forming cake following by cake crushing, charging into 200 L barrels and soaking with cement grout. Variousmore » thermochemical technologies for decontamination of metallic, asphalt, and concrete surfaces, treatment of organic wastes (spent ion-exchange resins, polymers, medical and biological wastes), batch vitrification of incinerator ashes, calcines, spent inorganic sorbents, contaminated soil, treatment of carbon containing 14C nuclide, reactor graphite, lubricants have been developed and implemented.« less

Timing of compaction and quartz cementation from integrated petrographic and burial-history analyses, Lower Cretaceous Fall River Formation, Wyoming and South Dakota

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dutton, S.P.

1997-01-01

Integrated petrographic and burial-history studies of Fall River sandstones from outcrop and the subsurface provide insight into the timing of compaction and quartz cementation, the two main porosity-reducing processes in quartzose sandstones. Petrographic study of 95 thin sections of Fall River fluvial valley-fill sandstones from outcrop, Donkey Creek field at 2 km burial depth, and Buck Draw field at 3.8 km indicates that reservoir quality differs significantly in these three areas. Fall River sandstones at the surface contain an average of 31% intergranular volume (IGV) and 2% quartz cement. In both Donkey Creek and Buck Draw fields, the sandstones averagemore » 22% IGV, but quartz-cement volume averages 8% in the shallower field and 12% in the deeper. Geometric mean permeability at the surface is 4,700 md, compared with 42 md at 2 km and 2 md at 3.8 km. Burial history of the Fall River sandstone differs greatly in the three areas. The outcropping sandstones were buried to 2 km and had reached 80 C by the end of the Cretaceous. They were then uplifted and have remained at near-surface temperatures since the Paleocene; the calculated time-temperature index (TTI) of these sandstones is 1. Fall River sandstones at Donkey Creek were also buried to 2 km and had reached 80 C by the end of the Cretaceous but remained at that depth during the Tertiary; TTI is 14. In Buck Draw field, Fall River sandstones were buried to 2.5 km during the Cretaceous and then continued to subside during the Tertiary, reaching depths of 4 km and temperatures of 140 C; TTI is 512.« less

Phanerozoic burial and exhumation history of southernmost Norway estimated from apatite fission-track analysis data and geological observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Japsen, Peter; Green, Paul F.; Bonow, Johan M.; Chalmers, James A.; Rasmussen, Erik S.

2016-04-01

We present new apatite fission-track analysis (AFTA) data from 27 basement samples from Norway south of ~60°N. The data define three events of cooling and exhumation that overlap in time with events defined from AFTA in southern Sweden (Japsen et al. 2015). The samples cooled below palaeotemperatures of >100°C in a major episode of Triassic cooling as also reported by previous studies (Rohrman et al. 1995). Our study area is just south of the Hardangervidda where Cambrian sediments and Caledonian nappes are present. We thus infer that these palaeotemperatures reflect heating below a cover that accumulated during the Palaeozoic and Triassic. By Late Triassic, this cover had been removed from the Utsira High, off SW Norway, resulting in deep weathering of a granitic landscape (Fredin et al. 2014). Our samples were therefore at or close to the surface at this time. Palaeotemperatures reached ~80°C prior to a second phase of cooling and exhumation in the Jurassic, following a phase of Late Triassic - Jurassic burial. Upper Jurassic sandstones rest on basement near Bergen, NW of our study area (Fossen et al. 1997), and we infer that the Jurassic event led to complete removal of any remaining Phanerozoic cover in the region adjacent to the evolving rift system prior to Late Jurassic subsidence and burial. The data reveal a third phase of cooling in the early Miocene when samples that are now near sea level cooled below palaeotemperatures of ~60°C. For likely values of the palaeogeothermal gradient, such palaeotemperatures correspond to burial below rock columns that reach well above the present-day landscape where elevations rarely exceed 1 km above sea level. This implies that the present-day landscape was shaped by Neogene erosion. This is in agreement with the suggestion of Lidmar-Bergström et al. (2013) that the near-horizontal Palaeic surfaces of southern Norway are the result of Cenozoic erosion to sea level followed by uplift to their present elevations in a

Tritium, deuterium, and oxygen-18 in water collected from unsaturated sediments near a low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Stonestrom, David A.; Striegl, Robert G.

1997-01-01

Pore water was extracted in March 1996 from cores collected from test holes UZB-1 and UZB-2 drilled November 1992 and September 1993, respectively, in the Amargosa Desert south of Beatty, Nevada. The test holes are part of a study to determine factors affecting water and gas movement through unsaturated sediments. The holes are about 100 meters south of the southwest corner of the fence enclosing a commercial burial area for low-level radioactive waste. Water vapor collected from test hole UZB-2 in April 1994 and July 1995 had tritium concentrations greater than would be expected from atmospheric deposition. An apparatus was built in which pore water was extracted by cryodistillation from the previously obtained core samples. The extracted core water was analyzed for the radioactive isotope tritium and for the stable isotopes deuterium (D) and oxygen-18 (18O). The isotopic composition of core water was compared with that of water vapor previously collected from air ports in test hole UZB-2 and to additional samples collected during May 1996. Core water becomes increasingly depleted in D and 18O from the land surface to a depth of 30 meters, indicating that net evaporation of water is occurring near the land surface. Below a depth of 30 meters the stable-isotopic composition of core water becomes nearly constant and roughly equal to that of ground water. The stable isotopes plot on an evaporation trend. The source of the partly evaporated water could be either ground water or past precipitation having the same average isotopic composition as ground water but not modern precipitation, based on 18 months of record. Profiles of D and 18O in water vapor roughly parallel those in core water. The stable isotopes of core water appear to be in isotopic equilibrium with water vapor from UZB-2 when temperature-dependent fractionation is considered. The data are consistent with the hypothesis of evaporative discharge of ground water at the land surface. The concentration of

Remedial investigation report, site 2-Pesticide Pit Burial Area, Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, New York. Volume 1. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Site 2-Pesticide Pit Burial Area was investigated under the Installation Restoration Program. A removal action was conducted in 1988, when pesticide containers and contaminated soil were excavated from the pit. The pit covered an area of approximately 1000 square feet and was approximately 12 feet deep. The report recommends no further action based on study results.

Remedial investigation report, site 2-Pesticide Pit Burial Area, Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, New York. Volume 2. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Site 2-Pesticide Pit Burial Area was investigated under the Installation Restoration Program. A removal action was conducted in 1988, when pesticide containers and contaminated soil were excavated from the pit. The pit covered an area of approximately 1000 square feet and was approximately 12 feet deep. The report recommends no further action based on study results.

Candidate waste forms for immobilisation of waste chloride salt from pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vance, E. R.; Davis, J.; Olufson, K.; Chironi, I.; Karatchevtseva, I.; Farnan, I.

2012-01-01

Sodalite/glass bodies prepared by hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) at ˜850 °C/100 MPa are candidates for immobilising fission product-bearing waste KCl-LiCl pyroprocessing salts. To study the capacity of sodalite to structurally incorporate such pyroprocessing salts, K, Li, Cs, Sr, Ba and La were individually targeted for substitution in a Na site in sodalite (Na vacancies targeted as charge compensators for alkaline and rare earths) and studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy after sintering in the range of 800-1000 °C. K and Li appeared to enter the sodalite, but Cs, Sr and Ba formed aluminosilicate phases and La formed an oxyapatite phase. However these non-sodalite phases have reasonable resistance to water leaching. Pure chlorapatite gives superior leach resistance to sodalite, and alkalis, alkaline and rare earth ions are generally known to enter chlorapatite, but attempts to incorporate simulated waste salt formulations into HIPed chlorapatite-based preparations or to substitute Cs alone into the structure of Ca-based chlorapatite were not successful on the basis of scanning electron microscopy. The materials exhibited severe water leachability, mainly in regard to Cs release. Attempts to substitute Cs into Ba- and Sr-based chlorapatites also did not look encouraging. Consequently the use of apatite alone to retain fission product-bearing waste pyroprocessing salts from electrolytic nuclear fuel reprocessing is problematical, but chlorapatite glass-ceramics may be feasible, albeit with reduced waste loadings. Spodiosite, Ca 2(PO 4)Cl, does not appear to be suitable for incorporation of Cl-bearing waste containing fission products.

Transport of elemental mercury in the unsaturated zone from a waste disposal site in an arid region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walvoord, Michelle Ann; Andraski, Brian J.; Krabbenhoft, D.P.; Striegl, Robert G.

2008-01-01

Mercury contained in buried landfill waste may be released via upward emission to the atmosphere or downward leaching to groundwater. Data from the US Geological Survey’s Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) in arid southwestern Nevada reveal another potential pathway of Hg release: long-distance (102 m) lateral migration of elemental Hg (Hg0) through the unsaturated zone. Gas collected from multiple depths from two instrumented boreholes that sample the entire 110-m unsaturated zone thickness and are located 100 and 160 m away from the closest waste burial trench exhibit gaseous Hg concentrations of up to 33 and 11 ng m−3, respectively. The vertical distribution of gaseous Hg in the borehole closest to the disposal site shows distinct subsurface peaks in concentration at depths of 1.5 and 24 m that cannot be explained by radial diffusive transport through a heterogeneous layered unsaturated zone. The inability of current models to explain gaseous Hg distribution at the ADRS highlights the need to advance the understanding of gas-phase contaminant transport in unsaturated zones to attain a comprehensive model of landfill Hg release.

Examination of food waste co-digestion to manage the peak in energy demand at wastewater treatment plants.

PubMed

Lensch, D; Schaum, C; Cornel, P

2016-01-01

Many digesters in Germany are not operated at full capacity; this offers the opportunity for co-digestion. Within this research the potentials and limits of a flexible and adapted sludge treatment are examined with a focus on the digestion process with added food waste as co-substrate. In parallel, energy data from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) are analysed and lab-scale semi-continuous and batch digestion tests are conducted. Within the digestion tests, the ratio of sewage sludge to co-substrate was varied. The final methane yields show the high potential of food waste: the higher the amount of food waste the higher the final yield. However, the conversion rates directly after charging demonstrate better results by charging 10% food waste instead of 20%. Finally, these results are merged with the energy data from the WWTP. As an illustration, the load required to cover base loads as well as peak loads for typical daily variations of the plant's energy demand are calculated. It was found that 735 m³ raw sludge and 73 m³ of a mixture of raw sludge and food waste is required to cover 100% of the base load and 95% of the peak load.

``Recycling'' Nuclear Power Plant Waste: Technical Difficulties and Proliferation Concerns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyman, Edwin

2007-04-01

One of the most vexing problems associated with nuclear energy is the inability to find a technically and politically viable solution for the disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. The U.S. plan to develop a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is in jeopardy, as a result of managerial incompetence, political opposition and regulatory standards that may be impossible to meet. As a result, there is growing interest in technologies that are claimed to have the potential to drastically reduce the amount of waste that would require geologic burial and the length of time that the waste would require containment. A scenario for such a vision was presented in the December 2005 Scientific American. While details differ, these technologies share a common approach: they require chemical processing of spent fuel to extract plutonium and other long-lived actinide elements, which would then be ``recycled'' into fresh fuel for advanced reactors and ``transmuted'' into shorter-lived fission products. Such a scheme is the basis for the ``Global Nuclear Energy Partnership,'' a major program unveiled by the Department of Energy (DOE) in early 2006. This concept is not new, but has been studied for decades. Major obstacles include fundamental safety issues, engineering feasibility and cost. Perhaps the most important consideration in the post-9/11 era is that these technologies involve the separation of plutonium and other nuclear weapon-usable materials from highly radioactive fission products, providing opportunities for terrorists seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. While DOE claims that it will only utilize processes that do not produce ``separated plutonium,'' it has offered no evidence that such technologies would effectively deter theft. It is doubtful that DOE's scheme can be implemented without an unacceptable increase in the risk of nuclear terrorism.

Industrial Program of Waste Management - Cigeo Project - 13033

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Butez, Marc; Bartagnon, Olivier; Gagner, Laurent

2013-07-01

The French Planning Act of 28 June 2006 prescribed that a reversible repository in a deep geological formation be chosen as the reference solution for the long-term management of high-level and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste. It also entrusted the responsibility of further studies and design of the repository (named Cigeo) upon the French Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra), in order for the review of the creation-license application to start in 2015 and, subject to its approval, the commissioning of the repository to take place in 2025. Andra is responsible for siting, designing, implementing, operating the future geological repository, including operationalmore » and long term safety and waste acceptance. Nuclear operators (Electricite de France (EDF), AREVA NC, and the French Commission in charge of Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) are technically and financially responsible for the waste they generate, with no limit in time. They provide Andra, on one hand, with waste packages related input data, and on the other hand with their long term industrial experiences of high and intermediate-level long-lived radwaste management and nuclear operation. Andra, EDF, AREVA and CEA established a cooperation agreement for strengthening their collaborations in these fields. Within this agreement Andra and the nuclear operators have defined an industrial program for waste management. This program includes the waste inventory to be taken into account for the design of the Cigeo project and the structural hypothesis underlying its phased development. It schedules the delivery of the different categories of waste and defines associated flows. (authors)« less

Thallium isotopes track fluctuations in global manganese oxide burial during the Ediacaran Period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostrander, C. M.; Nielsen, S.; Owens, J. D.; Jiang, G.; Planavsky, N.; Sahoo, S. K.; Zhang, F.; Lyons, T. W.; Anbar, A. D.

2017-12-01

Complex marine ecosystems appear in the geologic record for the first time during the Ediacaran (635 - 541 Ma), after the Marinoan Glaciation but before the Cambrian Explosion. Much debate surrounds the redox-state of global oceans during this diversification, with some arguing for pervasive anoxic conditions and others for increased oxygenation, including the possibility of episodic oxygen increases. Here, we use thallium (Tl) isotopes preserved in organic-rich shales from a deep-water section at Wuhe, South China, to track large-scale perturbations in Mn oxide burial during the Ediacaran. Changes to the Tl isotope composition of seawater over geologic timescales are driven dominantly by fluctuations in global Mn oxide burial, which require persistent O2 at the sediment-water interface. Importantly, the suite of sedimentary rocks analyzed is thought to have been deposited beneath persistent localized euxinia, which is an environment shown to effectively capture the Tl isotope composition of seawater. Within samples previously suggested to host oceanic oxygenation episodes (OOEs) because of high redox-sensitive element (RSE) enrichments (Sahoo et al. 2016, Geobiology), we find Tl isotope values as light as -5 epsilon units, which are indicative of removal of heavy Tl by Mn oxides elsewhere in the Ediacaran ocean and in-line with the presence of deep-marine O2. Intriguingly, between these events, during periods previously viewed as dominantly anoxic, we find Tl isotope excursions to values that are even lighter than during the OOEs (less than -10 epsilon units). To first order, these results imply that an even larger Mn oxide sink was present between the OOEs, which would require pervasive oceanic oxygenation. This interpretation is in direct conflict with interpretations of low RSE enrichments in these same samples, which invoke reservoir drawdown due to widespread anoxia—as well as many other data that suggest dominantly anoxic deep marine conditions through the

In situ measurement of geoacoustic sediment properties: An example from the ONR Mine Burial Program, Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraft, Barbara J.; Mayer, Larry A.; Simpkin, Peter G.; Goff, John A.

2003-04-01

In support of the Office of Naval Research's Mine Burial Program (MBP), in situ acoustic and resistivity measurements were obtained using ISSAP, a device developed and built by the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping. One of the field areas selected for the MBP experiments is the WHOI coastal observatory based off Martha's Vineyard. This area is an active natural laboratory that will provide an ideal environment for testing and observing mine migration and burial patterns due to temporal seabed processes. Seawater and surficial sediment measurements of compressional wave sound speed, attenuation, and resistivity were obtained at 87 stations. The ISSAP instrument used four transducer probes arranged in a square pattern giving acoustic path lengths of 30 and 20 cm with a maximum insertion depth of 15 cm. Transducers operated at a frequency of 65 kHz. The received acoustic signal was sampled at a frequency of 5 MHz. A measurement cycle was completed by transmitting 10 pulses on each of the five paths and repeating three times for a total 150 measurements. Resistivity measurements were obtained from two probes mounted on ISSAP following completion of the acoustic measurements. [Research supported by ONR Grant Nos. N00014-00-1-0821 and N00014-02-1-0138.

North Slope, Alaska: Source rock distribution, richness, thermal maturity, and petroleum charge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peters, K.E.; Magoon, L.B.; Bird, K.J.; Valin, Z.C.; Keller, M.A.

2006-01-01

Four key marine petroleum source rock units were identified, characterized, and mapped in the subsurface to better understand the origin and distribution of petroleum on the North Slope of Alaska. These marine source rocks, from oldest to youngest, include four intervals: (1) Middle-Upper Triassic Shublik Formation, (2) basal condensed section in the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale, (3) Cretaceous pebble shale unit, and (4) Cretaceous Hue Shale. Well logs for more than 60 wells and total organic carbon (TOC) and Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses for 1183 samples in 125 well penetrations of the source rocks were used to map the present-day thickness of each source rock and the quantity (TOC), quality (hydrogen index), and thermal maturity (Tmax) of the organic matter. Based on assumptions related to carbon mass balance and regional distributions of TOC, the present-day source rock quantity and quality maps were used to determine the extent of fractional conversion of the kerogen to petroleum and to map the original TOC (TOCo) and the original hydrogen index (HIo) prior to thermal maturation. The quantity and quality of oil-prone organic matter in Shublik Formation source rock generally exceeded that of the other units prior to thermal maturation (commonly TOCo > 4 wt.% and HIo > 600 mg hydrocarbon/g TOC), although all are likely sources for at least some petroleum on the North Slope. We used Rock-Eval and hydrous pyrolysis methods to calculate expulsion factors and petroleum charge for each of the four source rocks in the study area. Without attempting to identify the correct methods, we conclude that calculations based on Rock-Eval pyrolysis overestimate expulsion factors and petroleum charge because low pressure and rapid removal of thermally cracked products by the carrier gas retards cross-linking and pyrobitumen formation that is otherwise favored by natural burial maturation. Expulsion factors and petroleum charge based on hydrous pyrolysis may also be high

Household solid waste characteristics and management in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Sujauddin, Mohammad; Huda, S M S; Hoque, A T M Rafiqul

2008-01-01

Solid waste management (SWM) is a multidimensional challenge faced by urban authorities, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. We investigated per capita waste generation by residents, its composition, and the households' attitudes towards waste management at Rahman Nagar Residential Area, Chittagong, Bangladesh. The study involved a structured questionnaire and encompassed 75 households from five different socioeconomic groups (SEGs): low (LSEG), lower middle (LMSEG), middle (MSEG), upper middle (UMSEG) and high (HSEG). Wastes, collected from all of the groups of households, were segregated and weighed. Waste generation was 1.3 kg/household/day and 0.25 kg/person/day. Household solid waste (HSW) was comprised of nine categories of wastes with vegetable/food waste being the largest component (62%). Vegetable/food waste generation increased from the HSEG (47%) to the LSEG (88%). By weight, 66% of the waste was compostable in nature. The generation of HSW was positively correlated with family size (r xy=0.236, p<0.05), education level (r xy=0.244, p<0.05) and monthly income (r xy=0.671, p<0.01) of the households. Municipal authorities are usually the responsible agencies for solid waste collection and disposal, but the magnitude of the problem is well beyond the ability of any municipal government to tackle. Hence dwellers were found to take the service from the local waste management initiative. Of the respondents, an impressive 44% were willing to pay US dollars 0.3 to US dollars 0.4 per month to waste collectors and it is recommended that service charge be based on the volume of waste generated by households. Almost a quarter (22.7%) of the respondents preferred 12-1 pm as the time period for their waste to be collected. This study adequately shows that household solid waste can be converted from burden to resource through segregation at the source, since people are aware of their role in this direction provided a mechanism to assist them in this

UNSAT-H Version 2. 0: Unsaturated soil water and heat flow model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fayer, M.J.; Jones, T.L.

1990-04-01

This report documents UNSAT-H Version 2.0, a model for calculating water and heat flow in unsaturated media. The documentation includes the bases for the conceptual model and its numerical implementation, benchmark test cases, example simulations involving layered soils and plant transpiration, and the code listing. Waste management practices at the Hanford Site have included disposal of low-level wastes by near-surface burial. Predicting the future long-term performance of any such burial site in terms of migration of contaminants requires a model capable of simulating water flow in the unsaturated soils above the buried waste. The model currently used to meet thismore » need is UNSAT-H. This model was developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory to assess water dynamics of near-surface, waste-disposal sites at the Hanford Site. The code is primarily used to predict deep drainage as a function of such environmental conditions as climate, soil type, and vegetation. UNSAT-H is also used to simulate the effects of various practices to enhance isolation of wastes. 66 refs., 29 figs., 7 tabs.« less

Waste burning and heat recovery characteristics of a mass burn incineration system.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Hsin

2003-02-01

An experimental investigation on waste combustion characteristics of a mass burn incinerator is conducted in this study. Three different charging modes, including operator manipulation, periodic feeding, and temperature control, are taken into consideration. The results indicate that the burning characteristics in the combustion chambers are closely related to the operating modes. For the operator manipulation where the wastes are sent into the incinerator in two short periods, the entire temperature distribution of the primary combustion chamber can be partitioned into two parts, thereby yielding waste group combustion. Temperature oscillations in both the primary and secondary combustion chambers are characterized for the periodic feeding. However, because of the shorter charging period and smaller amount of waste, the burning interaction between the two chambers is initially weak and becomes notable in the final stage. When temperature control is performed, the burning oscillation of the primary combustion chamber is further amplified so the combustion interaction is drastic. These exhibitions are mainly caused by the competition between endothermic and exothermic reactions. The instantaneous heat exchange efficiency of the cyclone heat recovery system (CHRS) installed in the incineration system is also evaluated to obtain details of energy recovery behaviors. As a result, the efficiency tends to decrease linearly with increasing temperature of hot flue gas. This arises from the fact that heat loss from the gas to the environment is increased when the temperature of the former is higher, even though the temperature gradient across the cyclone is enlarged.

Using a contingent valuation approach for improved solid waste management facility: Evidence from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Afroz, Rafia, E-mail: rafia_afroz@yahoo.com; Masud, Muhammad Mehedi

2011-04-15

This study employed contingent valuation method to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of the households to improve the waste collection system in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The objective of this study is to evaluate how household WTP changes when recycling and waste separation at source is made mandatory. The methodology consisted of asking people directly about their WTP for an additional waste collection service charge to cover the costs of a new waste management project. The new waste management project consisted of two versions: version A (recycling and waste separation is mandatory) and version B (recycling and waste separation ismore » not mandatory). The households declined their WTP for version A when they were asked to separate the waste at source although all the facilities would be given to them for waste separation. The result of this study indicates that the households were not conscious about the benefits of recycling and waste separation. Concerted efforts should be taken to raise environmental consciousness of the households through education and more publicity regarding waste separation, reducing and recycling.« less

Nuclear Archeology in a Bottle: Evidence of Pre-Trinity U.S. Weapons Activities from a Waste Burial Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schwantes, Jon M.; Douglas, Matthew; Bonde, Steven E.

2009-02-15

During World War II, the Hanford Site in Washington was chosen for plutonium production. In 2004, a bottle containing a sample of plutonium was recovered from a Hanford waste trench. Isotopic age dating indicated the sample was separated from the fuel pellet 64 ±2.8 years earlier. Detectable products of secondary nuclear reactions, such as 22Na, proved useful as 1) a detectable analog for alpha emitting actinides, 2) an indicator of sample splitting, and 3) a measure of the time since sample splitting. The sample origin was identified as the X-10 reactor, Oak Ridge, TN. Corroborated by historical documents, we concludedmore » this sample was part of the first batch of Pu separated at T-Plant, Hanford, the world’s first industrial-scale reprocessing facility, on December 9, 1944.« less

Glacial geology and stratigraphy of Western New York Nuclear Service Center and vicinity, Cattaraugus and Erie Counties, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

LaFleur, Robert G.

1979-01-01

A detailed glacial geologic map at a scale of 1:24,000, embracing a 165 square-mile area in Erie and Cattaraugus Counties, NY, shows 27 mapping units, including the till complex in which the West Valley radioactive-waste burial site is located. Stratigraphic relationships at 24 boreholes at the burial site and 6 newly described exposures indicate the age of the till complex to be early late Woodfordian (post-Kent, pre-Lake Escarpment, Valley Heads), equivalent to the Lavery glacial advance. Correlations of mapping units and measured sections with Woodfordian and older glacial and deglacial episodes are proposed. The Lavery till is confined to the valleys of Cattaraugus Creek and its major tributaries. At the waste-burial site in Buttermilk Creek Valley, the Lavery is an interfingering complex of clayey-silt till and thinner beds of deformed, poorly stratified lacustrine clay and silt. Ice readvance after the Kent glacial recession and Erie Interstade erosion imponded proglacial lake water in Buttermilk Creek Valley and covered post-Kent kame deltas and Erie channel gravels with as much as 130 feet of till. The Lavery till thins southward to a thickness of 80 feet at the waste-burial site and to less than 16 feet near the hamlet of West Valley. Water from the Lavery till may flow through subjacent Erie channel gravel and Kent-recessional kame delta sand to the bluffs along Buttermilk Creek, where discharge of water from these exposed pervious deposits appears to cause major slumps. (USGS)

Environmental Factor{trademark} system: RCRA hazardous waste handler information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1999-03-01

Environmental Factor{trademark} RCRA Hazardous Waste Handler Information on CD-ROM unleashes the invaluable information found in two key EPA data sources on hazardous waste handlers and offers cradle-to-grave waste tracking. It`s easy to search and display: (1) Permit status, design capacity and compliance history for facilities found in the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (RCRIS) program tracking database; (2) Detailed information on hazardous wastes generation, management and minimization by companies who are large quantity generators, and (3) Data on the waste management practices of treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facilities from the EPA Biennial Reporting System which is collectedmore » every other year. Environmental Factor`s powerful database retrieval system lets you: (1) Search for RCRA facilities by permit type, SIC code, waste codes, corrective action or violation information, TSD status, generator and transporter status and more; (2) View compliance information -- dates of evaluation, violation, enforcement and corrective action; (3) Lookup facilities by waste processing categories of marketing, transporting, processing and energy recovery; (4) Use owner/operator information and names, titles and telephone numbers of project managers for prospecting; and (5) Browse detailed data on TSD facility and large quantity generators` activities such as onsite waste treatment, disposal, or recycling, offsite waste received, and waste generation and management. The product contains databases, search and retrieval software on two CD-ROMs, an installation diskette and User`s Guide. Environmental Factor has online context-sensitive help from any screen and a printed User`s Guide describing installation and step-by-step procedures for searching, retrieving and exporting. Hotline support is also available for no additional charge.« less

Resolving the Ripples (and a Mine): High-Resolution Multibeam Survey of Martha's Vineyard ONR Mine Burial Program Field Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, L. A.; Raymond, R.; Glang, G.; Huff, L.

2002-12-01

In an effort to better understand the coastal processes responsible for the burial and exposure of small objects on the seafloor, the Office of Naval Research is sponsoring the Mine Burial Program. Among the field areas chosen for this program is the site of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO), a permanent instrumented node in 12 m of water about 500 m off the southern shore of Martha?s Vineyard. In support of the ONR program, several site surveys of the MVCO area have been conducted (see Goff et al); here we report the result of the most recent of these surveys, a very high-resolution multibeam survey aimed at establishing a detailed base map for the region and providing a baseline from which subsequent surveys can measure seafloor change In late July we conducted a five day survey of an approximately 3 x 5 km area surrounding the MVCO node using a Reson 8125 focused multibeam sonar aboard the SAIC survey vessel Ocean Explorer. The 8125 is a newly developed multibeam sonar that operates at 455 kHz and uses dynamic focusing to compensate for the curvature of the wavefront in the near-field. By using a relatively long array, the system can achieve very high spatial resolution (0.5 degree beam width) and with the dynamic focusing, can operate in the near field. The real constraint on resolution using this system is the ability to position the soundings and thus three kinematic DGPS base stations were established on Martha?s Vineyard and three kinematic receivers were used on the survey vessel. The kinematic GPS positioning is also critical to the ability to do repeat surveys with an accuracy high enough to resolve small (less than 10 cm) seafloor changes. Also to aid in our ability to accurately position repeat surveys, divers jetted sonar reflectors into the seafloor to act as fiducials. A super high-resolution (4 m overlap) survey was conducted in a small area surrounding the MVCO node and mine burial sites, a slightly lower resolution survey (12 to 25

Antiquity of man in America indicated by radiometric dates on the Yuha burial site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bischoff, J.L.; Merriam, R.; Childers, W.M.; Protsch, R.

1976-01-01

MUCH evidence suggests that man was present in the Western Hemisphere before 12,000 yr ago, but the case has remained less than conclusive 1. In some situations, the geological age of the site is reasonably well established but the association or nature of the artefacts is questionable2,3. In other cases, museum specimens of human bones dated by radiocarbon analysis of collagen lack desirable information concerning site location, geology, and stratigraphy even though the accuracy of their absolute ages seems valid4-6. We report here the results of radiometric dates of the Yuha burial site from Imperial County, California, for which the geology and stratigraphy have been documented and reported in detail7. ?? 1976 Nature Publishing Group.

Review of the transport of selected radionuclides in the interim risk assessment for the Radioactive Waste Management Complex, Waste Area Group 7 Operable Unit 7-13/14, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rousseau, Joseph P.; Landa, Edward R.; Nimmo, John R.; Cecil, L. DeWayne; Knobel, LeRoy L.; Glynn, Pierre D.; Kwicklis, Edward M.; Curtis, Gary P.; Stollenwerk, Kenneth G.; Anderson, Steven R.; Bartholomay, Roy C.; Bossong, Clifford R.; Orr, Brennon R.

2005-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requested that the U.S. Geological Survey conduct an independent technical review of the Interim Risk Assessment (IRA) and Contaminant Screening for the Waste Area Group 7 (WAG-7) Remedial Investigation, the draft Addendum to the Work Plan for Operable Unit 7-13/14 WAG-7 comprehensive Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS), and supporting documents that were prepared by Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies, Inc. The purpose of the technical review was to assess the data and geotechnical approaches that were used to estimate future risks associated with the release of the actinides americium, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium to the Snake River Plain aquifer from wastes buried in pits and trenches at the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA). The SDA is located at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex in southeastern Idaho within the boundaries of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Radionuclides have been buried in pits and trenches at the SDA since 1957 and 1952, respectively. Burial of transuranic wastes was discontinued in 1982. The five specific tasks associated with this review were defined in a ?Proposed Scope of Work? prepared by the DOE, and a follow-up workshop held in June 1998. The specific tasks were (1) to review the radionuclide sampling data to determine how reliable and significant are the reported radionuclide detections and how reliable is the ongoing sampling program, (2) to assess the physical and chemical processes that logically can be invoked to explain true detections, (3) to determine if distribution coefficients that were used in the IRA are reliable and if they have been applied properly, (4) to determine if transport model predictions are technically sound, and (5) to identify issues needing resolution to determine technical adequacy of the risk assessment analysis, and what additional work is required to resolve those issues.

Influence of natural organic matter on equilibrium adsorption of neutral and charged pharmaceuticals onto activated carbon.

PubMed

de Ridder, D J; Verliefde, A R D; Heijman, S G J; Verberk, J Q J C; Rietveld, L C; van der Aa, L T J; Amy, G L; van Dijk, J C

2011-01-01

Natural organic matter (NOM) can influence pharmaceutical adsorption onto granular activated carbon (GAC) by direct adsorption competition and pore blocking. However, in the literature there is limited information on which of these mechanisms is more important and how this is related to NOM and pharmaceutical properties. Adsorption batch experiments were carried out in ultrapure, waste- and surface water and fresh and NOM preloaded GAC was used. Twenty-one pharmaceuticals were selected with varying hydrophobicity and with neutral, negative or positive charge. The influence of NOM competition and pore blocking could not be separated. However, while reduction in surface area was similar for both preloaded GACs, up to 50% lower pharmaceutical removal was observed on wastewater preloaded GAC. This was attributed to higher hydrophobicity of wastewater NOM, indicating that NOM competition may influence pharmaceutical removal more than pore blocking. Preloaded GAC was negatively charged, which influenced removal of charged pharmaceuticals significantly. At a GAC dose of 6.7 mg/L, negatively charged pharmaceuticals were removed for 0-58%, while removal of positively charged pharmaceuticals was between 32-98%. Charge effects were more pronounced in ultrapure water, as it contained no ions to shield the surface charge. Solutes with higher log D could compete better with NOM, resulting in higher removal.

Earthquake-induced subsidence and burial of late holocene archaeological sites, northern Oregon coast

USGS Publications Warehouse

Minor, R.; Grant, W.C.

1996-01-01

Fire hearths associated with prehistoric Native American occupation lie within the youngest buried lowland soil of the estuaries along the Salmon and Nehalem rivers on the northern Oregon coast. This buried soil is the result of sudden subsidence induced by a great earthquake about 300 years ago along the Cascadia subduction zone, which extends offshore along the North Pacific Coast from Vancouver Island to northern California. The earthquake 300 years ago was the latest in a series of subsidence events along the Cascadia subduction zone over the last several thousand years. Over the long term, subsidence and burial of prehistoric settlements as a result of Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes have almost certainly been an important factor contributing to the limited time depth of the archaeological record along this section of the North Pacific Coast. Copyright ?? by the Society for American Archaeology.

Widespread mixing and burial of Earth's Hadean crust by asteroid impacts.

PubMed

Marchi, S; Bottke, W F; Elkins-Tanton, L T; Bierhaus, M; Wuennemann, K; Morbidelli, A; Kring, D A

2014-07-31

The history of the Hadean Earth (∼4.0-4.5 billion years ago) is poorly understood because few known rocks are older than ∼3.8 billion years old. The main constraints from this era come from ancient submillimetre zircon grains. Some of these zircons date back to ∼4.4 billion years ago when the Moon, and presumably the Earth, was being pummelled by an enormous flux of extraterrestrial bodies. The magnitude and exact timing of these early terrestrial impacts, and their effects on crustal growth and evolution, are unknown. Here we provide a new bombardment model of the Hadean Earth that has been calibrated using existing lunar and terrestrial data. We find that the surface of the Hadean Earth was widely reprocessed by impacts through mixing and burial by impact-generated melt. This model may explain the age distribution of Hadean zircons and the absence of early terrestrial rocks. Existing oceans would have repeatedly boiled away into steam atmospheres as a result of large collisions as late as about 4 billion years ago.

The effect of increased private sector involvement in solid waste collection in five cities in Ghana.

PubMed

Oduro-Kwarteng, Sampson; van Dijk, Meine Pieter

2013-10-01

Private sector involvement in solid waste management in developing countries has increased, but the effect is not always clear. This study assesses how it has been organized in five cities in Ghana, what has been its effect and what lessons for private sector development in developing countries can be drawn. Data were collected from 25 private companies and a sample of 1200 households. More than 60% of solid waste in Ghanaian cities is now collected by private enterprises. Sometimes, and increasingly, competitive bidding takes place, although sometimes no bidding is organized leading to rendering of this service and no contract being signed. Local governments and local solid waste companies have not changed to more customer-oriented delivery because of the slow pace of charging users and the resulting low rate of cost recovery. The participation of the population has been limited, which contributes to low cost recovery. However, a gradual better functioning of the system put in place is shown. We observed an increasing use of competitive bidding, signing of contracts and city-wide user charging.

A procedure to estimate proximate analysis of mixed organic wastes.

PubMed

Zaher, U; Buffiere, P; Steyer, J P; Chen, S

2009-04-01

In waste materials, proximate analysis measuring the total concentration of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid contents from solid wastes is challenging, as a result of the heterogeneous and solid nature of wastes. This paper presents a new procedure that was developed to estimate such complex chemical composition of the waste using conventional practical measurements, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon. The procedure is based on mass balance of macronutrient elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus [CHNOP]) (i.e., elemental continuity), in addition to the balance of COD and charge intensity that are applied in mathematical modeling of biological processes. Knowing the composition of such a complex substrate is crucial to study solid waste anaerobic degradation. The procedure was formulated to generate the detailed input required for the International Water Association (London, United Kingdom) Anaerobic Digestion Model number 1 (IWA-ADM1). The complex particulate composition estimated by the procedure was validated with several types of food wastes and animal manures. To make proximate analysis feasible for validation, the wastes were classified into 19 types to allow accurate extraction and proximate analysis. The estimated carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and inerts concentrations were highly correlated to the proximate analysis; correlation coefficients were 0.94, 0.88, 0.99, and 0.96, respectively. For most of the wastes, carbohydrate was the highest fraction and was estimated accurately by the procedure over an extended range with high linearity. For wastes that are rich in protein and fiber, the procedure was even more consistent compared with the proximate analysis. The new procedure can be used for waste characterization in solid waste treatment design and optimization.

Charge states of ions, and mechanisms of charge ordering transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickett, Warren E.; Quan, Yundi; Pardo, Victor

2014-07-01

To gain insight into the mechanism of charge ordering transitions, which conventionally are pictured as a disproportionation of an ion M as 2Mn+→M(n+1)+ + M(n-1)+, we (1) review and reconsider the charge state (or oxidation number) picture itself, (2) introduce new results for the putative charge ordering compound AgNiO2 and the dual charge state insulator AgO, and (3) analyze the cationic occupations of the actual (not formal) charge, and work to reconcile the conundrums that arise. We establish that several of the clearest cases of charge ordering transitions involve no disproportion (no charge transfer between the cations, and hence no charge ordering), and that the experimental data used to support charge ordering can be accounted for within density functional-based calculations that contain no charge transfer between cations. We propose that the charge state picture retains meaning and importance, at least in many cases, if one focuses on Wannier functions rather than atomic orbitals. The challenge of modeling charge ordering transitions with model Hamiltonians isdiscussed.

PRESTO low-level waste transport and risk assessment code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Little, C.A.; Fields, D.E.; McDowell-Boyer, L.M.

1981-01-01

PRESTO (Prediction of Radiation Effects from Shallow Trench Operations) is a computer code developed under US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to evaluate possible health effects from shallow land burial trenches. The model is intended to be generic and to assess radionuclide transport, ensuing exposure, and health impact to a static local population for a 1000-y period following the end of burial operations. Human exposure scenarios considered by the model include normal releases (including leaching and operational spillage), human intrusion, and site farming or reclamation. Pathways and processes of transit from the trench to an individual or population inlude: groundwatermore » transport, overland flow, erosion, surface water dilution, resuspension, atmospheric transport, deposition, inhalation, and ingestion of contaminated beef, milk, crops, and water. Both population doses and individual doses are calculated as well as doses to the intruder and farmer. Cumulative health effects in terms of deaths from cancer are calculated for the population over the thousand-year period using a life-table approach. Data bases are being developed for three extant shallow land burial sites: Barnwell, South Carolina; Beatty, Nevada; and West Valley, New York.« less

Charge renormalization and inversion of a highly charged lipid bilayer: effects of dielectric discontinuities and charge correlations.

PubMed

Taheri-Araghi, Sattar; Ha, Bae-Yeun

2005-08-01

We reexamine the problem of charge renormalization and inversion of a highly charged surface of a low dielectric constant immersed in ionic solutions. To be specific, we consider an asymmetrically charged lipid bilayer, in which only one layer is negatively charged. In particular, we study how dielectric discontinuities and charge correlations (among lipid charges and condensed counterions) influence the effective charge of the surface. When counterions are monovalent (e.g., Na+), our mean-field approach implies that dielectric discontinuities can enhance counterion condensation. A simple scaling picture shows how the effects of dielectric discontinuities and surface-charge distributions are intertwined: Dielectric discontinuities diminish condensation if the backbone charge is uniformly smeared out while counterions are localized in space; they can, however, enhance condensation when the backbone charge is discrete. In the presence of asymmetric salts such as CaCl2 , we find that the correlation effect, treated at the Gaussian level, is more pronounced when the surface has a lower dielectric constant, inverting the sign of the charge at a smaller value of Ca2+ concentration.

Battery charging control methods, electric vehicle charging methods, battery charging apparatuses and rechargeable battery systems

DOEpatents

Tuffner, Francis K [Richland, WA; Kintner-Meyer, Michael C. W. [Richland, WA; Hammerstrom, Donald J [West Richland, WA; Pratt, Richard M [Richland, WA

2012-05-22

Battery charging control methods, electric vehicle charging methods, battery charging apparatuses and rechargeable battery systems. According to one aspect, a battery charging control method includes accessing information regarding a presence of at least one of a surplus and a deficiency of electrical energy upon an electrical power distribution system at a plurality of different moments in time, and using the information, controlling an adjustment of an amount of the electrical energy provided from the electrical power distribution system to a rechargeable battery to charge the rechargeable battery.

Bottlenecks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grinstead, Robert R.

1972-01-01

Solid wastes that go at low cost into municipal landfills contain valuable raw materials which technology is not equipped to handle on a large scale. Identifying the key stumbling blocks may help divert the flow of wastes to useful purposes rather than into permanent burial sites. First of a two-part article. (BL)