Source Term Development For Tritium at the Sheffield Disposal Site

The Sheffield low-level radioactive waste disposal site, which ceased operation in 1978, has been the focus of modeling efforts by the NRC for the purpose of predicting long-term site behavior. To provide the NRC with information required for its modeling effort, a study to define the source term for tritium in eight trenches at the Sheffield site has been undertaken. Tritium is of special interest since significant concentrations of the isotope have been found in groundwater samples taken at the site and at locations outside the original site boundary. Previous estimates of tritium site inventory at Sheffield are in wide disagreement. In this study, the tritium inventory in the eight trenches was estimated by reviewing the radioactive shipping records (RSRs) for waste buried in these trenches. It has been found that the tritium shipped for burial at the site was probably higher than previously estimated. In the eight trenches surveyed, which amount to roughly one half the total volume and activity buried at Sheffield, approximately 2350 Ci of tritium from non-fuel cycle sources were identified.