Lance water injection tests adjacent to the 281-3H retention basin at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina

A pilot-scale field demonstration of waste isolation using viscous- liquid containment barriers has been planned for the 281-3H retention basin at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC. The 281-3H basin is a shallow retention/seepage basin contaminated mainly by radionuclides. The viscous-liquid containment barrier utilizes the permeation of liquid grout to either entomb the contaminants within a monolithic grout structure or to isolate the waste by drastically reducing the permeability, of the soils around the plume. A clear understanding of the hydrogeologic setting of the retention basin is necessary for proper design of the viscous liquid barrier. To aid in the understanding of the hydrogeology of the 281-3H retention basin, and to obtain critical parameters necessary for grout injection design, a series of tests were undertaken in a region immediately adjacent to the basin. The objectives of the LWIT were: 1. To evaluate the general performance of the Lance Injection Technique for grout emplacement at the site, including the range and upper limits of injection pressures, the flow rates applicable for site conditions, as well as the mechanical forces needed for lance penetration. 2. To obtain detailed information on the injectability of the soils immediately adjacent to the H-area retention basin. 3. To identify any high permeability zones suitable for injection and evaluate their spatial distribution. 4. To perform ground penetrating radar (GPR) to gain information on the structure of the soil column and to compare the results with LWIT data. This report will focus on results pertinent to these objectives