Buried materials, location

Location of buried materials at a hazardous waste site is usually for the purpose of remedial action l.e., excavating these materials and ultimately disposing of them. The key unknowns are type (bulk-dumped or packaged in drums or other containers), quantity (volume of waste number of drums), and location, particularly depth of burial. The concerns are for safe excavation without puncturing containers or breaching any existing trench liners and thus aggravating the cleanup problems. 

Choosing the correct burial site is important, since the environment will have a direct effect on the performance of buried materials. This choice must take into account more than just characteristics of a soil, and must include consideration of local conditions of temperature, rainfall, and location. For example, a soil located in a valley near a stream provides a different environment to the same soil on a nearby hill. In general, the best test site is near the structure... 

Automatic discharging suspended magnets can be operated transversely (Fig. 2) or parallel to conveyor flow (Fig. 3b and 3c). Because the tramp iron must be attracted from a buried location and turned 90° from the movement of the conveyor belt, a larger and stronger magnet is required for a transverse installation. In some instances, the material handling layout, or desired operation location, dictates the use of the transversely mounted magnet. 

X-ray reflectometry (XR) has already been described in Sect. 2.1 as a technique for polymer surface investigations. If a suitable contrast between components is present buried interfaces may also be investigated (Fig. 4d) [44,61,62]. The contrast is determined by the difference in electron density between materials. It is, in the case of interfaces between polymers, only achieved if one component contains heavy atoms (chlorine, bromine, metals, etc.). Alternatively the location of the interface may be determined by the deposition of heavy markers at the interface. 

If the seat of a condensed phase explosion and an associated crater can be located, this can be quite helpful. Measurement of crater dimensions can enable an approximate estimate of the amount of explosive involved, and also may focus questioning of witnesses or examination of video footage from security cameras. Crater size depends on the mass and nature of the explosive, the nature of the substrate, and the position of the explosive charge relative to the substrate surface. As a first approximation, the diameter of a crater in a uniform substrate varies as the cube root of the explosive mass for a charge on or above the surface. For charges buried just below the surface, the diameter of the crater is proportional to the mass of explosive raised to the power 7/24 this factor allows for the effect of backfilling of the crater by ejected material. Intuitively (and practically), the diameter of the crater in the surface also decreases with distance of the charge above or below the surface. 

Wastes sometimes are eliminated by burying however, landfill operations usually are followed by some constructive use of the area. Therefore, chemicals buried in such a location may handicap the subsequent use of the site. Where there is a possibility that vapors or reactive product gases could rise to the surface or where the chemical might destroy foundations or interfere with well water supplies, this type of disposal cannot be used. Disposal at sea has been practiced along the coastline, but is being discontinued because of effects on marine life and the possibility of materials being washed up along the shore. 

What can be done after that point to isolate the radioisotopes with long half-lives The plan that currently holds the most promise is to incorporate the unstable nuclei into stable material such as glass, which is then surrounded by canisters made of layers of steel and concrete. The canisters can then be buried deep undergroimd in stable rock formations, as shown in Figure 21.22. The storage sites would be located in a dry, remote area. 

Once deposited on bone, plutonium is not released until the bone is physically destroyed. It may become buried under a new layer of mineral or may be taken up by special cells that digest foreign materials. As these cells die, the plutonium accumulates in immobilized deposits of hemosiderin, an insoluble iron storage protein that contains a large core of polymeric iron hydroxides and phosphates. These deposits are located close to the bone surfaces in the reticuloendothelial cells of the bone marrow10). 

DISPOSAL AND STORAGE METHODS cover contaminated material with a sorbent material such as peat, sawdust, straw, etc. place all contaminated sorbent and soil in impervious containers subject to ultimate disposal by controlled incineration materials may also be buried in a chemical waste landfill store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location separate from strong oxidizers, alkalies, acids and nitrates. 

DISPOSAL AND STORAGE METHODS absorb liquid nitrotoluene in noncombustible materials such as dry earth, sand or vermiculite and place in a sanitary landfill atomize large amounts of liquid in a suitable combustion chamber equipped with effluent gas cleaning device sweep solid nitrotoluene into suitable dry containers material may be incinerated or buried in an approved chemical waste landfill store in a cool, dry location separate from acids, alkalies, oxidizing materials, and reducing agents.. 

DISPOSAL AND STORAGE METHODS spilled material should be encapsulated and buried in a specially designated chemical landfill absorb as much as possible in noncombustible materials such as dry earth, sand, or vermiculite, and place in a secured sanitary landfill store in a cool, dry location with adequate ventilation storage should be in tightly closed containers keep away from strong oxidizers, acids, and chemically active metals. 

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