United States Geologic Association

United States Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, 26 33-34 U.S. HPV Challenge Program, 24 186 U.S. Metric Association, 15 768 United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) steam tables, 23 202 United States National Laboratories (USNL), 24 358... 

Producers USGS = United States Geological Survey GSJ = Geological Survey of Japan NIST= National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA) ANRT = Association Nationale de la Recherche Technique (France)... 

White, D. R, Fournier, R. O., and Heropoulos, C., 1992, Gold and other minor elements associated with the hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, supplemented with data from Steamboat Springs, Nevada United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2001, 19 p. 

The pioneering approach to impact assessment, the Leopold Matrix, was developed by Dr. Luna Leopold and others of the United States Geological Survey [6,10,74-75]. The matrix was designed for the assessment of impacts associated with almost any type of construction project. Its main strength is as a checklist that incorporates qualitative information on cause-and-effect relationships, but it is also useful for commimicating results. 

Seleniferous formations occur in the Great Plains region from Canada to Mexico, accounting for > 700,000 km2 of the western U.S. Seleniferous soils are frequently associated with Se-containing geological formations (Boon, 1989). As discussed above, seleniferous formations occur in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico. Some soils derived from Se-rich parent materials, such as Cretaceous shales of the middle-western United States, have > 10 mg/kg Se and sometimes exceed 50 mg/kg (Reeves and Baker, 2000). 

Craig Bethke is aProfessor at the Department of Geology, University of Illinois, specializing in mathematical modeling of subsurface and surhcial processes. He won the O.E. Meinzer Award from the Geological Society of America and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science he has worked in France and Australia, as well as in the United States. 

Just over 20% of the electricity generated in the United States is produced by nuclear power plants. In 1995, 32,200 metric tons of spent fuel, with a total activity of 30,200 MCi, was stored by the electric utilities at 70 sites (either in pools or in dry storage systems) (Ahearne 1997, Richardson 1997). By 2020, the projected inventory will be 77,100 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) with a total activity of 34,600 MCi. Although the volume of the spent fuel is only a few percent of the volume of HLW, over 95% of the total activity (defense-related plus commercially generated waste) is associated with the commercially generated spent nuclear fuel (Crowley 1997). At present in the United States, none of the spent fuel will be reprocessed all is destined for direct disposal in a geological repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (Hanks et al. 1999). 

Currently in the United States, most of the lead produced comes from mines in Missouri, Alaska, Idaho, and Montana, primarily from lead-zinc and lead ores (361, 362). Worldwide, major lead deposits exist in association with zinc, silver, and/or copper (362). There are five major geological types of lead deposits volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits [Canada, Cyprus, Japan, Australia (Tasmania), Turkey] sediment-hosted deposits of sulfides interbedded with shales, and so on, formed in an anaerobic marine environment [Australia, Canada, Germany, United States (Alaska)] strata-bound carbonate deposits containing sulfide minerals [United States (Mississippi Valley), southern European Alps, Canada, Poland] sandstone-hosted deposits of finely crystalhne sulfides (Canada, France, Morocco, Sweden) and vein deposits of coarsely crystalline sulfide aggregates (western United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru) (364). The wide variety of compositions seen for lead minerals is illustrated by the representative lead minerals listed in Table XV (3,47). Below, we discuss the lead minerals that are most prevalent in nature in more detail. 

Oil shales occur worldwide, span geologic time from Cambrian to present, and were deposited principally in large freshwater lakes (lacustrine environment), shallow seas and continental shelves (marine environment), and in small lakes, bogs and lagoons associated with coal-producing swamps (paludal environment). Oil shale deposits occur in at least SO countries and the estimated world supply of potential oil from shale is S X 10 barrels. Shale oil industries in Scotland, Australia, France, Russia and China have been active since about 1860. In Australia, France and Scotland oil shales have been the source of products similar to that obtained from petroleum. However, the discovery of petroleum in the United States in 1859, and elsewhere soon after, sound the death knell for the economic production of shale oil and the situation remains much the same today. Limited, but continued use of oil shale as an energy resource has been made since about 1909 in China and 1916 in Rus. In Brazil, a pilot plant has been in operation since 1982 and has produced over a million barrels of ale oil. Oil shale is used for some power generation in Israel, and in Australia a new oil shale demonstration plant has been scheduled for construction in the near future. 

The objective of this paper is to discuss the safety issues associated with the immobilization of excess weapons plutonium in ceramic form in the United States. The U.S. government has recommended a dual-track approach to dispose of excess weapons plutonium. According to this approach, about 33 metric tons of pure Pu will be fabricated into mixed oxide (MOX) fuels which will be burned in commercial nuclear light water reactors and up to 17 metric tons of impure Pu will be immobilized into ceramic form which will be permanently disposed of in a geologic repository. It should be noted that a portion of the 33 metric tons of pure Pu may also be immobilized into ceramic form depending on the future decision of the U.S. government. 

Eriksson, L.G. 1989. Underground disposal of high-level radioactive waste in the United States of America. Bulletin International Association of Engineering Geology, 39, 35-52. 

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