Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County

Inventory of radioactive wastes at AECL/Chalk River

Table 1. Status of active waste areas at Chalk River Laboratories (24K)

Waste area	Description	Type & amount	Activity	Status
Liquid Dispersal Area 24K	Natural sand mound with six pits (1987)	liquid rad and chemical waste sent by pipeline from Active Area is dumped here	840 TBq H-3, 150 GBq total beta, 1 GBq alpha per year (1990)	25 TBq H-3, 60 GBq total beta, 30 GBq Sr-90 leaking into streams each year
Area B (20K)	8-ha cleared sandy area with 200 tile holes, ten round concrete bunkers, several trenches	commercial waste site: air filters, ion resins, trash, scintillation vials, carcasses, sheet metal, etc.	13600 cu.m. in trenches, 7100 cu.m. in engineered facilities,3.7 TBq/cu.m. in tile holes, 37 GBq/cu.m. in bunkers, 0.4 GBq/cu.m. in trenches	two main plumes send 4 TBq H-3 and 4 GBq Sr-90 to Perch Lake each year, continuous effluent treatment to remove Sr-90
Area C (20K) (Chart C) (16K)	4.2-ha sandy area with 30 trenches, each 90m. long, 4m. wide, and 3m. deep	same as Area B, but also has 90,000 litres of liquid waste in drums	19300 cu.m. H-3 at 22 GBq/cu.m., MAP and MFP average 0.07 GBq/cu.m. maximum of 3.7 GBq/cu.m. (1987)	plume releases 50 TBq H-3 to Duke Stream each year
Area D	1.3-ha flat area, metal building	contaminated equipment of possible future value, contaminated oil in 600 drums, some with PCBs	equipment is sitting on surface; 200 cu.m of liquid waste with maximum 0.37 GBq/cu.m. Ra-226 (1987)	no leaks reported
Waste Tank Farm	0.07-ha area with seven underground tanks	high-level liquid waste in drums	?	no leaks reported

Table 2. Status of closed waste areas at Chalk River Laboratories

Waste area	Description	Type & amount	Activity	Status
Area A (16K)	1.2-ha level area with solid waste in trenches, three high-level liquid waste dispersals in 1950s	contains 1952 NRX meltdown wastes, two experimtental liquid dispersals in 1954 and 1955	Sr-90 estimated at 52 TBq, also 700 cu.m. low activity solid wastes	plume has advanced 400m towards Perch Lake, now 150m away, moving 2m per year (1990). Reactor Pit 2
Area F	partly filled ravine, covered with soil, grass	72000 cu.m. of Port Hope waste, mostly contaminated soil shipped in late 70s, low activity	Ra-226 at 7 MBq/cu.m., arsenic at 140 ug/g	arsenic is leaching into a nearby stream but no radioactive contamination so far (1990)
Ammonium Nitrate Plant	0.8-ha fenced area on sandy ridge, site of former plant, liquid waste pit	Repeated malfunctions, most equipment was dismantled and buried	mixed fission products include about 37 TBq Sr-90 (1987), 55 TBq total beta (1990)	plume advanced (80K) 400m towards a swampy area, moving 6m per year, will emerge in 10 years (1990)
Thorium Nitrate Pit	Fenced liquid waste pit	20 cu.m. of liquid waste was dispersed here	2000 kg ThNO3, 10g U-233, 185 Gbq each Sr-90, Cs-137, Ce-144	plume is moving 6 m. per year and will reach surface waters in 10 years (1990)
Area G	12 reinforced concrete canisters	spent fuel from former NPD reactor Rolphton	?	no leaks reported

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