Maxey Flats Nuclear Disposal, Kentucky

From GeoClasses

Maxey Flats Nuclear Disposal, Kentucky

by: Jennifer McKnatt

This disposal site is located upon a ridge that is 300-feet above surrounding stream valleys. The surronding area is rural and agricultural. About 300 pople live within 5 miles of the site which also contains 120 wells and 25 springs. These residents mostly receive water from a municipal water system.

From 1963 to 1977 , the government licensed private operators to dispose of low-level radioactive wastes from military ships, hospitals, universities, corporations, etc. About 5 million cubic feet of material was disposed here. A restricted area within the disposal site contained source material (uranium and thorium) and special nuclear material (plutonium and enriched uranium). During operation, workers layered each trench with soil. However the Earth eventually collapsed into the ditches. Water collected in these trenches, allowing radionuclides into the surrounding environment.

Activites begun in 1997 to remove trench waste, solidify it, and dispose of it. Cleanup was perfomed in two phases. The first phase was when the waste was solidified, etc. The second phase occurred during 1998 and 2000. During this time almost 1 million gallons of contaminated water was removed. This water was solidified using cement and disposed in earth mounded concrete bunkers.

Also during cleanup, a synthetic cap was installed to minimize infiltration of rainwater into the disposal trenches. This cap covers almost 60 acres and 2.6 million square feet of plastic liner and geotextile, and 350,000 cubic yards of fill dirt.

After this clean-up was complete in 2003, Kentucky issued a mandatory maintenance period that may last 100 years to allow natural stabalization. Also there are continual five year reviews, until it is stablized.

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