Calcium-Citrate-Phosphate Solution Injection for In Situ Strontium-90 Immobilization

Sr-90 present in groundwater and the vadose zone at the Hanford 100N area due to past waste disposal practices has reached the nearby Columbia River, as evidenced by Sr-90 concentrations in near river wells and aquifer tubes and near shore sediments. Sr-90 is currently being remediated by adsorption onto apatite (55 times stronger than Sr-90 adsorption to sediment), followed by incorporation of the Sr-90 into the apatite structure. If the Sr-90 can remain immobilized for 300 years (~ten 29.1-yr half-lives of Sr-90 decay), it will have decayed below regulatory limits to Y-90 and to stable Zr-90. Apatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2] is being precipitated in situ by injection of an aqueous solution of Ca-citrate and Na-phosphate through a series of injection wells spaced 30 ft on center, forming a 300-ft-long permeable reactive barrier. Design criteria for the injection operations were based on 1) amendment volume and mass injected, 2) amendment arrival at adjacent wells, 3) water-level elevation during treatment, and 4) injection rate limitations associated with well plugging. An evaluation of compliance with these injection design criteria was used to assess operational performance and identify candidate wells for supplemental treatment. Injection design criteria were not fully met at 8 of the 16 injection well locations, with the primary deficiency at 4 of 8 locations being the limited vertical extent of Hanford formation treatment due to low-river-stage conditions during the injection. Wells whose extent of treatment did not meet design criteria were recommended for retreatment. Although injection design criteria were not fully met at a significant number of well locations, aqueous performance assessment monitoring data collected to date indicate good barrier performance. Aqueous Sr-90 monitoring in four compliance monitoring wells over a year following the high concentration injections indicates 84% to 95% decrease in Sr-90 concentrations (relative to the low and high end of the baseline range, respectively). In addition, post treatment sediment cores were collected to quantify the amount of apatite that was formed from the barrier-emplacement operations. Results indicate that the processes that account for the observed reduction in aqueous Sr-90 concentrations include: a) incorporation of Sr-90 into apatite (about 39.4% of the total Sr-90 mass in the core), b) ion exchange flushing due to the Ca-citrate-PO4 solution injection (about 47% of the mass), and c) a small increase in Sr-90 adsorbed to sediment and apatite precipitate.