HR: 1330h
AN: H32A-0502 [PDF]
TI: Tritium Phytoremediation at the Savannah River Site (SRS), USA: Water Management, Operations, and
Research
AU: * Hitchcock, D R
EM: dhitchcock@fs.fed.us
AF: USDA Forest Service - Savannah River, Center for Forested Wetlands Research, P.O. Box 700, New
Ellenton, SC 29809-0700 United States
AU: Singer, J
EM: singer@srel.edu
AF: UGA Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802 United States
AU: Barton, C D
EM: barton@uky.edu
AF: Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky, 223 Thomas Poe Cooper Bldg, Lexington, KY 40546-0073
United States
AU: Seaman, J
EM: seaman@srel.edu
AF: UGA Savannah River Ecology Lab, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802 United States
AB:
A sprinkler irrigation system is being utilized on a 22-acre upland forested area for the distribution of tritiated
groundwater that is collected by a constructed pond before it can enter the Savannah River. Irrigation scheduling for the
phytoremediation system is typically based on continuous soil water deficit calculations using observed rainfall data and
estimated evapotranspiration. In situ measurements include soil water moisutre and water table depth. Vadose zone soil
water samples are also collected for tritium analyses. Complex hydrological, biochemical, and ecological factors, as well as
operations strategies, influence remediation system success. Factors that contribute to tritium remediation efficiencies,
including relationships with irrigation volumes and frequency, as well as soil and vegetation types and characteristics
within irrigation plots, are being evaluated. Related studies associated with the tritium phytoremediation project include
vadose zone transport modeling and watershed scale water balance estimations. Data analyses from this project should aid in
developing design criteria for future phytoremediation systems at SRS and other nuclear facilities.
DE: 1818 Evapotranspiration
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1836 Hydrologic budget (1655)
DE: 1842 Irrigation
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting