Geological Repositories

Supplying multilevel groundwater monitoring systems for field studies related to geological repositories since the 1970's

Westbay System has been used in the nuclear waste research programs in Canada, the United States, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and South Korea.

Scientists involved in studying the possibility of burying nuclear waste deep underground agree that the most likely pathway for radionuclides to return to the biosphere is through groundwater.

As a result, careful evaluation of groundwater conditions is critical to determine the feasibility of an underground disposal site. The detailed, defensible data collected through Westbay System provides the key to a thorough understanding of groundwater conditions at a proposed repository site.

Westbay System at Sellafield, northwest England

At the Sellafield site in northwest England, UK NIREX Limited completed approximately 22 boreholes with the Westbay System—one of the largest Westbay installations to date. Of the approximately 270 monitoring zones in these holes, around 160 had Westbay Pressure Probes installed to provide automated monitoring of groundwater pressure.

Westbay System in Yucca Mountain, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been studying Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a potential site for a nuclear waste repository. The groundwater table at Yucca Mountain is quite deep (450 m or 1,500 ft below the ground surface), and plans call to construct a repository in the unsaturated zone above the water table.

As part of its oversight of the DOE's activities, the Nye County Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office installed two Westbay System completions in boreholes in Yucca Mountain in 1995. With 17 Westbay Pressure Probes installed, these wells provide automated monitoring of 15 unsaturated monitoring zones and 2 saturated zones.

From 1998 to the present, Westbay System equipment has been installed in additional wells for Nye County.

For more details, see: www.nyecounty.com 

Westbay System completions provide the key to a thorough understanding of groundwater conditions at any proposed repository site!

Technical papers of interest

• Eldred, C. D.: An Integrated System for Groundwater Monitoring at Sellafield PNWR, U.K.
• Stellavato, N.: Borehole UE-25 ONC #1 Drilling at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
• Stellavato, N.:Environmental Gases, Permeability, and Thermal Conductivity Tests at Borehole ONC #1, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
• United Kingdom Nirex: Review of Baseline Groundwater Pressures and Hydrochemistry Between November 1996 and October 1998

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