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Waste Disposal Facility Characterization

Waste Disposal Facility Characterization

Tetra Tech performed a characterization of sodium sulfate tailings that were placed in a disposal facility on the dry lakebed of Owens Lake, California. Tetra Tech completed a full characterization for the Umetco Minerals Corporation with the purpose of determining if material had been released from the disposal facility to the lakebed sediments or groundwater.


The characterization included:

  • A physical stability study performed with ground-penetrating radar
  • A groundwater study that involved installing numerous monitoring wells and piezometers
  • A geochemistry study of the sodium sulfate and lakebed evaporates
  • A geochemical background study
  • Chemical transport modeling


The results of this study showed that the tailings have had minimal effects on the groundwater.

 

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