Open AccessRulison Site groundwater monitoring report, third quarter, 1997
Publication year - 1997
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/564060
Subject(s) - drilling , effluent , environmental remediation , groundwater , environmental science , quarter (canadian coin) , savannah river site , remedial action , waste management , mining engineering , environmental engineering , petroleum engineering , geology , engineering , contamination , radioactive waste , geography , archaeology , geotechnical engineering , ecology , mechanical engineering , biology
This report summarizes the results of the third quarter 1997 groundwater sampling event for the Rulison Site. The sampling was performed as part of a quarterly groundwater monitoring program implemented by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to monitor the effectiveness of remediation of a drilling effluent pond located at the site. The effluent pond was used for the storage of drilling mud during drilling of the emplacement hole for a 1969 gas stimulation test conducted by the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) (the predecessor agency to the DOE), and Austral Oil Company (Austral). Project Rulison was conducted under the AEC`s Plowshare Program to evaluate the feasibility of using a nuclear device to stimulate natural gas production in low-permeability, gas-producing geologic formations. The experiment was conducted on September 10, 1969, and consisted of detonating a 40-kiloton nuclear device at a depth of 2,568 m (8,426 ft) below ground surface. Natural gas production testing was conducted in 1970 and 1971. The site was deactivated by the AEC and Austral in 1972 and abandoned in 1976