.... .... :.::;:11., . . .. 2 . 605 ! . . . - 2. LOLA ORNL UNCLASSIFIED s humu m. KAN SU KA ORNUP-60% CONF-772-1 1 MOVEMENT OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE CLINCH RIVERA, O F. L. Parker, B. J. Frederick,º and P. H, Carriganº OCT 30 1964 Health Physics Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee This paper, as part of the symposium on temperature effects on water quality, will try to answer what happens when one places a ra- . . . . .: dioactive contaminant into a highly regula ied and stratified flow such as occurs in the Clinch River. The comprehensive, broadly conceived study of the movement of AS radionuclides in the Clinch River is a joint project of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee State De- GOOD YO partment of Health, Tennessee State Stream Pollution Control Board, Tennessee State Game and Fish Commission, V. S. Geological Survey, U. S. Public Health Service, and V. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The Clinch River rises in Virginia, but, for our purposes, it is necessary LE = = * - * only to consider the flow below Norris Dam where the flow is regulated. nur Since May 1963, the flow of the Clinch River has also been regulated ... . by Melton Hill Dam, 56.7 miles downstream from Norris Dam and only : 2 . 2.3 miles upstream from the confluence of White Oak Creek and the Clinch River (Fig. 1). . "To be published in the Proceedings of the Third Sanitary Engi- neering Conference, held at Nashville, Tennessee, May 25, 1964. "Research sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission under contract with the Union Carbide Corporation. con loan from Water Resources Division, U. S. Geological Survey. B . Po, . * * MARRIMAN VATER INTAKE IRM 12. mesmo como ORODP. DYE INJECTION . DYE MONITORING STATIONS E MONITORING STATIONS OROOP WATER INTAKE MONITORINO STATION . VINEROED WEIR Moramo station UNCLASSIFIED OWNL-IN-ovo 3000JNS OYL wwww COCR CRW 32.0 QULL RUN CAM 40.0. NELTON MILL DAN "IMISH Dye Tests August 1963 Fig. 1. During the summer, the pool elevation in Watts Bar Reservoir 18 raised from 735 to 741 feet above sea level. The colder waters from Norris Dam and Melton Hill Dam flow under the warmer surface waters, creating a gravity flow and short circuiting the reservoirs. The colder clinch River waters start to flow beneath the warmer Watts Bar Reservoir waters between clinch River Mile (CRM) 8.0 and CRM 14.0. Stratified flow in the clinch River during the warmer months through September can occur only when the flow is less than 7000 cfs.? Above that flow, suf- ficient turbulence 18 generated to disrupt the stratified flow in the Clinch River above the Emory River. All the liquid wastes discharged from Oak Ridge National Labora- tory reach the clinch River through White Oak Creek at CRM 20.8. The radioactive discharges from the Laboratory over the last few years have been at maximum permissible occupational concentrations at the point of discharge. Further downstream at CRM 14.4 is the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant Water Plant intake, and at CRM 5.5 is our water moni- toring station above Centers Ferry. The intake for the Kingston Steam Plant, located on the Emory River, in the summertime draws Clinch River water from CRM 3.8. The results of a mass balance analyses of the flow of nuclides from the Laboratory and down the Clinch River before Melton Hill Dam went into operation has shown that the major portion of radionuclides released to the river are transported out of the Clinch River by the water. A small portion of the wastes released have been sorbed on the bottom sediments. Under the river conditions that have prevailed for the past 20 years and with the existing uses of water, land, and biota, we can say that there has been no eviuence to indicate that a hazard- ous condition has existed. After the Melton Hill Dam peaking power station goes into opera- tion, however, the flow regime of clinch River will be considerably different than in the past. Therefore, a series of tracer studies were made to investigate the effect that power releases from Melton H11). Reservoir will have on the dispersion in Clinch River of wate.- phase radioactive material released from White Oak Lake. Since the station is not yet in operation, temperature surveys were made upstream from the dam which showed that the temperature of water flowing through the dam gates is substantially the same as that which will flow through the turbines and, consequently, would cause the same stratified flow downstream. After an investigation of the various water tracers avail-. able, Rhodamine B was chosen on the basis of its detectability, safety, and cost. It was assumed, based on the work of Feuerstein and Selleck? and our water conditions, that Rhodamine B would move in the clinch River in a similar manner to the radioactive wastes in the water phase. (That is, there would be no interaction between the dye and the bottom and suspended sediments and the biota.) Temperature corrections, how- ever, would be required. One hundred fifty-eight pounds of Rhodamine B dye was introduced into the nappe of the overflow from White Oak Dam at 1:30 a.m. on Au- gust 12, 1963, to 8 a.m. on August 13, 1963, as shown in Fig. 2. Dye monitoring stations were established at CRM 16.2, 14.4, 9.2, and 5.5. Water samples were taken for later laboratory analyses, but the basic determinations were made in the field using a Turner Fluorometer (Model St. .com is an internasi una camera soc.com UNCLASSIFIED ORNL-DWG 63-4924 CUMULATIVE INJECTION INTO WHITE OAK CREEK - INJECTION (%) 8 88 o 8 DISCHARGE (%) 8 8 CUMULATIVE DISCHARGE FROM WHITE OAK CREEK - - - - - - - DISCHARGE OF DYE, NORMALIZED DISCHARGE OF DYE o MIDNIGHT 12 M 13 M 14 M 15 M 16 MIDNIGHT AUGUST 1963 Theoretical Solution, 24 hr Injection at Actual Injection Rates. Fig. 2. . TIP 'Ilirii 111, G. K. Turner Associate, 2524 Pulgas Avenue, Palo Alto, California). The Fluorometer 18 in essence an optical bridge which measures the dif- ference between the fluoreacent visible light emitted from the sample when subjected to ultraviolet light and a calibrated light from the same ultraviolet light. This is analogous to the use of a Wheatstone bridge in measuring electrical resistance. The amount of fluorescence of the Rhodamine B dye (has a maximum adsorption at 550 millimicrons and a niaximum fluorescence at 580 millimicrons) is proportional to the amount of fluorescent material present. The concentration of the dye at the sampling station at CRM 14.4 is shown in Fig. 3. It is possible to predict the effect of a peaking hydroelectric power plant upstream on the clinch River (CRM 23.1) from the discharge point, CRM 20.8, on the concentrations downstream if one assumes that the embayment to White Oak Dam acts in a similar fashion to a tidal estuary. Then, one can compute the mixing and the net rate of movement through the embayment. Finally, one can then route the releases from the embayment down the main stream. During the time of no releases from Melton Hill Dam in the periodic fashion shown in Fig. 4, water flows out of White Oak Lake as in a nat- urgi stream. When Melton Hill Dam releases its waters, then the water level in the clinch River rises and pushes water up White Oak Creek in stao 1:1: Inilar to a rising tide homogeneously mixing a tidal estuary. W ie sittady flow of water out of Melton Hill Dam, no water flows i'." White Oak Creek because of the relatively small input over White Oek Dam. This period is analogous to the high tide period in an estuary. . wohner Finally, when the flow ceases from Melton Hill Dam, the water level drops . . . UNCLASSIFIED ORNL-DWG 63-4925 , -- - . . - . -OBSERVED ---PREDICTED DYE CONCENTRATIONS, NORMALIZED - A - MIDNIGHT 13 M 14 M 15 M 16 MIDNIGHT AUGUST 1963 Dye Concentrations at Clinch River Mile 14.4. Fig. 3. UNCLASSIFIED ORNL-DWG 63-4927 16,000 12 14,000 Nu SHORTCODE 12,000 10.0 I PL. LIIT DISCHARGE (cfs) 8000 TEL 6000 TV 4000 WA.-. . W . . . " WINNIT 2000 - - SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT Melton Hill Dam Estimated Summer Discharge Pattern. Fig. 4. 1 . 4 . ... KHM .. ... .. . . .. in the Clinch River, and the surcharged water flows out of the White Oak Creek embayment which is similar to the ebb tide in an estuary. White Oak Creek emtiayment, from the mouth of the clinch River to White Oak Creek Dan, is 0.6 mile in length. At normal summer pool elevation of 741 feet above MSL, It contains 6.3 x 106 gallon. When the Melton Hill Dam releases 8,000 and 16,000 cfs, this causes the water surface elevation to rise to 742.6 and 743.8, respectively, and an increase in storage of 4.5 and 9.4 million gallons, respectively. If one assumes complete mixing in the embayment during the tidal cycle, no flow out of White Oak Creek during releases from Melton Hill Dam, a constant output of 10 cfs from White Oak Dam, and divides the reach into twelve sections, all of equal volume, then one can route the pol- lutant through the embayment and produce releases of dye from the embay- ment as shown in Fig. 2. The actual input volumes of dye shown in Fig. 2 were used in the numerical calculations in the step procedure used. It was further assumed that the filling and emptying of the embay- ment was instantaneous; that is, in the smallest time units used - 1 hour. Consequently, it was possible to use the time-increment procedure for the calculations with only four periods per day. The first time increment was from 2200 to 0800 when there was no flow in the clinch River, but 10 cfs was flowing out of white Oak Dam and displacing the water in the five uppermost reaches riverward. (10 hr x 10 cfs = 27 x 10? gal; each study reach has a volume of 5 x 10' gal.) At 0800 the contents of the embayment are uniformly mixed with the incoming water (the rising tide). From 0800 to 1400 flows out of White Oak Dam displace the existing . uniform concentration in the uppermost reach, but no outflow from White Oak Creek into the clinch River is permitted, since a higher elevation exists in the Clinch River than in the embayment due to the 16,000 cfs being discharged from Melton #111 Dam. At 1400 the level in the clinch River drops to its normal level as the flow out of Melton Hill Dam ceases and the impounded water flows out of the embayment from the seven most riverward reaches. From 1400 to 1800 during the no-flow period from Melton Hill Dam, the discharge from White Oak Dem displaces the water in the embayment two reaches river- ward. At 1800 when Melton Hlli discharges 8000 cfs, the contents of the embayment are again uniformly mixed, while the volume in the embayment is being doubled as the water level rises to 742.6. From 1800 to 2200 there is no flow out of White Oak Creek due to flows out of Melton H111 Dam, but the flow out of White Oak Dam displaces the uniformly mixed fluid out of the two uppermost reaches. When the flow in the Clinch River stops at 2200, the level drops again to elevation 741, and the surcharged water from White Oak Creek drops to 741, causing the five most riverward reaches to empty into the Clinch River. The process is then repeated until all of the dye is flushed out of the embayment as shown in Fig. 2. Assuming that each injection of dye into the clinch River remains together and functions as a single unit, it is possible to route the mass of contaminant downstream. The injection into the river the first day at 1400 remains in the clinch River near mile 20.8 until the flow recommences at 1800. A flow of 8000 cfs at Watts Bar, eleva- tion 741, 18 equivalent to a velocity of 0.7 mph and a flow of 16,000 11 cfs is equivalent to a velocity of 1.6 mph. These values are derived from previous tracer experiments. The sampling stations are shown on Fig. 1. The flow released after 1400 moves downstream 2.8 miles during the 4 hours of 8000-cfs flow that evening, and the remaining 3.6 miles to Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2 1/2 hours after the start of flow the next morning or at hour 1000. The dye would then move to CRM 8.4 before flow ceases. Flow would recommence at 1800 the follow- ing evening and move to CRM 5.6 before stopping at 2200. The flow released after the evening flow would commence to flow at 0745 at 1.6 mph. Consequently, it would pass CRM 14.4 at 1145 and would cease to flow about 1400 at CRM 11.2. During the evening hours the slug would advance 2.8 more miles to CRM 8.4. During the next morning, flow would recommence, and the slug would move the remain- ing 2.9 miles to CRM 5.5 in 1.8 hours or till 0915 the next morning. The time and concentration values at CRM 16.2 and 14.4 agree quite well with the observed values as shown in Fig. 3 for CRM 14.4 if the dye concentration observed on August 13 is normalized and the pre- dicted value on that date is also normalized. The time values are not changed. The times and concentrations at CRM 9.1 and CRM 5.5 did not agree as well with the theoretical values. It is believed that the effect of operations at Watts Bar Dam and Fort Loudoun Dam have caused these discrepancies. Effects on Water Flow After intermittent use during week days, while operating as a peaking power plant, Melton Hill Dam shuts down completely from Friday evening until Sunday morning. The temperature profile of the river during the 8000-cfs flows shows that the temperature is uniform at 19°c down to about CRM 10. Though the tests were not run primarily to obtain temperature information, through the cooperation of Milo Churchill of TVA, it was possible to obtain temperature profiles of the river. Those profiles, in addition to the ones that we had ob- tained, show that by Sunday morning at eleven o'clock 22°c water had already reached CRM 23. Forty-eight hundredths of a foot per second is therefore the minimum velocity at which the heavier water could have drained out of the reach and the lighter water flowed into the reach. When the flow ceases Friday afternoon, there is an unstable situation in the Clinch River with 19°c denser water in the upper part of the river and warmer lighter water, 29°c, downstream. Con- sequently, the heavier water will drain out of the reach and the lighter water flow in until a more stable configuration is reached. From the laboratory work of Yint in a short flume where the effec- tive gravitational acceleration, g' (the ratio of the difference in the density of the fluids to the density of either fluid times the gravitational acceleration), varied from 0.015 to 2 ft/sec, 1t was found that a generalized equation of V = 0.45 Ng'y holds where V = the velocity of the wave. The der.sity of 19°C water is 0.99843 g/cm3 and that of 29°C water is 0.99597 g/cm", so that the g' is approximately 0.8. Therefore, Vw, assuming that the wave height is equal to 1 foot (which may not be a bad assumption, since the wave itself is not readily apparent), is equal to 0.4 ft/sec. If the wave height were less than i foot, then the water movement would be correspondingly reduced by ST 3A 13 the ratio of the square root. Therefore, the assumed velocity based upon Yih's experimental data is close to the measured minimum velocity. It is obvious that for longer reaches than that used in the flume that the interfacial friction becomes a correspondingly more important fac- tor as the heads decrease and the interfacial contact increases. Though the density difference between 29°c and 19°c water is only 0.00247 g/cm”, when this is multiplied by the total volume in the reach 5.5 x 10° ft', this is equivalent to a weight difference of 8.5 x 10' pounds. After the Melton Hill Dam commences operations, it is planned to make further temperature measurements to determine the rate of flow of the water un- der gravity conditions. The exchange of water in the Clinch River due to density differ- ences is a classical problem in hydrology and is amenable to laboratory studies. One would need only to measure the coordinates of the surface curve, the spacing of the boundaries, the duration of time after motion begins, the density of the two fluids, and the relative gravitational force. It is not amenable to direct analytical solution, because the interfacial friction coefficients are not known. It is planned to carry on further studies of this phenomena. 9/25/64 . 14 References Tennessee Valley Authority, "Effect of Accidental Spillage of Radioactive Wastes into clinch River," TVA Report No. 1, Time of Travel, Probable Flows, and Dispersion, p 4 (1952). D. L. Feuerstein and R. E. Selleck, Tracers for Dispersion Meas- urements in Surface Waters, University of California, Sanitary Engineer- ing Research Laboratory, Report No. 63-1 (1963). B. H. Ketchum, "The Exchanges of Fresh and Salt Waters in Tidal Estuaries," Journal of Marine Research X(1), 18-37 (1951). *Chai-Shun Yih, A Study of the Characteristics of Gravity Waves at Liquid Interface, M.S. Thesis, State University of Iowa, February 1947. DATE FILMED 12/ 11 /164 Ci "! Som LEGAL NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of Government sponsored work. 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