Results from air-injection and tracer testing in the Upper Tiva Canyon, Bow Ridge Fault, and upper Paintbrush contact alcoves of the Exploratory Studies Facility, August 1994 through July 1996, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Abstract

The Yucca Mountain Project is a US Department of Energy (DOE) scientific study to evaluate the potential for geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste in an unsaturated-zone desert environment. The US Geological Survey (USGS) has been conducting geologic and hydrologic studies of the potential repository site for the DOE. These studies are to quantify the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of Yucca Mountain and to conceptualize and model gas and liquid flow at the potential repository site. Single-hole and cross-hole air-injection and tracer testing was conducted in alcoves located in the underground Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) to quantify the permeability and porosity values of the fractured and unfractured volcanic rocks (tuff). The permeability and porosity of these tuffs control the movement of fluids in Yucca Mountain. Study of these parameters provides an understanding of fluid flow in the unsaturated zone, and the parameters can be used in unsaturated-zone numerical modeling to estimate fluid flux through the mountain. This report presents the results from air-injection and tracer testing conducted in the upper Tiva Canyon alcove (UTCA), the Bow Ridge Fault alcove (BRFA), and the upper Paintbrush contact alcove (UPCA) by the USGS from August 1994 through July 1996. The locations of the alcoves and their relations to the potential repository are shown in a figure.