David E. Prudic J. S. Duval R. W. Healy E. R. Landa D.W. Pollock D.C. Thorstenson R.P. Weeks Robert G. Striegl 1996 <ul><li>Interpretations of the distributions of tritiated water vapor (HTO_V) and ¹⁴carbon dioxide gas (¹⁴CO₂) concentrations in the unsaturated zone adjacent to the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada, suggest that observed concentrations of ¹⁴CO₂ could be explained by either diffusive or advective transport of the radioactive gas from the site.</li><li>The distribution of HTO_V cannot be explained by vapor transport, either by diffusive or advective mechanisms. Thus, liquid transport appears to have played a role in moving HTO_V to well UZB-2. Although the process by which this occurred cannot be determined from available data (and indeed may never be known), it is likely that liquid wastes disposed directly into the trenches during the period from 1962 to 1975 contributed to the offsite contamination.</li><li>Liquid transport may have been enhanced by precipitation and runoff into open trenches that resulted in the occasional accumulation of ponded water in the trenches and flow along preferential pathways in the underlying unsaturated zone</li></ul> application/pdf 10.3133/ofr96110 en U.S. Geological Survey Factors affecting tritium and 14carbon distributions in the unsaturated zone near the low-level radioactive-waste burial site south of Beatty, Nevada reports