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Transfer of Boron and Tritiated Water Through Sandstone¹

ABSTRACT

The movement of tritiated water and boron were determined during unsaturated flow through undisturbed sandstone cores. From the displacement and slope of the breakthrough curves relative to 1 pore volume of effluent, adsorption coefficients and dispersion coefficients were calculated of 0.135 and 1.06 cm²/day for boron, and 0.04 and 3.45 cm²/day for tritiated water, respectively. The data were used to predict the downward movement of boron through a sandstone formation in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. With 20 cm annual rainfall and 10% of the precipitation contributing to recharge, it was calculated to take 1,628 years for the boron concentration at the ground-water table at 86 m to reach one-half the boron concentration at the soil surface.

Key Words: breakthrough curves • dispersion coefficient • adsorption coefficient • ground-water pollution

¹ Journal article 512, Agricultural Experiment Station, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003. This work was funded in part by the El Paso Natural Gas Company.

² Associate Professor and graduate students, respectively, Department of Agronomy, New Mexico State Univ.

Received for publication March 14, 1974.