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The firing table gravels and associated debris are contaminated primarily with depleted <br />uranium, lead, beryllium and trace amounts of high explosives. On some occasions in the <br />past, natural uranium and thorium may have been used. Little or no tritium experimenta- <br />tion has been carried out in this pit since it opened in 1961. No liquid wastes are known to <br />have been disposed into this landfill, either. The gravels and the debris were collected after <br />shots and buried in designated disposal areas within Site 300. Monitoring data shows no <br />evidence that Pit 1 has released any contaminants into the groundwater. <br />One major fault, the Elk Ravine Fault, crosses the East Firing Area. A branch of this fault, <br />passes beneath Pit 1. An investigation was conducted in November 1988 that showed no <br />evidence of movement of the fault within Holocene time. <br />Pit 7 DESCRIPTION <br />Pit 7 is about 6,250 square yards or about one -and -a -half acres containing a volume of <br />31,111 cubic yards of mixed wastes. The start-up date for this unit was 1979 and ceased <br />operating on November 8, 1988. Similar to Pit 1, the wastes disposed here were generated <br />from the hydrodynamic test of non-nuclear explosives. The wastes are contaminated with <br />depleted uranium, lead, beryllium and trace amounts of high explosives. Little tritium <br />experimentation has been carried out since it opened in 1979. Most if not all occasional <br />uses of natural uranium or thorium ended prior to the opening of Pit 7. <br />No major earthquake fault has been discovered underneath the Pit 7 complex. <br />III. SITE GEOLOGY AND GROUNDWATER SITUATION <br />Since the proposed closure leaves waste in place, the geology of the area is particularly <br />important because the rate and direction of the ground water flow is generally dependent <br />on the geology of the site. LLNL is in a remote location in the Altamont Hills between the <br />Livermore and San Joaquin valleys. The site is underlain by interbedded sands, silts and <br />clay with occasional gravel and cobble lenses generally ranging from three to 30 feet in <br />thickness. This alluvial fill is underlain by bedrock formation called the Neroly Formation <br />which is up to 450 feet thick. It is made up of sandstone and sandy siltstone, coarse <br />conglomerate of pebbles and cobbles and interbedded volcanic shales. This formation is <br />yet underlain by another thick rock formation call the Cierbo which has an average <br />thickness of 300 feet. <br />The geological structure is complex, as several major folds and minor faults exist beneath <br />the site. A recently discovered branch of the Carnegie Fault at the Southern boundary of <br />Site 300 exhibits evidence of Holocene displacement. This fault is approximately three <br />miles south of Pits 1 and 7. However, no faults showing evidence of Holocene displace- <br />ment are present within or in the vicinity of Pits 1 and 7. (Any movement during the <br />Holocene period, which is within the recent 11,000 years span, means that movement will <br />more likely to reoccur.) <br />