Invertebrate Burrowing Activities and Potential Impacts on Buried Wastes: Termites in Arid and Semiarid Systems. M. M. Hooten, Neptune and Co., Inc.; and T. G. Myles, University of Toronto
Many of the world’s buried waste materials lie in soils accessible to subterranean invertebrate burrowing. In the U.S., most of the sanctified waste repositories are in areas where extensive invertebrate burrowing takes place. Burrowing is undertaken by a wide array of invertebrates, but none are as industrious as termites. Termites are known to extract plant roots from soil and mine for water, as well as burrow extensively for the purpose of habitat modification. Furthermore, biotic associations of termites in temperate arid and semiarid biomes are of key ecological import. Termites have already been the focus of critical considerations for DOE performance assessments on buried radionuclide waste in Nevada. Their role is rapidly becoming the foremost consideration for ecological risk assessments concerning long-term biotic transport processes that may release contaminants to surface environs. This talk will center on the critical roles of termites in bioturbation processes and its influence on the potentiation of long-term ecological risk.
Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office; Argonne National Laboratory.
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