Contaminant Sources

Within GoldSim, there are three ways to introduce mass into the system:

• An initial mass or a rate of addition of mass can be directly specified for one or more pathways in the system;
• A discrete addition can be made to one or more Cell pathways; and/or
• The user can define the properties of one or more sources, and based on the properties, GoldSim will compute rates of release of mass from the source(s) to specified pathways.

You will often need to only use the first two methods to introduce mass into your model. In many cases, however, it may be necessary to explicitly model a source such that the effect of the barriers (such as drums or boxes) and/or a waste matrix (e.g., cement) in which the species The chemical (or non-chemical, such as bacterial or viral) constituents that are stored and transported through an environmental system in a contaminant transport model. In GoldSim, the Species element defines all of the contaminant species being simulated (and their properties). are contained can represented more accurately.

This is particularly important when simulating the behavior of proposed or existing waste disposal facilities which have, as part of their design, engineered packages or containers in which the waste is placed prior to disposal.

The Source element A specialized element for introducing mass into a contaminant transport model, and is particularly useful when simulating mass emanating from gradually failing engineered barriers. provides this capability. The topics below describe the use of Source elements in GoldSim.

Note: The Source element is only available in the RT Module.