Results of a study of a small structural syncline on the western perimeter of the central Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania suggest that the area may be suitable for the injection of liquid wastes into deep subsurface reservoirs. The study was performed under the auspices of the AAPG, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and Princeton University.

The bowl-shaped syncline forms a basin just north of Bedford, Bedford County, and occupies about 45 sq mi (116.5 sq km) of the county. The total thickness of Paleozoic strata is more than 7,000 ft (2,134 m). The reservoir aquifer considered suitable for disposal is the Lower Silurian Tuscarora Sandstone, a clean quartzose sandstone. The investigation showed that the syncline has sufficient structural closure to warrant consideration as a reservoir. The selected sandstone aquifer crops out along two-thirds of the syncline's perimeter and is approximately 3,700 ft (1,128 m) beneath the center of the basin. It apparently is not faulted, and it may be treated as a confined aquifer because it is bounded by shale and shaly, silty sandstone which probably have much lower permeability.

Porosity measurements of Tuscarora and Juniata sandstones gave values of 15 and 10 percent, respectively. The probability of the presence of connate brine in the Tuscarora is enhanced by the fact that it is present in a deep well near Bedford. The Tuscarora strata are described as a "salaquifer" which will not promote harmful chemical interactions.

The shale beds of the area were studied similarly and are regarded as favorable for the injection, into artificially created fractures, of wastes that have been incorporated in cement slurries. However, grouting in shale appears less promising for large-scale injection than disposal in permeable sandstone.