Proposed models of colloid-facilitated transport for total-system performance assessment

Conference · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:127206

Gauthier, J H ^[1]

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1. SPECTRA Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

In calculations of total-system performance assessment (TSPA) for Yucca Mountain, radionuclide transport in groundwater is modeled simply as solute undergoing advection, dispersion, and retardation. Some actinides (e.g., plutonium and americium), sorb so strongly to tuffs that solute transport is virtually nil. Evidence from field tests and laboratory experiments suggests that colloids can facilitate transport of highly sorbing actinides, causing migration over time scales much shorter than TSPA models predict. Colloids appear to be ubiquitous in natural groundwater systems, and they have been found in waters around Yucca Mountain. Colloids are also expected to be formed by corrosion of the engineered barrier system and the deterioration of the spent fuel itself. The purpose of this paper is to present some ideas to the geochemistry community on how colloid-facilitated transport can be modeled for TSPA of Yucca Mountain; because this work is in the initial stages, calculations have not yet been performed. Two models are presented that could be used to describe colloid-facilitated transport, one for reversible sorption and the other for irreversible sorption.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratory
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 127206
• Report Number(s): CONF-9504179--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COLLOIDS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GROUND WATER
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PERFORMANCE
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Yucca Mountain Project