Studies of radionuclide sorption by clays in the Culebra Dolomite at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site, southeastern New Mexico

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6840341· OSTI ID:6840341

Siegel, M D ^[1]; Leckie, J O; Park, S W ^[2]; Phillips, S L ^[3]; Sewards, T ^[4]

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1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
2. Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
3. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
4. New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque, NM (USA)

The ability of radionuclide-rock interactions to retard the migration of plutonium and uranium within clay-lined fractures in the Culebra Dolomite Member of the Rustler Formation is being estimated in support of the performance assessment of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. This paper describes progress in three coordinated studies: characterization of the properties of the groundwater and minerals in the Culebra that will control radionuclide retardation; development of a thermodynamic model for the adsorption of uranium onto corrensite, the mixed chlorite-smectite clay mineral found in Culebra fractures; and development of a data base of equilibrium constants and interaction parameters for calculations of the aqueous speciation of uranium and plutonium in Na--Cl--Ca--SO{sub 4}--CO{sub 3} solutions which contain organic ligands such as EDTA and range in ionic strength from approximately 0.8 to 6.0 molal. 22 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6840341
• Report Number(s): SAND-89-2387; ON: DE90013594
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CLAYS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
GROUND WATER
PLUTONIUM
SORPTION
URANIUM
ADSORPTION
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHLORITE MINERALS
DOLOMITE
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
INTERACTIONS
LIGANDS
MINERALOGY
MINERALS
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOISOTOPES
SMECTITE
THERMODYNAMIC MODEL
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WIPP
ACTINIDES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM SILICATES
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
MAGNESIUM CARBONATES
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLE MODELS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SILICATE MINERALS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
STATISTICAL MODELS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
540330 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540230 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)