U-Series Transport Studies at the Pena Blanca, Mexico Natural Analog Site
Natural analogs provide a line of evidence that supports the understanding of how natural and engineered processes would occur over long time frames and large spatial scales at a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Studies of U-series disequilibria within and around uranium deposits can provide valuable information on the timing of actinide mobility and hence the stability of a potential repository over geologic time scales. The Nopal I uranium deposit at Pena Blanca, Mexico, is situated in unsaturated tuff that is similar in composition to the Topopah Spring Tuff of Yucca Mountain and closely matches other evaluation criteria for suitable natural analogs. By modeling the observed radioactive isotope disequilibria at Nopal I, we can estimate the rates of sorption-desorption and dissolution-precipitation of the radionuclides over time. Such information is vital to the testing or validation of performance assessment models for geologic nuclear waste disposal.
- Research Organization:
- Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, Nevada (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 786560
- Report Number(s):
- MOL.20010808.0258; mol.20010808.0258, DC 28982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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