Characterization of Contaminant Transport Using Naturally-Occurring U Series Disequilibria: In-Situ Radionuclide Transport and Preferential Groundwater flows at INEEL (Idaho)
- Lead-PI
The goal of the research is to study the migration of nuclear waste contaminants in subsurface fractured systems using naturally occurring uranium- and thorium-series radionuclides as tracers under in-situ physico-chemical and hydrogeologic conditions. We develop a model of contaminant migration in the Snake River Plain Aquifer beneath the INEEL by evaluating the retardation processes involved in the rock/water interaction. The major tasks are to determine: (1) the distribution of U, Th, Pa, Ra, Rn, Po and Po isotopes in groundwater as well as in rock minerals and sorbed phases, (2) through modeling the extent of disequilibria the in-situ retardation factors of radionuclides and rock/water interaction time scales, and (3) the water residence time in the aquifer and the preferential flow paths. The study provides an improved characterization of preferential flow and contaminant transport in fractured rocks - information that pertains to risk and performance assessment and remediation action at INEEL and other contaminated DOE sites.
- Research Organization:
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG07-97ER14763
- OSTI ID:
- 827120
- Report Number(s):
- EMSP-54741-2000; R&D Project: EMSP 54741; TRN: US0403193
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Characterization of contaminant transport using naturally-occurring U-series disequilibria. 1998 annual progress report
In-situ radionuclide transport and preferential groundwater flows at INEEL (Idaho): Decay-series disequilibrium studies