URANIUM-SERIES CONSTRAINTS ON RADIONUCLIDE TRANSPORT AND GROUNDWATER FLOW AT NOPAL I URANIUM DEPOSIT, SIERRA PENA BLANCA, MEXICO

Conference · Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 2006

OSTI ID:888854

S. J. Goldstein, S. Luo, T. L. Ku, and M. T. Murrell

Uranium-series data for groundwater samples from the vicinity of the Nopal I uranium ore deposit are used to place constraints on radionuclide transport and hydrologic processes at this site, and also, by analogy, at Yucca Mountain. Decreasing uranium concentrations for wells drilled in 2003 suggest that groundwater flow rates are low (< 10 m/yr). Field tests, well productivity, and uranium isotopic constraints also suggest that groundwater flow and mixing is limited at this site. The uranium isotopic systematics for water collected in the mine adit are consistent with longer rock-water interaction times and higher uranium dissolution rates at the front of the adit where the deposit is located. Short-lived nuclide data for groundwater wells are used to calculate retardation factors that are on the order of 1,000 for radium and 10,000 to 10,000,000 for lead and polonium. Radium has enhanced mobility in adit water and fractures near the deposit.

• Research Organization: Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC08-91RW0013
• OSTI ID: 888854
• Resource Relation: Conference: IHLRWM Conference, Las Vegas, NV, April 2006
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
DISSOLUTION
FIELD TESTS
FLOW RATE
FRACTURES
ISOTOPES
MEXICO
POLONIUM
PRODUCTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM
TRANSPORT
URANIUM
URANIUM DEPOSITS
URANIUM ORES
WATER
YUCCA MOUNTAIN