Pena Blanca Natural Analogue Project: Summary of activities

Conference · Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2011

OSTI ID:1016003

Levy, S; Goldstein, S; Dobson, P F; Goodell, P; Ku, T -L; Abdel-Fattah, A; Saulnier, G; Fayek, M; de la Garza, R

The inactive Nopal I uranium mine in silicic tuff north of Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico, was studied as a natural analogue for an underground nuclear-waste repository in the unsaturated zone. Site stratigraphy was confirmed from new drill cores. Data from site studies include chemical and isotopic compositions of saturated- and unsaturated-zone waters. A partial geochronology of uranium enrichment and mineralization was established. Evidence pertinent to uranium-series transport in the soil zone and changing redox conditions was collected. The investigations contributed to preliminary, scoping-level performance assessment modeling.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Earth Sciences Division
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1016003
• Report Number(s): LBNL-4545E; TRN: US1102949
• Resource Relation: Conference: International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference, Albuquerque, NM, April 2011
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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AGE ESTIMATION
DRILL CORES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
ISOTOPE SEPARATION
MANAGEMENT
MINERALIZATION
NATURAL ANALOGUE
PERFORMANCE
SIMULATION
SOILS
STRATIGRAPHY
TRANSPORT
TUFF
URANIUM MINES