Assessment of potential radionuclide transport in site-specific geologic formations

Associated with the development of deep, geologic repositories for nuclear waste isolation is a need for safety assessments of the potential for nuclide migration. Frequently used in estimating migration rates is a parameter generally known as a distribution coefficient, K/sub d/, which describes the distribution of a radionuclide between a solid (rock) and a liquid (groundwater) phase. This report is intended to emphasize that the use of K/sub d/ must be coupled with a knowledge of the geology and release scenarios applicable to a repository. Selected K/sub d/ values involving rock samples from groundwater/brine simulants typical of two potential repository sites, WIPP and NTS, are used to illustrate this concern. Experimental parameters used in K/sub d/ measurements including nuclide concentration, site sampling/rock composition, and liquid-to-solid ratios are discussed. The solubility of U(VI) in WIPP brine/groundwater was addressed in order to assess the potential contribution of this phenomena to K/sub d/ values. Understanding mehanisms of sorption of radionuclides on rocks would lead to a better predictive capability. Sorption is attributed to the presence of trace constituents (often unidentified) in rocks. An attempt was made to determine if this applied to WIPP dolomite rocks by comparing sorption behavior of the natural material with that of a synthetic dolomite prepared in the laboratory with reagent grade chemicals. The results were inconclusive. The results of a study of Tc sorption by an argillite sample from the Calico Hills formation at NTS under ambient laboratory conditions were more conclusive. The Tc sorption was found to be associated with elemental carbon. Available evidence points to a reduction mechanism leading to the apparent sorption of Tc on the solid phase