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Natural Radionuclides in Hanford Site Ground Waters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

M. R. Smith ,
J. C. Laul  and
V. G. Johnson
M. R. Smith
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory(a), P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
J. C. Laul
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory(a), P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
V. G. Johnson
Affiliation:
Westinghouse Hanford Corporation, P. O. Box 800, Richland, WA 99352
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Abstract

Uranium, Th, Ra, Rn, Pb and Po radionuclide concentrations in ground waters from the Hanford Site indicate that U, Th, and Ra are highly jorbed. Relative to Rn, these radionuclides are low by factors of 10−3 to 10−6. Uranium sorption is likely due to its reduction from the +6 state, where it is introduced via surface waters, to the +4 state found in the confined aquifers. The distribution of radionuclides is very similar in all of the confined aquifers and significantly different from the distribution observed in the unconfined and surface waters. Barium correlates well with Ra over three orders of magnitude indicating that stable element analogs may be useful for inferring the behavior of radioactive waste radionuclides in this candidate geologic repository.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 112: Symposium P – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XI , 1987 , 249
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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References

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