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Radiogeological Assessment of Candidate Sites For Nuclear Waste Repositories, Exemplified by Studies of The Stripa Pluton, Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

H. A. Wollenberg ,
S. Flexser  and
L. Andersson
H. A. Wollenberg
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
S. Flexser
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
L. Andersson
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Abstract

Investigation of candidate sites for nuclear waste isolation will require an assessment of their radiogeologic settings. Studies at the Stripa research facility in granitic rock of central Sweden incorporated the distribution and abundance of naturally occurring radioelements in rocks encompassing the underground experiments and in the accompanying fracture-controlled groundwater system. These studies showed that besides defining the natural radioactivity baseline upon which the effects of radioactive waste will be superimposed, radioelement distributions can be used to determine the apparent age of the groundwater and its flow paths. In crystalline rocks, where the groundwater systems are confined to the joints and fractures, the uranium daughter element, radon-222 in the water serves as a natural tracer to locate fractures along which significant flow is occurring and to measure the flow rates. The heat production from radioactive decay of uranium-238, thorium-232 and potassium-40 in the rock, combined with measurements of regional and local geothermal heat flow, permit calculation of the apparent size of the rock mass that will encompass the repository. This method is especially useful in terranes such as at Stripa where the contacts between plutons and older rocks are concealed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 6: Symposium D – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management IV , 1981 , 279
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1982

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References

REFERENCES

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