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Uraninites of the Oklo Reactors: O Isotopes and Mineralogical Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

L. Pourcelot  and
F. Gauthier-Lafaye
L. Pourcelot
Affiliation:
Centre de Géochimie de la Surface-CNRS, 1, rue Blessig F67084 STRASBOURG, France
F. Gauthier-Lafaye
Affiliation:
Centre de Géochimie de la Surface-CNRS, 1, rue Blessig F67084 STRASBOURG, France
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Extract

Natural fission reactors located in the uranium ore deposits of Oklo-Okélobondo and Bangombé (Gabon) are a unique case of natural nuclear waste disposal. The Reactor Zones (RZ) (up to fifteen) cores are made of 60% uranium (UO2) embedded in a clay matrix [1]. The uraninites are depleted in 235U and contain fission products. Therefore, they are considered to be good analogues for spent nuclear fuel matrix [2]. The aim of this work is to study the conditions of preservation over a long periode of time of the uraninites which have been sumitted to interraction with fluid having different oxidizing potential. For this purposes mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction), chemical (electron microprobe) and oxygen isotopic analyses were performed on uraninites from various RZs.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 506: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXI , 1997 , 1069
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

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