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Characterisation of Radionuclide Migration and Plant Uptake for Performance Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Simon A. Mathias ,
Andrew M. Ireson ,
Adrian P. Butler ,
Bethanna M. Jackson  and
Howard S. Wheater
Simon A. Mathias
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Andrew M. Ireson
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Adrian P. Butler
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Bethanna M. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Howard S. Wheater
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
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Abstract

Unsaturated vegetated soils are an important component in performance assessment models used to quantify risks associated with deep engineered repositories for underground radioactive waste disposal. Therefore, experimental studies, funded by Nirex over nearly 20 years, have been undertaken at Imperial College to study the transfer of radionuclides (Cl-36, I-129, Tc-99) from contaminated groundwater into crops. In parallel to this has been a modelling programme to aid interpretation of the experimental data, obtain parameter values characterising transport in soil and plant uptake and provide new representations of near-surface processes for performance assessment. A particular challenge in achieving these objectives is that the scale of the experimental work (typically ≤ 1m) is much smaller than that required in performance assessment. In this paper, a new methodology is developed for upscaling model results obtained at the experimental scale for use in catchment scale models. The method is based on characterising soil heterogeneity using soil texture. This has the advantage of allowing hydrological and radionuclide transport parameters to be correlated in a consistent manner. An initial investigation into the calculation of effective (i.e. upscaled) hydrological and transport parameters has been undertaken and shows the results to be potentially highly (and non-linearly) sensitive to soil properties. Consequently, they have important implications for future site characterisation programmes supporting a proposed underground waste repository.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1107: Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXI , 2008 , 681
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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