Groundwater flow and radionuclide transport calculations for a performance assessment of a low-level waste site

Abstract Predictions of subsurface radionuclide transport are used to support the groundwater pathway analysis for the performance assessment of the low-level, solid radioactive waste site at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Detailed process-based models rather than higher-level performance-assessment models are used to perform the transport calculations. The deterministic analyses predict the fate of the waste from its source, through the vadose zone, into the saturated zone and, finally, the potential dose to humans at the accessible environment. The calculations are run with the finite-element code FEHM, which simulates fluid flow, heat transport, and reactive, contaminant transport through porous and fractured media. The modeling approach for this study couples realistic source-term models with an unsaturated-zone flow and transport model, which is then linked to the saturated-zone flow and transport model. The three-dimensional unsaturated-zone flow and transport model describes the complex hydrology associated with the mesa-top and volcanic geology of the site. The continued migration of nuclides into the main aquifer is calculated using a three-dimensional, steady-flow, saturated-zone model that maintains the spatial and temporal distribution of nuclide flux from the vadose zone. Preliminary results for the aquifer-related dose assessments show that doses are well below relevant performance objectives for low-level waste sites. A general screening technique that compares the nuclide's half-life to its unsaturated-zone travel time is described. This technique helps to decrease the number of transport calculations required at a site. In this case, over half the nuclides were eliminated from further consideration through this screening.