Radionuclide Transport in Tuff and Carbonate Fractures from Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site

In the Yucca Flat basin of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), 747 shaft and tunnel nuclear detonations were conducted primarily within the tuff confining unit (TCU) or the overlying alluvium. The TCU in the Yucca Flat basin is hypothesized to reduce radionuclide migration to the regional carbonate aquifer (lower carbonate aquifer) due to its wide-spread aerial extent and chemical reactivity. However, shortcuts through the TCU by way of fractures may provide a migration path for radionuclides to the lower carbonate aquifer (LCA). It is, therefore, imperative to understand how radionuclides migrate or are retarded in TCU fractures. Furthermore, understanding the migration behavior of radionuclides once they reach the fractured LCA is important for predicting contaminant transport within the regional aquifer. The work presented in this report includes: (1) information on the radionuclide reactive transport through Yucca Flat TCU fractures (likely to be the primary conduit to the LCA), (2) information on the reactive transport of radionuclides through LCA fractures and (3) data needed to calibrate the fracture flow conceptualization of predictive models. The predictive models are used to define the extent of contamination for the Underground Test Area (UGTA) project. Because of the complex nature of reactive transport in fractures, a stepwise approach to identifying mechanisms controlling radionuclide transport was used. In the first set of TCU experiments, radionuclide transport through simple synthetic parallel-plate fractured tuff cores was examined. In the second, naturally fractured TCU cores were used. For the fractured LCA experiments, both parallel-plate and rough-walled fracture transport experiments were conducted to evaluate how fracture topography affects radionuclide transport. Tuff cores were prepared from archived UE-7az and UE-7ba core obtained from the USGS core library, Mercury, Nevada. Carbonate cores were prepared from archived ER-6-1 core, also obtained from the USGS core library, Mercury, Nevada.

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