Radionuclide Mobility at the Nevada Test Site

Underground nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) are characterized by abundant fission product and actinide source terms. Included are {sup 99}Tc and other soluble radionuclides ({sup 3}H, {sup 14}C, {sup 36}Cl, {sup 85}Kr, and {sup 129}I), which are presumably mobile in groundwater and potentially toxic to down-gradient receptors. NTS provides the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) with an analog of the release of these radionuclides from a nuclear waste repository in the absence of engineered barriers. The investigation described in this report synthesizes a substantial body of data collected on the identity and distribution of soluble radionuclides at field scales over distances of hundreds of meters, for durations up to 40 years, and under hydrogeologic conditions very similar to the proposed geological repository at Yucca Mountain. This body of data is complemented by laboratory transport studies and a synthesis of recent modeling investigations from the NTS, with an emphasis on the ongoing Yucca Mountain Program (YMP) efforts. Overall, understanding the controls of radionuclide mobility associated with these nuclear tests will provide insight into the repository's future performance as well as bounds and calibrations for the numerical predictions of long-term radionuclide releases and migration.

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