Abstract
A calculation of the removal of radionuclides by groundwaters from a subsurface repository of solid low-level waste was performed. A two-dimensional model of the groundwater flow and advective-dispersive transport of radionuclides in a vertical section of a subsurface aquifer, along which radionuclide-contaminated groundwater moves from the repository to an open body of water, was studied. Data from many years of experimentation on the leaching of cemented low-level waste were used in the calculations. It was shown that the rocks of the aquifer effectively retain medium half-life radionuclides (60Co, 137Cs, 90Sr). An engineered barrier – a 0.7 m thick layer of consolidated bentonite clay – can secure the safety of a repository for long-lived transuranium radionuclides (235U, 239Pu) for 20000 years.
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