Natural Reactor Research Articles

Production potential of medical isotopes from natural uranium fission processes

We present the results of gamma ray yield measurements from the neutron induced fission of natural uranium at a low power research reactor. Our focus is on the quantitative yields of radio activities produced from 99Mo, 132I, 133I and 135Xe. These isotopes are good candidates for applications in medicine. We estimate the saturation activities and likely yields at typical neutrons fluxes of 1013 n/cm2/s and conclude that natural uranium, in conjunction with neutron beam facilities, offer viable production venues.

Clarification of the term “normal material” used for standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report)

Abstract The standard atomic weights of the elements apply to normal materials. Since 1984, the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (Commission) has defined a normal material as: “The material is a reasonably possible source for this element or its compounds in commerce, for industry or science; the material is not itself studied for some extraordinary anomaly and its isotopic composition has not been modified significantly in a geologically brief period.” The term “a geologically brief period” in this definition is confusing, and confusion can be reduced by revising this definition to the following, which was accepted by the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights at its meeting in Groningen, Netherlands in September 2017: “Normal materials include all substances, except (1) those subjected to substantial deliberate, undisclosed, or inadvertent artificial isotopic modification, (2) extraterrestrial materials, and (3) isotopically anomalous specimens, such as natural nuclear reactor products from Oklo (Gabon) or other unique occurrences.”

Numerical Investigations of the Effect of Radial Power Distribution and Inlet Orifice on the Stability Behavior of Parallel Multichannel Type Natural Circulation Boiling Water Reactor

In a natural circulation boiling water reactor (BWR), the core power varies in both axial and radial directions inside the reactor core. The variation along the axial direction is more or less constant throughout the reactor; however, there exists variation of reactor power in the radial direction. The channels located at the periphery have low power compared to the center of the core and are equipped with orifices at their inlet. This creates nonuniformity in the radial direction in the core. This study has been performed in order to understand the effect of this radial variation of power on the stability characteristics of the reactor. Four channels of a pressure tube type natural circulation BWR have been considered. The reactor has been modeled using RELAP5/MOD3.2. Before using the model, it was first benchmarked with experimental measurements and then the characteristics of both low power and high power oscillations, respectively, known as type-I and type-II instability, have been investigated. It was observed that the type-I instability shows slight destabilizing effect of increase in power variation among different channels. However, in the case of type-II instability, it was found out that the oscillations get damped with an increase in power variation among the channels. A similar effect was found for the presence of orifices at the inlet in different channels. However, the increase in number of orificed channels showed stabilizing effect for both type-I and type-II instabilities.

Resilience of experimentally seeded dietary traditions in wild vervets: Evidence from group fissions.

Controlled laboratory experiments have delivered extensive and compelling evidence for the diffusion and maintenance of socially learned behavior in primates and other animals. Such evidence is rarer in the wild, but we show that a behavior seeded in a majority of individuals within vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythus) groups may be sustained across several years. Here, we report results of two natural fission events in such groups that offer novel evidence of the resilience of socially transmitted group norms of behavior. Before fission, high ranked females exhibited an almost exclusive adherence to a group preference among two food options, originally introduced through a distasteful additive in one option, but no longer present in repeated later tests. Because of rank-dependent competition, low-ranked females ate more of the formerly distasteful food and so discovered it was now as palatable as the alternative. Despite this experience, low ranked females who formed the splinter groups then expressed a 100% bias for the preferred option of their original parent group, revealing these preferences to be resilient. We interpret this effect as conformity to either the preferences of high rankers or of a majority in the parent group, or both. However, given fissioned individuals' familiarity with their habitat and experimental options, we question the adequacy of the informational function usually ascribed to conformity and discuss alternatives under a concept of "social conformity".

Numerical Investigation on the Natural Circulation Thermal Hydraulic Characteristics of a Pressure Tube Type Boiling Water Reactor

Natural Circulation Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) are susceptible to boiling two-phase flow instabilities under certain conditions, which can lead to flow oscillations in the reactors. These oscillations could be in-phase or out-of-phase in nature depending on the geometry and operating conditions of the system.This paper reports on a study on the effect of both thermal hydraulics as well as neutron kinetics on the characteristics of boiling two-phase natural circulation flow instabilities in a pressure tube type natural circulation BWR. RELAP5/MOD3.2 code has been used to simulate the natural circulation behavior in multiple channels of the reactor. Before applying the RELAP5 model for simulation of natural circulation in this reactor, the code was benchmarked with the experiment conducted in a multichannel boiling natural circulation loop, having geometry similar to this reactor. The results showed that the RELAP5 model is able to capture the boiling induced-flow instabilities. Then the model was applied to simulate the reactor behavior. The prediction showed that the reactor could experience both Type-I and Type-II density wave oscillations depending on the channel inlet subcooling and channel power. Unlike Type-II instability wherein clear cut outs of phase oscillations among multiple channels were observed, in Type-I instability it was observed that mixed mode oscillations could be present, especially at low subcooling. The phase difference among the channels were found to change with time in Type-I instability. These are completely new findings with regard to characteristics of boiling two-phase natural circulation.The fuel in this reactor is a combination of (Th-233U)O2 and (Th-Pu)O2, which is different from conventional BWRs. Also, the coolant (light water) is present in different pressure tubes which are physically separated from moderator (heavy water). The effect of neutronic feedback due to this fuel and geometrical configuration on characteristics of Type-I and Type-II instabilities has not been investigated before. In view of this, a systematic investigation was done to study the effect of neutronic feedback on Type-I and Type-II oscillations observed in this reactor. The simulation showed that the threshold power for both Type-I and Type-II instability slightly stabilizes with introduction of neutronic feedback. Since the magnitude of void reactivity feedback is very small in the present fuel composition, the stability boundary was only slightly altered with the introduction of neutronic feedback. Regarding the oscillation characteristics, it was found that change in magnitude of void reactivity has almost no effect on Type-I oscillations whereas the Type-II oscillations get stabilized when void reactivity magnitude was increased. This kind of effect due to void reactivity feedback is in contrast to findings based on conventional BWR and is an important finding of the present study.

Events linked to the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling observed by DEMETER

It has been statistically shown that earthquakes induce perturbations in the ionosphere before their occurrence. Models taking into account the global electric circuit between the ground and the bottom of the ionosphere can explain these perturbations. To validate these models, the aim of this paper is to show in the ionosphere the signature of various events occurring at the Earth's surface or in the atmosphere. This includes the old natural nuclear reactor located at Oklo (Gabon), sandstorms in the Sahara, volcanic activity, thunderstorm activity, and hurricanes.

Inducing Complete Polyp Regeneration from the Aboral Physa of the Starlet Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis.

Cnidarians, and specifically Hydra, were the first animals shown to regenerate damaged or severed structures, and indeed such studies arguably launched modern biological inquiry through the work of Trembley more than 250 years ago. Presently the study of regeneration has seen a resurgence using both "classic" regenerative organisms, such as the Hydra, planaria and Urodeles, as well as a widening spectrum of species spanning the range of metazoa, from sponges through mammals. Besides its intrinsic interest as a biological phenomenon, understanding how regeneration works in a variety of species will inform us about whether regenerative processes share common features and/or species or context-specific cellular and molecular mechanisms. The starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, is an emerging model organism for regeneration. Like Hydra, Nematostella is a member of the ancient phylum, cnidaria, but within the class anthozoa, a sister clade to the hydrozoa that is evolutionarily more basal. Thus aspects of regeneration in Nematostella will be interesting to compare and contrast with those of Hydra and other cnidarians. In this article, we present a method to bisect, observe and classify regeneration of the aboral end of the Nematostella adult, which is called the physa. The physa naturally undergoes fission as a means of asexual reproduction, and either natural fission or manual amputation of the physa triggers re-growth and reformation of complex morphologies. Here we have codified these simple morphological changes in a Nematostella Regeneration Staging System (the NRSS). We use the NRSS to test the effects of chloroquine, an inhibitor of lysosomal function that blocks autophagy. The results show that the regeneration of polyp structures, particularly the mesenteries, is abnormal when autophagy is inhibited.

Nuclear geyser model of the origin of life: Driving force to promote the synthesis of building blocks of life

We propose the nuclear geyser model to elucidate an optimal site to bear the first life. Our model overcomes the difficulties that previously proposed models have encountered. Nuclear geyser is a geyser driven by a natural nuclear reactor, which was likely common in the Hadean Earth, because of a much higher abundance of 235U as nuclear fuel. The nuclear geyser supplies the following: (1) high-density ionizing radiation to promote chemical chain reactions that even tar can be used for intermediate material to restart chemical reactions, (2) a system to maintain the circulation of material and energy, which includes cyclic environmental conditions (warm/cool, dry/wet, etc.) to enable to produce complex organic compounds, (3) a lower temperature than 100 °C as not to break down macromolecular organic compounds, (4) a locally reductive environment depending on rock types exposed along the geyser wall, and (5) a container to confine and accumulate volatile chemicals. These five factors are the necessary conditions that the birth place of life must satisfy. Only the nuclear geyser can meet all five, in contrast to the previously proposed birth sites, such as tidal flat, submarine hydrothermal vent, and outer space. The nuclear reactor and associated geyser, which maintain the circulations of material and energy with its surrounding environment, are regarded as the nuclear geyser system that enables numerous kinds of chemical reactions to synthesize complex organic compounds, and where the most primitive metabolism could be generated.

Theoretical modeling of gas extraction from a partially gas-saturated porous gas-hydrate reservoir with respect to thermal interactions with surrounding rocks

A theoretical model has been constructed for the gas-hydrate reservoir that represents a unique natural chemical reactor, and the principal possibility of the full extraction of gas from a hydrate due to the thermal reserves of the reservoirs themselves and the surrounding rocks has been analyzed. The influence exerted on the evolution of a gas hydrate reservoir by the reservoir thicknesses and the parameters that determine its initial state (a temperature, pressure, hydrate saturation) has been studied. It has been established that the shortest time of exploitation required by the reservoirs with a thickness of a few meters for the total hydrate decomposition is recorded in the cyclic regime when gas extraction alternated with the subsequent conservation of the gas hydrate deposit.

Incomplete Mixing in the Fate and Transport of Arsenic at a River Affected by Acid Drainage

Acid drainage is an environmental liability that impacts the quality of surface waters. However, the precipitation of iron and aluminum oxy/hydroxides decreases the concentration of dissolved toxic metals (such as arsenic) in rivers that receive acid drainage. Additionally, hydrodynamic factors (e.g., flow velocity fields and mixing ratios) control incomplete chemical mixing. Despite the occurrence of incomplete mixing in streams, its role on the fate and transport of contaminants has not been explored. We analyzed these processes at the Azufre River (pH 2)–Caracarani River (pH 8.6) confluence, northern Chile. We performed cross-sectional measurements of pH, turbidity, and particle size distributions and sampled water and suspended solids to analyze iron, aluminum, and arsenic. To complement field measurements, mixing experiments and geochemical modeling were performed. We found that there were distinct mixing zones on the field that promoted the precipitation of iron phases (pH >3) or the precipitation of iron and aluminum phases (pH ∼5). While iron phases immobilized arsenic by sorption (up to 8700 mg kg−1 of arsenic concentration in the solid phase), aluminum contributed to produce particles with the capacity to resist shear stress (strength factors ∼90 %). More than 50 % of the total arsenic was removed from the aqueous phase within 100 m from the junction point, suggesting settling of iron and aluminum particles. These results showed that incomplete mixing was a controlling factor in the fate and transport of arsenic. Fluvial confluences receiving acid drainage are natural reactors that can attenuate toxic metals. A better understanding of the chemical-hydrodynamic interactions in fluvial confluences can lead to new strategies for enhanced attenuation of toxic metals.

CFD Analysis of the Primary Cooling System for the Small Modular Natural Circulation Lead Cooled Fast Reactor SNRLFR-100

Small modular reactor (SMR) has drawn wide attention in the past decades, and Lead cooled fast reactor (LFR) is one of the most promising advanced reactors which are able to meet the safety economic goals of Gen-IV nuclear energy systems. A small modular natural circulation lead cooled fast reactor-100 MWth (SNRLFR-100) is being developed by University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). In the present work, a 3D CFD model, primary heat exchanger model, fuel pin model, and point kinetic model were established based on some reasonable simplifications and assumptions, the steady-state natural circulation characteristics of SNCLFR-100 primary cooling system were discussed and illustrated, and some reasonable suggestions were proposed for the reactor’s thermal-hydraulic and structural design. Moreover, in order to have a first evaluation of the system behavior in accident conditions, an unprotected loss of heat sink (ULOHS) transient simulation at beginning of the reactor cycle (BOC) has been analyzed and discussed based on the steady-state simulation results. The key temperatures of the reactor core are all under the safety limits at transient state; the reactor has excellent thermal-hydraulic performance.

Temperature oscillations near natural nuclear reactor cores and the potential for prebiotic oligomer synthesis.

Geologic settings capable of driving prebiotic oligomer synthesis reactions remain a relatively unexplored aspect of origins of life research. Natural nuclear reactors are an example of Precambrian energy sources that produced unique temperature fluctuations. Heat transfer models indicate that water-moderated, convectively-cooled natural fission reactors in porous host rocks create temperature oscillations that resemble those employed in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) devices to artificially amplify oligonucleotides. This temperature profile is characterized by short-duration pulses up to 70-100°C, followed by a sustained period of temperatures in the range of 30-70°C, and finally a period of relaxation to ambient temperatures until the cycle is restarted by a fresh influx of pore water. For a given reactor configuration, temperature maxima and the time required to relax to ambient temperatures depend most strongly on the aggregate effect of host rock permeability in decreasing the thermal expansion and increasing the viscosity and evaporation temperature of the pore fluids. Once formed, fission-fueled reactors can sustain multi-kilowatt-level power production for 10(5)-10(6)years, ensuring microenvironmental longevity and chemical output. The model outputs indicate that organic synthesis on young planetary bodies with a sizeable reservoir of fissile material can involve more sophisticated energy dissipation pathways than modern terrestrial analog settings alone would suggest.

Bulk Segregant Analysis Reveals the Genetic Basis of a Natural Trait Variation in Fission Yeast

Although the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a well-established model organism, studies of natural trait variations in this species remain limited. To assess the feasibility of segregant-pool-based mapping of phenotype-causing genes in natural strains of fission yeast, we investigated the cause of a maltose utilization defect (Mal-) of the S. pombe strain CBS5557 (originally known as Schizosaccharomyces malidevorans). Analyzing the genome sequence of CBS5557 revealed 955 nonconservative missense substitutions, and 61 potential loss-of-function variants including 47 frameshift indels, 13 early stop codons, and 1 splice site mutation. As a side benefit, our analysis confirmed 146 sequence errors in the reference genome and improved annotations of 27 genes. We applied bulk segregant analysis to map the causal locus of the Mal- phenotype. Through sequencing the segregant pools derived from a cross between CBS5557 and the laboratory strain, we located the locus to within a 2.23-Mb chromosome I inversion found in most S. pombe isolates including CBS5557. To map genes within the inversion region that occupies 18% of the genome, we created a laboratory strain containing the same inversion. Analyzing segregants from a cross between CBS5557 and the inversion-containing laboratory strain narrowed down the locus to a 200-kb interval and led us to identify agl1, which suffers a 5-bp deletion in CBS5557, as the causal gene. Interestingly, loss of agl1 through a 34-kb deletion underlies the Mal- phenotype of another S. pombe strain CGMCC2.1628. This work adapts and validates the bulk segregant analysis method for uncovering trait-gene relationship in natural fission yeast strains.

Imaging the Underground Coal Gasification Zone with Microgravity Surveys

The paper describes results of microgravity measurements made on the surface over an underground geo reactor where experimental coal gasification was performed in a shallow seam of coal. The aim of the research was to determine whether, and to what extent, the microgravity method can be used to detect and image a coal gasification zone, especially caverns where the coal was burnt out. In theory, the effects of coal gasification process create caverns and cracks, e.g., zones of altered bulk density. Before the measurements, theoretical density models of completely and partially gasified coal were analysed. Results of the calculations of gravity field response showed that in both cases on the surface over the gasification zone there should be local gravimetric anomalies. Over the geo reactor, two series of gravimetric measurements prior to and after gasification were conducted. Comparison of the results of two measurement series revealed the presence of gravimetric anomalies that could be related to the cavern formation process. Data from these measurements were used to verify theoretical models. After the experiment, a small cavern was detected at the depth of the coal seam by the test borehole drilled in one of the anomalous areas.

Bounding Parameters of a Theoretical Deep-Earth Uranium Fission Reactor

More than 50 years ago it was postulated that a naturally occurring nuclear reactor was possible if it started 2 billion years ago. The subsequent discovery of the natural reactor at Oklo confirmed that it is possible for a nuclear fission reactor to naturally form and cycle on and off over extended periods of time. The hypothesis of a naturally occurring reactor was extended to include the possibility of significant quantities of uranium aggregating inside the molten core of Earth due to gravity during its formation. When sufficient quantities of uranium accumulate, a self-sustaining fission reactor could form, which would fluctuate in power as uranium fissions and fission products are produced. Lighter elements would migrate out of the reactor region, and heavier elements would coalesce due to gravity. In this technical note, SCALE, a state-of-the-art nuclear engineering computer code system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was used to investigate this hypothesis.The analysis indicates that the overall operational parameters of a postulated nuclear fission reactor located in the inner core of Earth must fall within a relatively narrow band in order to still be operating today. If the overall power level were too low, the reactor would not breed sufficient fissile material, and the average enrichment would drop below the level required to form a self-sustained fast reactor. If the power level were too high, the reactor would have burned itself out well before the present day. The objective of this technical note is to provide calculations that support an existing geo-reactor and the operating parameters that would govern a deep-Earth reactor and allow it to still be operating today, 4.5 billion years after Earth was formed. To help bound the possible power range, a simplified, one-dimensional, homogeneous, deep-Earth reactor having a steady-state fission power is simulated over geologic time. Power levels and start times are varied. The simulations show that if the reactor were still operating today, it would have an overall lifetime average operating fission power of <3 TW. Analyses show that both instantaneous and cumulative 3He/4He ratios are a function of fission power, 235U/238U ratio, total uranium mass, and geo-reactor starting time. The calculated 3He/4He ratios are consistent with those observed in nature.

Implications of the Oklo Phenomenon in a Chiral Approach to Nuclear Matter

It has been customary to use data from the Oklo natural nuclear reactor to place bounds on the change that has occurred in the electromagnetic fine structure constant $\alpha$ over the last 2 billion years. Alternatively, an analysis could be based on a recently proposed expression for shifts in resonance energies which relates them to changes in both $\alpha$ and the average $m_q$ of the $u$ and $d$ current quark masses, and which makes explicit the dependence on mass number $A$ and atomic number $Z$. (Recent model independent results on hadronic $\sigma$-terms suggest sensitivity to the strange quark mass is negligible.) The most sophisticated analysis, to date, of the quark mass term invokes a calculation of the nuclear mean-field within the Walecka model of quantum hadrodynamics. We comment on this study and consider an alternative in which the link to low-energy quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and its pattern of chiral symmetry-breaking is more readily discernible. Specifically, we investigate the sensitivity to changes in the pion mass $M_\pi$ of a single nucleon potential determined by an in-medium chiral perturbation theory ($\chi$PT) calculation which includes virtual $\mathrm{\Delta}$-excitations. Subject to some reasonable assumptions about low-energy constants (LECs), we confirm that the $m_q$-contribution to resonance shifts is enhanced by a factor of 10 or so relative to the $\alpha$-term and deduce that the Oklo data for Sm imply that $|m_q(\mathrm{Oklo})- m_q(\mathrm{now})| \lesssim 10^{-9}m_q(\mathrm{now})$.

2.9–1.9 Ga paleoalterations of Archean granitic basement of the Franceville basin (Gabon)

The Archean granitoids in the Kiéné area, Gabon, are overlained by the Paleoproterozoic sediments of the Franceville basin (2.1Ga). The basin is known for its high-grade uranium deposits among which some have been forming natural nuclear fission reactors. Most of the studies were dedicated to the FA-FB Paleoproterozoic sediments hosting these uranium deposits. Little is known on the Archean basement itself and specifically on the hydrous alteration events it experienced before and after the sediment deposition. The present work is focused on their petrographical, mineralogical and geochemical characterization. Dating the successive alteration events has been attempted on altered monazite crystals.Rocks in different alteration states have been sampled from eight drill cores crosscutting the Archean – Paleoproterozoic unconformity. The Archean granitoids observed in the deepest levels exhibit typical petrographical features of a propylitic alteration while they are intensely illitized up to the unconformity. The propylitic alteration is mainly pervasive but the original texture of the granitoïds is conserved in spite of the formation of new minerals: Mg-chlorite, allanite and epidote forming a typical paragenesis. The illitic alteration is much more invasive near the unconformity. The illitization process leads to the replacement of feldspars and the corrosion of quartz crysals by an illitic matrix while the ferromagnesian minerals are pseudomorphosed by a Fe-chlorite+phengite+hematite assemblage. The final fluid-rock interaction step is marked by fissural deposits of calcite and anhydrite. The δ13C isotopic data show that the fissural carbonates precipitated from diagenetic fluids enriched carbon products deriving from the maturation of organic matter. The U–Pb isotopic analyzes performed on monazite crystals have dated three distinct events: 3.0–2.9Ga (magmatic), 2.6Ga (propylitic alteration) and 1.9Ga (diagenetic illitization). The calculation of geochemical mass balances suggests that the water–rock ratio during the propylitic alteration event was weak. On the contrary, it was much higher during the overprinted illitization which is characterized by an intense leaching of Na, Ca, Mg, Sr, REE and an enrichment in K, Rb,Cs.Neither the petrographic features nor the geochemical data militate for an Archean weathering event (paleosol). In the present case, diagenetic fluids have percolated from the unconformity into the basement where they overprinted the illitization processes upon the previously propylitized rocks. These fluids were probably oxidant as they are also responsible of the U mobilization which led to the formation of the ore deposits close to the FA-FB interface.

Oklo reactors and implications for nuclear science

We summarize the nuclear physics interests in the Oklo natural nuclear reactors, focusing particularly on developments over the past two decades. Modeling of the reactors has become increasingly sophisticated, employing Monte Carlo simulations with realistic geometries and materials that can generate both the thermal and epithermal fractions. The water content and the temperatures of the reactors have been uncertain parameters. We discuss recent work pointing to lower temperatures than earlier assumed. Nuclear cross-sections are input to all Oklo modeling and we discuss a parameter, the 175 Lu ground state cross-section for thermal neutron capture leading to the isomer 176 m Lu , that warrants further investigation. Studies of the time dependence of dimensionless fundamental constants have been a driver for much of the recent work on Oklo. We critically review neutron resonance energy shifts and their dependence on the fine structure constant α and the ratio Xq = mq/Λ (where mq is the average of the u and d current quark masses and Λ is the mass scale of quantum chromodynamics (QCD)). We suggest a formula for the combined sensitivity to α and Xq that exhibits the dependence on proton number Z and mass number A, potentially allowing quantum electrodynamic (QED) and QCD effects to be disentangled if a broader range of isotopic abundance data becomes available.

Nuclear Data and the Oklo Natural Nuclear Reactors

Data from the Oklo natural nuclear reactors have enabled some of the most sensitive terrestrial tests of time variation of dimensionless fundamental constants. The constraints on variation of αEM, the fine structure constant are particular good, but depend on the reliability of the nuclear data, and on the reliability of the modeling of the reactor environment. We briefly review the history of these tests and discuss our recent work in 1) attempting to better bound the temperatures at which the reactors operated, 2) investigating whether the γ-ray fluxes in the reactors could have contributed to changing lutetium isotopic abundances and 3) determining whether lanthanum isotopic data could provide an alternate estimate of the neutron fluence.

Ground water colloid properties from the Bangombé system

The concentration and the role of colloids in the transport of elements in the vicinity of a fossil reactor at Bangombé, Gabon, were assessed. Colloid sampling was conducted in seven boreholes around and in the extinguished natural reactor. The ground waters are of Na–Mg–Ca–HCO3 type, with variable salinities, pH 4.6–6.8 and anaerobic Eh values. Filtered ground water and colloid samples were taken from the reactor and the surroundings. Filtered fluids and colloid samples collected on membranes and resuspended in solution were analysed by ICP-MS and ICP-AES in order to examine the element association in the colloid phase within the size range 3000 to 400 to 50nm. The colloid concentrations for the size 400 to 50nm range from 80 to 300ngml−1. They consist of silica particles associated with ferrihydrite coated with organics. Trace element results show that metals including Pb, Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Bi, Th and U are associated to various degrees with the colloid phase. The distribution ratios of these trace elements between the water and the colloid phase (Kp) were experimentally determined. The high Pb distribution ratios of 10+7mlg−1 are specifically discussed. Values range from 10+6 to 10+5mlg−1for the trivalent elements (Sc, Y, La, Ce,…,Bi). For uranium, a Kp of the order of 10+5mlg−1 may be calculated and compared with data gained using the surface complexation model. These Kp values suggest that the uranium is partially sorbed or associated with ground water colloids. Measurements from the reactor zone show that about 2–4% of the uranium is associated with the colloid phase, which contributes partially to the uranium transport. The rather low colloid concentrations are due to the relatively high concentrations of Ca, Mg and Na in these quasi-neutral waters. These soluble elements contribute to the attachment of the colloids, restricting their transport. This indicates that the colloid phase may not be an important transport medium for the radionuclides in the Bangombé system if their association is reversible. The Bangombé colloid results are compared with those studied for other systems.