The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant A Potential Solution for the Disposal of Transuranic Waste (1996) / Chapter Skim
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5 ACTINIDE SOURCE TERM
5 ACTINIDE SOURCE TERM
Pages 58-64
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From page 58... ...
This quantity is the actinide source term (AST) , defined more specifically by scientists at Sandia National Laboratories as the cumulative amounts, concentrations In solution, and chemical nature of the radioactive materials that conceivably could be moved in solution or suspension from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP)
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From page 59... ...
Estimates of these quantities can be approached theoretically with models using tabulated chemical data and basic chemical principles, and empirically through either carefi~lly controlled laboratory experiments or measurements under actual field conditions. Each approach has advantages, and all have weaknesses.
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From page 60... ...
Add the difficulty of knowing or determining the relative proportions of the oxidation states of an actinide element in a given solution, and the complicated nature of the task that DOE researchers have set for themselves becomes apparent.2 Based on a review of the AST program, the committee has identified areas of concern that are descnbed in Appendix E Although the experimental approach chosen to estimate actinide solubilities is acceptable, it will be defensible only when supported by extensive experimental data, which were unavailable at the time of preparation of this report.
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From page 61... ...
. From Me proposed experimental program, DOE scientists expect to learn whether there is a serious threat of active 61 transport of act~n~des by colloidal particles and what measures might be taken to modify conditions in the WIPP repository to reduce this threat.
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From page 62... ...
Data on the source term, as noted previously, will have no importance if the repository remains undisturbed by human activity for 10,000 years because no appreciable radioactivity will likely escape to the surface. However, for any of the scenarios considered in Chapter 2 describing the results of possible human disturbance of the repository, knowledge about the source term is essential for estimating possible radioactive releases from various assessments of repository performance and, hence, for making a decision on the application for a certificate of compliance to open the WIPP repository.
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From page 63... ...
This additional work will improve the scientific basis of the performance assessment and increase public confidence in the ability of WIPP to isolate TRU waste. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The committee offers the following conclusions regarding the acne source term: · For the undisturbed case, the magnitude of the actinide source term is of no consequence to the demonstration that WIPP can isolate waste from the biosphere effeca'velyfor many thousands of years.
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From page 64... ...
Field confirmation and/or a more fi~ndamental understanding of sorption processes are needed. Based on the current assessment of the WIPP site, the committee believes that the required work on the act~n~de source term (actinide concentrations in brine, colloid formation and transport, and nuclide retardation)
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