Using either a finite element or finite‐difference method to solve radionuclide waste transport problems involving advection, dispersion, decay and transformation simultaneously is numerically complicated. Most applications have used only one‐dimensional transport and extending this approach to higher‐dimensional problems is a formidable task. This paper uses the ULR method to reduce the size of the semi‐discretized linear system and enables this extension. The development of this application includes a new method for choosing a common starting vector for all species in order to ensure the ULR method is convergent. The results of numerical simulations of application of this method to practical field contaminant transport problems show the efficiency of the method. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.