Groundwater system characterisation in support of safety assessment for radioactive waste disposal

Abstract

Abstract:Radioactive waste disposal is a strategic activity in the nuclear field to safeguard the population and the environment from radiological risks. In the radioactive waste disposal field, safety assessment aims to foresee and manage the environmental and radiological impact of possible radionuclide releases. One of the main radionuclide transport pathways in the environment is through groundwater. This paper deals with an assessment process applied to a characterisation of a groundwater system and its relations with surface water, in order to foresee critical scenarios of possible radionuclide migration in environmental matrices (e.g., groundwater, surface water, soil, etc.). The study examines in depth the groundwater system of a nuclear site in Italy.

Coupling of unsaturated zone and saturated zone in radionuclide transport simulations

“…It hosts several nuclear facilities such as a fuel reprocessing plant, in decommissioning, temporary radioactive waste disposal, waste ponds to collect liquid effluent, a nuclear research reactor that now is used as temporary repository, etc. Figure 3 The annual groundwater dynamic was studied in detail in (Testoni et al, 2016). As far as the hydrogeological aspect is concerned, the elevation of top soil is in the range of 170-175 m above sea level.…”