“EJFA-vedur’esy IkM5.

R-itti 12L!W8

“~txIrks Trirty, FAX (505) 665-4955

I& FiIULlRepoIt fo~COIIUMX21513r~W16-3Y

The following tasks were completed and Murti work outlined, including a draft test plan for FY1999.

1) TIir imnmhi!im~ioncapxity of rhc ga[er mawriah for specific radiwwclide.s,This~askwill primatily include column sorption tests of

gEWYmamrids wi~!~so]uticmsspiked ~vithradionucJi&x, The geftcr materials wiUinclude Apatite 11,MgCI(with NaPC)4plus IM,SJ033

and soluble suifwe, with and without Apatite 11),Gil>bsite~uel~rl~ite,and Hematite, Radionuclides will inclLde Pu, G, Np, Am. Ra. Tc,

tind TII. Experimtxts wi]I bc pd’ormeci under various anticipated repository condh ions WAwith am.ic@atedsolution compositions.

(lxxsiowd btitch [CSLSwill bc used to obtain specific K~sNu,dotlwr ttwrmcdynwnic data. Soiid anti liquid .arwdyseswill be needed for

chwxterizati(m of the efjlucnt conce.nlmtions from the LWIumn$t,oMsrss pcrforntamx and for LLSein gwchemicti] nmdell ing,

-.

DISCLAIMER

This repofi was,.prepared as an account of work sponsoredby an agency of the United States Government. Neitherthe United States Government nor any agency thereof, norany of their employees, make any warranty, express orimplied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility forthe accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of anyinformation, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, orrepresents that its use would not infringe privately ownedrights. Reference herein to any specific commercialproduct, process, or service by trade name, trademark,manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constituteor imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring bythe United States Government or any agency thereof. Theviews and opinions of authors expressed herein do notnecessarily state or reflect those of the United StatesGovernment or any agency thereof.

DISCLAIMER

Portions of this document may be illegiblein electronic image products. Images areproduced from the best avai[able originaldocument.

-. —–. , . -,-..,.-, — ....lP..=.,*-...,.. .m.s,. . ?-c---- .!..>-, ---- -.

,J,,,.

..

~) Diffusion of radiunuclides across a Rich,ards Barrier. The Richards Barrier, if crnplatxd. will acLas a hydraulic cliveysionbarlix for

the diversion of water around EIXwaste pwkge, and sand and gravei may bc.used beneath the packages for various masons. It has heen

postulated hi these IMerids Wi]]also act as diffusion barriers to radionuc]ick?~tig~atkn across thcm, especia~~yunder unsaturated

conditions, Macroscaiu experiments in MNLs hot fii~i My =41 bc used to measure r:idionuelide migration iitit)~~L& interface of these

b.wrks which will h constructed using crushed l’hl ittfi.XXIChwrtcmSand from NTcvada.Tritium will be used as a cotmrvativc tracer.

These cxperirnents wi11provide the data necessary to ~\’Atiti~ the retardation properties of the lxLckfillmaterials and in dctcrminc whether

prccipitatirmor adsorption dominates ii} each material. and whether the reposiLfxy environment is favorable for its perfixmance. The

scope or work may change aS Mm-nation develops from tiis activity and from other activities, as close interactions w-illoccur between

~hmesactivities.

M an~icipationof these activities, we are performing several calculations and cxperirnents. Fimt, we ,areconlpiIing information on the

properties of the candidw McM1l and invert materials for use indecision-making. for mo(leliing puIpxxs and for identifying data gaps.

Tabh) 1provides the firs[ rhuft of infornmtion i)i~ dw possible bacldi}l rnate.~ia!sand Table 2 provides inform:ition on thr posxiblc.in’,wt

materi&

Concrete I,fli: 10 10”io cm/s ~J-J 0.10

Chy Limn 1(Y7 to 1.(P Cds O-A3 KI 0.50 0.10100.20

Chwl (tuff) 1(}CM ~.~(j 0,07’

Qw,8(nou

Gavel (,llc!ll-lui-fj 10Crll/’s 0.45 0.().3

-.

. m“Cr1-

1

,,,.......,:~,,.;

\;.,..,..,:

ow,,mwu

.’!si

.->::...,,:.,

Tabl&2..SUinxnaryof Properties fm Candidae Getter ~aterials*

Getter Materia{s Jly Bulk Density* Intended Function

Smefxk clays 1,2 @$ sorption, extremely low N)nductiyity

Depleted waniuln 4 k) 5 rte.utronabsorber

Zeolitcs lt@l.2 specific sorption of radkmucides{orcrushed zecditictuff)

CidCite 1.4 sorption of riidionuclidesraise ionic strength, neutron absorber

Lime 1.4to 1.6 riiise ionic strengtlv’immobilizecolloid.ssorb 02 and C02

Concrete 22 m 2.5 raise ionic $Lrcrlglldimmol>ijizc colloiciqsorb 02 and C(X2

Apwitc Sand 15 immohilim U i(lld Ifp

.%p~liie11 1.4 better imrnobiiizfition of U, Np Iud others

13WLltgrave.] l.j reductiolu’ii~nu{}bilti1-c

Pyroxene 1.7 rw.iuctidirrtmubihze Tc

Zero vaienr iron 4t05 wduct icmfiminobil.ii.cTc, sorb or

(or Fe304j co-precipiuMeother rudionuclidu

I-icmtitile(or Ckothitc) 2,6 sw-hor co-precipittiie orher radicmuclkks(or FW)3’)

Borax o.~ neulron absorbur

i“e~icitisr(M@ j 1 4 fo /,6 ~~~ g~i~!d :~[ i~~~y!(?~ijj~i!?g fy~&~:)Llc]j&;:;

With sodium w-thophosphak or $Ldfak plus (kk3,%j~@

130ehmite~MO.;) 1.5 immobilizc mtikmxiides

Major Problems

theimd instability, unsaturated cracking

expensive

thermal h}stabiliti~s,slightly expensive

uu.erwirt lifeiime, chemical instability

short lifetime, chemical ins!.a.bi]ity

uneerhainlifetime: chemical instability

siighdy expensi\’e, prmiluctionnmxrt:~kz

slightly expensive

e:ipeansive

unknown corrosion issues, expensive

chemical i.txstiibilily

expensive

uncem.in LiMime,chemical instabiMy

slighiiy expensiie, chemictd imitability

urlccrtai n perform;incc, expensij~e

otd,*UINu

Q

otn

-/,.;.,,1 ~iikd(tti@)tC$:k’Ai?KiL4fli Of(kttl?r :ifde~id &@W?Lib httlObi& ft>

!.:.-

The amount of Getter tn.wxial needed can be wkukd frcm its K{!batch test behavior, the inventory of t-adicmuclidesto LWsorbed. and.,.,‘.’.,. dlemticipated ~ealextent of thedttits, Tl~e.seK3\'dues are: ljs~cific toti~csol\~tion wdci}ncen&ations [\sedktile tesL2)doi~ot:>?.$., reflect temporal Ml&s and further sorption from Mm solutions, 3) do not necessary translate to amounw of rwtim-wclides hmmbdizd

,>;;.,., in the lleh.t: xxi 41 are usually wry conservative. ie., more Np will ptQbabIysorb onto the getter tlxm is reflected in t!w ISd wdw. ‘T%is!::

1

being said, using N@and apatite, with ii~ inventory of 80,000 curies of Np (4.’78x 10srnoks~ ‘i.13x 10sg). an average drift area of::,,.:,;~: 1.$3 x 10$a-r? with 84 drifts (assumin~ 37 kW/acre’1,a K~for the apatim of 2.,000#ml using lg of qmtite in 20 ml of 5 x 106!,~.>.,., nmlesNp/liter, a d~ bulk density for apatite of 1.5 g/cm/, tlwx‘.,<*,:.::+.: The amount of F@swbed k} 1 g of apatite = (5 x 1O_$molcsXpAiter) x 0.02 liter = 1x 10-’molesNp

I,-.,,:,:,,;.. This calculation ctsstmxts evtm dislrihuricmof flow timisorption in the getter, which should 13ccwU it is silt-sized,w

,,.:

1F-.$,, J[should be mentiomxl tha[ M [he time of the ~. work with apatire. the :qxi~iteused was XorttYCarolina phosphate ore. This is prtsently.<,,/. nuL:~vaitable.in any signifkxnf tinmun(s, and may not be avaiIablc at (he tinw needed by the YMP. We have searched for oth wmxx.y:<,!*y,>~w. anti found Apatj fc D which is hu Lk n times more effect ivc th~an~Nor[hCm-elka spat i~eaKKionly tt{-iceas eq.mnsivc, so for the same.,,,

performance, a depth of fi11for the .Ap3titc11would he only 0.2 meters. Apatite II can bc oblahw.1in the required amounts for the Y~M.P.

‘-n0u,

‘k

T

bal

. -. -

(r”y-.

“N

ent’h-onnmnt..The g,ninin performance and COSLsavings together wm.ddbe tremendous. Funds permitting,

d-lesee?qlerimcm dutirlg FY199’3.

NEW SOuRcEs op 13wE~T AND GETNZR MA=tE~IAiS

Dcpcnuing upon which invert and getter materials are finally chosen, commercial sources of these materials

*.Pwe will design tindcarry out

iu)

ow,*(n

must be foundthatwill bc (nu

adjacent to the de, making iLmuch more cost-effective than kc C)Ve.xtcmSand. Neither the 8-20 sand nor the 12-20 sand are uppropriale

for ~helovm layer, The properties mcasmwl as a fulwtion of the.water contem inclucictickw.rical coriductivi~ to provide the aqueous

diffusion cocfficien( and the A“ permeability as a function of [he waier content. The results atp~chedto this report.

WCobtained uuc m a ntnvllig-h-resolutionX-l?iiy Tonmgridph.k ~nwumenl tkt can produc: S-di.mcnskmali.rmges of geologic CiliWX.kk

M vmious degrees of siitumtkm Wc investigat.txithe 8-20 sand and two fractwed cores of luff, the Topopah Spriug tuff and the %ow

PF:SS,that wc have chamctetized previously. The results wax obtained clectrrmictil]yccin.f@red into & movie for proper viewing of the

w-es. and were pkerl on the LAN% YMP I-cxuhsptige of our website at h~ptitww. tiat~en(wes.com

N.+’l’0 P,MWRAND WORKSHOP ON REMEIXAIWN OF RAIXO?WJCLHXMANDHtiAw Mm’ALs INSUPPORT m?

NONIJROLIl:ER1i’rfON

SCFA DOK’S V,M’XISE ZONE ~OC)K

.-Mp:ill of tile Dep;wtmcntof Emrgy’s Vadow2Zone initi ;Xiw, the SUbsurfxe Cont,aminam Focus :Irea hx called for UXWWkrSin [he

VMXe Z(II)C fo CO-aIIdKW a hook on the VidOSC Z_mefor usc by DOE iid subcrmtracmrs. especially LANL and the YMP. ?Veure

provic~ingN ]c:wtfour papers to thk vo)Lunc oudining studirx pwimmt to the Vw.lose “hnc and to I..AIW. The first four papers are

tittackd to [his report.

Introduction

ow,,mNu

This pkm dxcriiws [he tlxperimcnta] work and h~mtigarions to dwmklke the chemical perfommcc of diffe.i”entmaterials thttimay he

used as drift back.fiH k t-k projxxed YucciiMounkn high-[evel nuclrfir wws(e.repository. W’luiwer backfill material is chosen for either

--

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.

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....

;;!,.

~j,..,,’,

I(

en@neerinSpurposes, such as invert support of the package or pmteci.im against roc.k.fall,or for hydrologic conrrol such as drip shield

w Richards krrkrs, the &i’usion of radkmuclidcs through Lhe/.-mcl&llis the most cfiticxdproperty of the backfill with regard to

ccmtamittmt mleaw -andh-arqmrt out of the drift. The hydrologic systcrti underlying Yucca Mountain em.ourages fast path flow of

i.nfkt!ion through fractures and faults. The r-mrninalixtiW-mien rate for the repmimi-y horizon is bxwer-r 1 and 10 mm pa year, Even

at these km rates, dripping wili occur from the drift ceilings. Several designs have been proposed to reduce the impact of this dripping

and suimequent‘leachin~and trmspcu-tof ~adicmuclidesfrom the drift, i.e., to lower the radkmuciitie releme rates from the system to

acceptable levels from a dose pe.rimmmce s{andpoim, Hydrologic barriers such as a drip shieM or a Richards .&wriercould diver[ l-his

infiltration frcm the canisters and baclcflll, and lowwrrelease rates by changin: the adwxtive prope~ticsof the system. Chemical barriers

can alter the solution chemistry and ph~se rdatiortships within the backfill and lower rehme mtes by changing the chrmkd properties of

[he symm. i\ combination of barrie~smay Ix Lid w ensuxe robust performance in the face of indeterminate hydnhgic conditions.

Wlwewr LwKktlllrnu[eriiilsarc chosen, k diffusiw] coefficient will be the primary transprwtv mechanism at wry low water contents and

must he determined for Ihe range Oi conchkms MlLiCj~3iitt?d in the nqository. Itk cxf.w.!cdThat cmshed tuil grave.] wil I he used in some

fiM’M. if only as M cngincwing I112iC1-id, c.g,. inwrt 01 wv:r, ‘Ilmdm”c, Lhis La& wiI1 focus on crushd tuft gwvd diffusion.

This work wjjl pmviclc (ji~ti~ Twce.svu-y{Oevaluate Iht diffusion bcl]avior of backfill, The scope of work may charge as information

develops from this activiLy and from other activities (i~ctivicicsRP?J0672 and 74), w C1OWinteractions wiil occur bctwwn these

w[ivities. of critical irr~pi~l~ancrk [hai these cxpcrirnws reflect the IMcWII,lenvircmmctlt M[he time when r.adionuciides diffuse through

the backfill, af[c~lc+tchiri$fr(,miLheu’ax~eforms an~iintcrwtion with canister corrosion products, or tit lczustbow-d the anticipated

conditions as W] as i.sknowm}

.’:Lbu)

:

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t

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.’.

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,---\

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,----. ..-------- .,-------------I I

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i

.’:

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--- . ----- -

Feb-24-99 04:02P.

P.12

D (cm 2 /s)N& & J. . ““L d,

o C’3 u C3 C2 a s}A

, * , * ,& al -4 m m a

@()

%

.

Feb-24-99 04:03P.

coefficient of permeability (cm A2)

.

c) [0?2o “om o

m$J A

Qcl w

b ..... .. ... . 1a

c.. ~

AC3’23C3

.-J.u!bc1

Ivwo(3

CAVIbC2

..........1.- . .- 1 } !. . . . \ . . .-.; . . .

P.13

.+b‘amb--J.1

tom&9..4

MmLw

vzincocRi

Feb-24-99 04:03P,

wscl

I,

(J1QQ

Mmbc)

CDUi

oC3

./h(2

,.

Ii.,I

+....

f

J .

coefficient of permeability (cmfi2)2 .N m .@ in a .-4“o -0 rJ ?> & b co 0 0 a c o c>m m m Iy m m rpo b & a A o L>a @ tn m eJ D Cw

... .. .. . . -..!.... . . . y....................+...-........----./.

4

ccl

P.14

-s-A

.—.—..—. -.—. ..—.- .

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. ~(yq~Q.~

- W-3o037

-- ~()-35f-J”9

,f,!

. . . . . - ---- ..

‘J

uI

.“!8Au)

o$*,o(du

u,PVI

Feb-24-99 04:03P

coefficient of permeability (cm AZ}

-u

12imA

0

.-k.c)

o0

.01.2)0

IwlI

wm‘oo

(.0c1

“oc1

.. . . . . .. .;-... . . . ; I -.

-gc’>

w&om&+

-1

P.16

P’-.-t

@$0

0

c)

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Feb-24-99 04:04P

coefficient of

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*

permeability

Ainon-!

&-J

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(crn’2)

.

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Nco!33

c)

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a@pC3 ‘“C3

P.17

Feb-24-99 04:04P

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49

4+

.

P.18

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Feb-24-99 04:04P. .

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l-nC3

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Feb-24-99 04:04P

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Feb-24-99 04:05P P.21

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P.22

Fet5-24-99 04:05P‘“

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Feb-24-99 04:05P‘ ..

+’>.3... ,

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t%

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co m cc cclc1 c> C3 c1

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Feb-24-99 04:06P‘.

P.25

al

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tozal.&.

23u)InCD

k

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l!!3-g

acl

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Feb-24-99 04:06P‘.

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