Icelandic basaltic geothermal field: A natural analog for nuclear waste isolation in basalt

• Main Authors: Ulmer, G. C., Grandstaff, D. E.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Rockwell Hanford Operations 1984
• Subjects: Europe; Geothermal Fields; Iceland; Geology; Radioactive Materials; Basalt; Wastes; Solubility; 053000 > Nuclear Fuels > Environmental Aspects; Water; Western Europe Geothermal Legacy 052002* > Nuclear Fuels > Waste Disposal & Storage; Waste Disposal; Comparative Evaluations; Minerals; Igneous Rocks; Radioactive Waste Facilities; Ground Water; Ph Value; Rocks; Nuclear Facilities; Materials; Site Surveys; Islands; 12 Management Of Radioactive And Non-Radioactive Wastes From Nuclear Facilities; Chemistry; Underground Disposal; Radioactive Wastes; Geothermal Legacy; Petrology; 11 Nuclear Fuel Cycle And Fuel Materials; Volcanic Rocks; Developing Countries; Oxygen Compounds; Management; Waste Management; Hydrogen Compounds; Geochemistry; High-Level Radioactive Wastes
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/5392363; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1074733/

Analog studies of Icelandic geothermal fields have shown that the design of nuclear waste repositories in basalt can benefit by comparison to the data base already available from the development of these geothermal fields. A high degree of similarity exists between these two systems: their petrology, groundwater geochemistry, mineral solubilities, hydrologic parameters, temperature ranges, water-rock redox equilibria, hydrothermal pH values, and secondary mineralogies all show considerable overlap in the range of values. The experimentally-simulated hydrothermal studies of the basaltic nuclear waste repository rocks have, at this time, produced a data base that receives a strong confirmation from the Icelandic analog. Furthermore, the Icelandic analog should eventually be employed to extrapolate into higher and lower temperatures, into longer time-base chemical comparisons, and into more realistic mineral deposition studies, than have been possible in the laboratory evaluations of the nuclear waste repository designs. This eventual use of the Icelandic analog will require cooperative work with the Icelandic Geological Survey. 46 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.