Norwegian research into the properties of quick clay—a review

The ultra-sensitive type of clay called quick clay has caused severe landslides in Scandinavia and on the east and west coast of Canada. Slides of this type were the mentioned in literature in the fourteenth century. Quick-clay properties were described in 1901. Later geologists at the Norwegian Geological Survey, the Norwegian Highway Laboratory and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute carried out research on this material. The present opinion is that the peculiar properties are based upon colloidal-chemical phenomena. According to this the clays deposited and consolidated in a flocculated state. Later chemical changes increased the double layer potential, either by leaching of electrolyte or by addition of suitable anions. The flocculated structure remains, unstable though, until mechanical disturbances cause a breakdown. Thus the clay is transformed into a dispersed state.     

Site selection criteria for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Romania

 Common opinion today is that the only practicable way for the disposal of hazardous waste is in deep-laying bedrock deposits. A set of general site selection criteria for spent nuclear fuel were developed, and are presented and discussed in this paper. Four widespread geological formations in Romania appropriate as geological barriers for underground disposal (salt, granite, volcanic tuff and green schists) were analyzed, and sites were proposed on the basis of the geological criteria defined for each of the four formations. Received: 18 July 1996 · Accepted: 27 September 1996     

中国高放废物地质处置缓冲材料大型试验台架和热-水-力-化学耦合性能研究

缓冲材料作为高放废物深地质处置库中一道重要的人工屏障,与高放废物容器和处置库围岩直接接触,在高放废物衰变热、辐射作用和地下水等影响下产生复杂的热-水-力-化学耦合作用,为了验证缓冲材料是否能长期有效地发挥其屏障材料的作用,核工业北京地质研究院利用高庙子钠基膨润土组装并运行了模拟中国高放废物地质处置室 尺寸的大型缓冲材料膨润土试验台架（China-Mock-Up）。建立了缓冲材料试验台架的安装和试验方法,依据实测数据和理论分析,揭示了热-水-力-化学耦合作用条件下膨润土中的相对湿度是在加热器的热效应和外部供水的湿效应共同作用下发生变化的,压实膨润土中应力的变化主要是由于膨润土遇水膨胀和加热器的热效应引起的,试验验证了模拟高放废物地质处置室内加热器（废物罐）运行初期的位移过程,为缓冲材料和高放废物地质处置库的设计提供了重要的工程参数和理论依据。     

A comparative study of waste landfill disposal in different countries

This study draws attention to the fact that natural processes can mobilize thallium （Tl）, a highly toxic metal, which may enter the food chain with severe health impacts on the local human population. A rural area having independent Tl mineralization in southwestern Guizhou, China, was chosen for a pilot study. Tl contents of soils extracted by HNO3 in the study area range from 35-165 mg/kg in soils from the mining area, 14-78 mg/kg in alluvial deposits downstream, and 〈0.2-0.5 mg/kg in soils from the background area. Tl contents in ammonium acetate EDTA-extracted fraction are 0.013-1.3 mg/kg, less than 1% of concentration in HNO3-extracted fraction. The amounts of Tl in NH4Ac-extracted fraction were thought to be more exchangeable and bioavailable, i.e., immediately available to plants and/or available to plant roots over a period of years. Tl concentration in crops exhibits species-dependent preferences. The enrichment of Tl in edible crop species decreases in the following order： green cabbage〉chili〉Chinese cabbage〉rice〉com. The highest level of Tl in green cabbage is up to 500 mg/kg （DW）, surpassing the values of Tl in the soils （13-59 mg/kg）. The enrichment factor for TI in green cabbage is up to 1-10 when considering the HNO3-extracted Tl, but the factor highly rises to 30-1300 while considering the NH4Ac-extracted Tl. The average daily uptake of Tl by the local villagers through consumption of locally planted crops was estimated at about 1.9 mg per person, which is 50 times the daily ingestion from the Tl-free background area.     

Problems of site selection for nuclear waste disposal in a loess-covered hill environment in Hungary

Problems of the long-term storage of nuclear waste produced by the Paks power plant have recently come to the fore in Hungary. After an extensive debate between investors and the local population the decision makers took the side of those having opposed the establishment of the waste disposal site in the initially proposed environment. Several studies have been conducted to support both pros and cons. Although the idea was rejected finally, this debate has proven that comprehensive research prior to decision making is indispensable in similar cases.Regretfully, the academic staff of the GRIHAS was invited to participate in the expertise too late, in 1988, to investigate the geomorphological and social-economic environmental conditions of the proposed site. The latter cannot be neglected since the settlement pattern, demographic structure, character of economic activities, the level and state of the infrastructure — though indirectly — exert a long-term impact on the circumstances of the operation of the site, the living conditions of the people working there and on the use of the environment. Any harmful effect from the secondary wastes to be deposited could endanger the security of the local population, that is why a thorough geographical analysis based on field research in the immediate and wider surroundings of the site is necessary already in the phase of decision preparation.     

Characterization of natural organic matter in bentonite clays for potential use in deep geological repositories for used nuclear fuel

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is developing a Deep Geological Repository (DGR) to contain and isolate used nuclear fuel in a suitable rock formation at a depth of approximately 500 m. The design concept employs a multibarrier system, including the use of copper-coated used fuel containers, surrounded by a low-permeability, swelling clay buffer material within a low permeability, stable host rock environment. The natural organic matter (NOM) composition of the bentonite clays being considered for the buffer material is largely uncharacterized at the molecular-level. To gain a better understanding of the NOM in target clays from Wyoming and Saskatchewan, molecular-level methods (biomarker analysis, solid-state ¹³C NMR and solution-state ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)) were used to elucidate the structure and sources of NOM. Organic carbon content in three commercially available bentonites analyzed was low (0.11–0.41%). The aliphatic lipid distribution of the clay samples analyzed showed a predominance of higher concentration of lipids from vascular plants and low concentrations of lipids consistent with microbial origin. The lignin phenol vanillyl acid to aldehyde ratio (Ad/Al) for the National sample indicated an advanced state of lignin oxidation and NOM diagenesis. The ¹³C NMR spectra were dominated by signals in the aromatic and aliphatic regions. The ratio of alkyl/O-alkyl carbon ranged from 7.6 to 9.7, indicating that the NOM has undergone advanced diagenetic alteration. The absence lignin-derived phenols commonly observed in CuO oxidation extracts from contemporary soils and sediments as well as the lack of amino acids suggests that the material corresponding to the aromatic signal is not composed of lignin or proteins but may be derived from another source such as black carbon or some other non-extractable aromatic-rich NOM. The aliphatic signal appears to correspond to long-chain compounds with little side branching based on the results of the one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) solution-state ¹H NMR analyses. Overall, the organic geochemical analyses suggest that the NOM is composed mainly of plant-derived waxes and highly aromatic carbon with low contributions from small molecules. The compounds identified by the molecular-level analysis of NOM in the clay samples are hypothesized to be recalcitrant but future studies should examine if these compounds may serve as a microbial substrate to further test the observations of this study. Furthermore, our study suggests that the NOM has undergone diagenesis and that marine NOM signatures are no longer recognizable or detectable. As such, future work may also examine the diagenesis of these deposits to further understand the NOM geochemistry and paleoenvironmental conditions in bentonite deposits.     

Geoscientific R&D for high level radioactive waste disposal in Sweden — current status and future plans

SKB (Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB) is responsible for all handling, transport and storage of the nuclear wastes outside the Swedish nuclear power stations. According to Swedish law, SKB is responsible for an R&D-programme needed to take care of the radwastes. The programme comprises, among others, a general supportive geo-scientific R&D and the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) for more in-situ specific tasks.

Sweden is geologically located in the Fennoscandian shield which is dominated by gneisses and granitoids of Precambrian age. The Swedish reference repository concept thus considers an excavated vault at ca. 500 m depth in crystalline rocks. In this concept (KBS-3), copper canisters with high level waste will be emplaced in deposition holes from a system of tunnels. Blocks of highly compacted swelling bentonite clay are placed in the holes leaving ample space for the canisters. At the final closure of the repository, the galleries are backfilled with a mixture of sand and bentonite. This repository design aims to make the disposal system as redundant as possible. Although the KBS-3 concept is the reference concept, alternative concepts and/or repository lay-outs are also studied. The main alternative, currently under development at SKB, is disposal in boreholes with depths of 4–5 km. The geoscientific research will to a great extent be guided by the demands posed by the performance and safety assessments, as well as the constuctability issues. Some main functions of the geological barrier are fundamental for the long-term safety of a repository. These are: bedrock mechanical stability, a chemically stable environment as well as a slow and stable groundwater flux. The main time-table for the final disposal of long-lived radioactive waste in Sweden foresees the final selection of the disposal system and site during the beginning of next decade.     

核废物地质处置模型试验近场热-水-应力耦合数值模拟

笔者描述了所建立的饱和-非饱和介质中热-水-应力耦合现象的控制方程。针对国际合作项目DECOVALEX II 中Task-2的核废物地质处置轴对称模型试验及计算参数,使用所研制的有限元程序进行了热-水-应力耦合过程模拟。对缓冲层及岩体中若干部位的温度、含水量及接触应力的分布、变化进行了分析, 并将其与量测值和使用THAMES程序的计算结果作了比较,看到了三者的异、同之处,并指出了可能的影响原因。通过与量测值和THAMES程序的计算结果的对比,显示了笔者所研制的有限元程序在热-水-应力耦合数值分析中是可靠和实用的。     

核废物地质处置中热-水-应力耦合对迁移影响的三维有限元模拟

将所建立的热-水-应力-迁移耦合模型及开发的有限元程序,由二维分析拓展到三维分析,并从方法论研究的角度,以一个简单的核废物地质处置模型为算例,进行热-水-应力-迁移耦合过程的三维数值模拟,考察了近场的温度、饱和度、核素浓度、孔隙水压力、位移、正应力、流速等的分布与变化,认为计算结果符合规律,得出了若干结论：为了精确地模拟放射性核素迁移,就必须将温度场、渗流场、应力场和核素浓度场进行耦合分析;核废物埋存若干年后将在处置孔壁附近产生较高的压应力;缓冲层内各点的核素浓度达到相对稳定的时间要比温度和饱和度达到相对稳定的时间长得多。     

Geochemical modelling of the weathering zone of the “Mina Fe” U deposit (Spain): A natural analogue for nuclear spent fuel alteration and stability processes in radwaste disposal

The “Mina Fe” U deposit (Salamanca, Spain) has been studied in the context of Enresa’s programme for U-mine sites restoration and also as a natural analogue for processes in high-level nuclear waste (HLNW) geological disposal. The investigations encompassed an array of geoscience disciplines, such as structural geology, mineralogy, hydrogeology and elemental and isotopic geochemistry and hydrogeochemistry of the site. Based on the obtained results, a conceptual mineralogical and geochemical model was performed integrating the main geochemical processes occurring at the site: the interaction between oxidised and slightly acidic water with pyrite, pitchblende, calcite and dolomite, as essential minerals of the U fracture-filling mineralisation, and hydroxyapatite from the host rock, as the main source of P. This conceptual model has been tested in a systematic numerical model, which includes the main kinetic (pyrite and pitchblende dissolution) and equilibrium processes (carbonate mineral dissolution, and goethite, schoepite and autunite secondary precipitation). The results obtained from the reactive-transport model satisfactorily agree with the conceptual model previously established. The assumption of the precipitation of coffinite as a secondary mineral in the system cannot be correctly evaluated due to the lack of hydrochemical data from the reducing zone of the site and valid thermodynamic and kinetic data for this hydrated U(IV)-silicate. This precipitation can also be hampered by the probable existence of dissolved U(IV)-organic matter and/or uranyl carbonate complexes, which are thermodynamically stable under the alkaline and reducing conditions that prevail in the reducing zone of the system. Finally, the intense downwards oxic and acidic alteration in the upper part of the system is of no relevance for the performance assessment of a HLNW disposal. However, the acidic and oxidised conditions are quickly buffered to neutral–alkaline and reducing at very shallow depths, of relevance for the performance assessment of a HLNW repository, even in a natural or artificially perturbed geological environment as “Mina Fe”.     

A multiple-code simulation study of the long-term EDZ evolution of geological nuclear waste repositories

This simulation study shows how widely different model approaches can be adapted to model the evolution of the excavation disturbed zone (EDZ) around a heated nuclear waste emplacement drift in fractured rock. The study includes modeling of coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical (THM) processes, with simplified consideration of chemical coupling in terms of time-dependent strength degradation or subcritical crack growth. The different model approaches applied in this study include boundary element, finite element, finite difference, particle mechanics, and elasto-plastic cellular automata methods. The simulation results indicate that thermally induced differential stresses near the top of the emplacement drift may cause progressive failure and permeability changes during the first 100 years (i.e., after emplacement and drift closure). Moreover, the results indicate that time-dependent mechanical changes may play only a small role during the first 100 years of increasing temperature and thermal stress, whereas such time-dependency is insignificant after peak temperature, because of decreasing thermal stress.     

Rock alteration in alkaline cement waters over 15 years and its relevance to the geological disposal of nuclear waste

The interaction of groundwater with cement in a geological disposal facility (GDF) for intermediate level radioactive waste will produce a high pH leachate plume. Such a plume may alter the physical and chemical properties of the GDF host rock. However, the geochemical and mineralogical processes which may occur in such systems over timescales relevant for geological disposal remain unclear. This study has extended the timescale for laboratory experiments and shown that, after 15 years two distinct phases of reaction may occur during alteration of a dolomite-rich rock at high pH. In these experiments the dissolution of primary silicate minerals and the formation of secondary calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) phases containing varying amounts of aluminium and potassium (C–(A)–(K)–S–H) during the early stages of reaction (up to 15 months) have been superseded as the systems have evolved. After 15 years significant dedolomitisation (MgCa(CO₃)₂ + 2OH⁻ → Mg(OH)₂ + CaCO₃ + CO₃²⁻_(aq)) has led to the formation of magnesium silicates, such as saponite and talc, containing variable amounts of aluminium and potassium (Mg–(Al)–(K)–silicates), and calcite at the expense of the early-formed C–(A)–(K)–S–H phases. This occured in high pH solutions representative of two different periods of cement leachate evolution with little difference in the alteration processes in either a KOH and NaOH or a Ca(OH)₂ dominated solution but a greater extent of alteration in the higher pH KOH/NaOH leachate. The high pH alteration of the rock over 15 years also increased the rock’s sorption capacity for U(VI). The results of this study provide a detailed insight into the longer term reactions occurring during the interaction of cement leachate and dolomite-rich rock in the geosphere. These processes have the potential to impact on radionuclide transport from a geodisposal facility and are therefore important in underpinning any safety case for geological disposal.     

Kinetics of pyrite to pyrrhotite reduction by hydrogen in calcite buffered solutions between 90 and 180 °C: Implications for nuclear waste disposal

The kinetics of abiotic redox reactions induced by hydrogen are poorly documented although it represents a growing area of interest in terms of both nuclear waste storage assessment and the comprehensive study of hydrogen-rich fluid in mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal systems. We present an experimental kinetics study of pyrite reduction into pyrrhotite under significant H₂ pressure and mid-hydrothermal conditions. We describe the mechanism and kinetic behavior of this reaction by combining textural and solution analyses under various conditions of temperature, pyrite particles size, H₂ pressure and pH. When pH is controlled by calcite, the reaction presents all the characteristics of a coupled dissolution-precipitation mechanism occurring at the pyrite-pyrrhotite interface. By considering the chemical affinity of the coupled reaction as a function of reaction extent, we demonstrate that the spatial coupling is induced both by pyrite as a substrate for pyrrhotite nucleation and by the role of fluid chemistry at the reaction front. Far from equilibrium with respect to pyrite, the kinetics of sulfide production associated with the reaction are linearly related to the square root of time with an activation energy of 53 kJ/mol. This value is higher than what is expected for a diffusion-controlled kinetic regime. We suggest that the reaction rate is controlled both by pyrite reductive dissolution and by sulfide diffusion through the porous pyrrhotite microstructure. We provide a simple sulfide production-rate expression on the basis of our measured rate constants that can be used in geochemical modeling to further evaluate the impact of hydrogen on pyrite under nuclear waste disposal conditions.     

高放废物地质处置阿拉善预选区巴彦诺日公地段目标深度岩体质量预测

高放废物地质处置阿拉善预选区巴彦诺日公地段位于阿拉善地块东部,主要由二叠纪侵入的花岗岩构成,地壳次稳定。通过踏勘,确定了2个钻孔,布置了若干条物探剖面。以这2个钻孔为中心,在17km×17km范围内进行了工程地质测绘,获得了地表结构面分布特征。地表岩体质量以III级岩体为主,地表以下3m~4m处多为I级和II级岩体。根据钻孔岩芯编录和力学试验数据,对岩芯质量进行评价,岩芯整体质量较好,以Ⅰ级和Ⅱ级岩体为主。对比岩体质量和测井数据,发现岩体质量与岩体的物理参数具有明显的相关性。通过和CSAMT剖面上对应位置的对比,建立了岩体质量与电阻率的关系。结合地表岩体质量、钻孔岩芯质量和物探剖面,对目标深度岩体进行了预测：目标深度（600m深左右）岩体质量以Ⅰ级岩体为主,局部有Ⅱ级岩体和Ⅲ岩体。     

Regional survey for He anomalies in Canadian shield lakes: sources of variation and implications for nuclear fuel waste management

Bottom-water He concentration (=[He]) was measured in the late summers of 1989, 1990 and 1991 in the waters of lake basins at the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, Canada. A total of 32 basins were sampled every year. Helium concentrations were relatively stable from year to year, exhibiting a mean coefficient of variation of 34%. Total [He] ranged from values below the atmospheric equilibrium concentration of 47 nl He/l H₂O to a maximum of 5364 nl/l measured in Lake 625 in 1991. Total [He] exhibited a two-phase distribution, with a large subpopulation of basins having only modest He enrichment (geometric mean G.M.= 77nl/l, geometric standard deviation G.S.D.= 1.65, n = 39), and a small subpopulation of basins, including Lakes 625, 634 and 615, with large He anomalies (G.M.= 692nl/l,G.S.D.= 3.08, n = 6). Using hydrological, morphometric and physical data for each lake, bottom-water [He] was predicted. A model including lake order and lake width accounted for 22% of the total variance in [He]. These results support the hypothesis that excess He in lake-bottom-water originates with deep groundwater discharge via fractures in the underlying granite.     

Evaluation of the use of modified coal ash as a potential sorbent for organic waste streams

Fly ash was modified by hydrothermal treatment with 7 M NaOH. The resultant product displayed an 8-fold increase in surface area. The primary crystalline component of the modified fly ash was identified by X-ray diffraction to be hydroxysodalite (Na₆Al₆Si₆O₂₄8H₂O). The cation exchange capacity of the modified ash was significantly increased over that of the raw fly ash (188 vs 2 meq g⁻¹). Adsorption experiments showed that the modified fly ash adsorbed a cationic dye (methylene blue) to a much greater extent than an anionic dye (alizarin sulfonate). Saturation adsorption revealed that the capacity of the ash for methylene blue had increased 10-fold during modification when compared to the raw ash. Adsorption is thus ascribed to be a surface effect rather than involving incorporation into the channels of the hydroxysodalite structure.     

Exploration for scheelite in East Greenland — A case study

An intensive scheelite exploration program was carried out in Precambrian crystalline and sedimentary rocks intruded by granites of Precambrian and Caledonian ages in East Greenland (70–74°30′N). Previous heavy-mineral panning (2100 samples within an area of 100,000 km²) formed the basis for selection of scheelite-anomalous subregions (1550 km²)In the subregions, pan-concentrate samples were taken from first- and second-order rivers and from mid and side moraines of active glaciers. All samples were studied in the field under UV light, and scheelite grains were counted. A consideration of the distribution of scheelite in the samples together with the river and glacial drainage systems, led to definition of the potential source areas of the scheelite within localities of 2–5 km².Within the localities, panning of scree fines (samples every 100–200 m along talus slopes) and UV-light traverses at night led to the finding of outcropping or sub-outcropping scheelite mineralisation. Scheelite was observed associated with granite-carbonate contact zones, quartz vein stockworks, and fault zones in limestones, at nine localities within the 300-km-long zone of investigation.The heavy-mineral panning method with the counting of scheelite grains in the field and the subsequent definition of potential scheelite-bearing areas has the advantage that it is possible to execute a program from the subregional to the outcropping mineralisation stage in one field season. The investigation in this case was performed by five geologists during the 1979 2.5-month field season.