The new Wallula CO2 project may revive the old Columbia River Basalt (western USA) nuclear-waste repository project

Schwartz, Michael O.

doi:10.1007/s10040-017-1632-y

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Assessment of groundwater behaviour at a variety of depths is important in geoscience since the depth of well screens for water abstraction is typically <100 m below ground level (BGL) in the vicinity of both European and American industrial cities, and also in rural areas (Tellam and Barker 2006;Worthington et al 2016). By contrast, depth intervals associated with nuclear waste repositories are typically 200-1,200 mBGL (Schwartz 2012(Schwartz , 2018Tsang et al 2012;Voss and Andersson 1993). Furthermore, exploitation of high enthalpy geothermal reservoirs typically involves extraction of fluids at depths ranging from~700 to 1,200 m from sandstone reservoir rocks in areas characterized by a high geothermal gradient (~200°C/km), most notably in areas of active tectonic extension and in subduction-related magmatic arcs (Aldinucci et al 2008;Chiarabba et al 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permeability of rock discontinuities and faults in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group (UK): insights for management of fluvio-aeolian aquifers worldwide

et al. 2019

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Fluvio-aeolian sedimentary successions host groundwater aquifers at shallow depths (<~0.15 km), which overlie geothermal and shale-gas reservoirs, and nuclear waste repositories at intermediate depths (~0.15-2.0 km). Additionally, such deposits represent petroleum reservoirs at greater depths (~2.0-4.0 km). The need to improve conceptual understanding of the hydraulic behaviour of fluvial-aeolian sandstone successions over a large depth interval (~0-4 km) is important for socioeconomic reasons. Thus, the hydraulic properties of the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone aquifer in the UK have been reviewed and compared to similar fluvioaeolian successions. The ratio between well-scale and core-plug-scale permeability (K well-test /K core-plug) acts as a proxy for the relative importance of fracture versus intergranular flow. This ratio (which typically varies from~2 to 100) indicates significant contribution of fractures to flow at relatively shallow depths (<~0.15 km). Here, permeability development is controlled by dissolution of calcite-dolomite in correspondence of fractures. The observed ratio (K well-test /K core-plug) decreases with depth, approaching unity, indicating that intergranular flow dominates at~1 km depth. At depths ≥~1 km, dissolution of carbonate cement by rock alteration due to groundwater flow is absent and fractures are closed. Aeolian and fluvial deposits behave differently in proximity to normal faults in the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer. Deformation bands in aeolian dune deposits strongly compartmentalize this aquifer. The hydro-structural properties of fluvio-aeolian deposits are also controlled by mineralogy in fault zones. A relative abundance of quartz vs. feldspar and clays in aeolian sandstones favours development of low-permeability deformation bands.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permeability of rock discontinuities and faults in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group (UK): insights for management of fluvio-aeolian aquifers worldwide

et al. 2019

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“…On the low-Eh side, the Cu°corrosion depth that is determined with the reactive-transport model in this paper tends to be lower than that of previous nonreactive transport models. Previous calculations predict a general corrosion depth of 0.04-0.1 cm at the end of a 1-million-year simulation period for Scandinavian and North American sites (Schwartz 2008(Schwartz , 2018(Schwartz , 2019, whereas the new values range from 0.002 to 0.08 cm. The general corrosion depth has to be multiplied by a correction factor to obtain the actual value for pit corrosion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Corrosion-Enhancing and Corrosion-Reducing Accessories in Bentonite Surrounding Copper-Shielded Containers for Nuclear Waste

Schwartz

2021

J. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste

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The standard design for the underground disposal of high-level nuclear waste consists of a carbon steel container that hosts the waste shielded by a 5-cm-thick layer of corrosion-resistant native copper (Cu°), which is surrounded by a 35-cm-thick bentonite buffer. The accessory minerals in the buffer strongly influence the corrosion depth of the Cu°shield. The reactive-transport modeling shows that a buffer containing calcium sulfates (gypsum or anhydrite) has a Cu°corrosion depth that is three to eight times greater than that without calcium sulfates, depending on the groundwater chemistry. The presence or absence of iron oxides (hematite, goethite, or lepidocrocite) has a minor effect according to reactive-transport modeling. However, mineral equilibrium thermodynamics implies that the presence of iron oxides significantly reduces corrosion depth. Such a model is supported by the genesis of natural native copper deposits: the hydrothermal fluids interacted with iron oxide while depositing native copper.

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“…10) or, at least, close to thermodynamic equilibrium. Even if the copper shell is corroded by aqueous sulphide diffusing through the bentonite barrier, the corrosion rates will be extremely low (Schwartz 2018). Thus, the lifetime of a copper-shielded waste container is far beyond the 1 million years envisaged for the CRB repository.…”

Section: Radionuclide Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling groundwater contamination above a potential nuclear waste repository in the Columbia River Basalt, USA

Schwartz

2018

Environ Earth Sci

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Potential groundwater contamination above the one-time candidate repository for high-level nuclear waste in the Columbia River Basalt (CRB), USA, is evaluated in a flow-transport model with 260,895 elements for a period of 1 million years. The hydrogeologic database originates from the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, which ended in 1987, giving way to the Yucca Mountain project. The CRB data have been scanned recently with the object of finding a storage site for natural gas and a sequestration site for CO 2. However, the impact on the nuclear issue in the USA or other countries with similar large floodbasalt provinces has never been evaluated since the suspension of the project. The peak radioactive dose predicted for a potential repository in the CRB is at least eight orders of magnitude lower than the US generic regulatory limit (0.15 mS/a) even for the most pessimistic scenario.

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The new Wallula CO2 project may revive the old Columbia River Basalt (western USA) nuclear-waste repository project

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Permeability of rock discontinuities and faults in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group (UK): insights for management of fluvio-aeolian aquifers worldwide

Permeability of rock discontinuities and faults in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group (UK): insights for management of fluvio-aeolian aquifers worldwide

Corrosion-Enhancing and Corrosion-Reducing Accessories in Bentonite Surrounding Copper-Shielded Containers for Nuclear Waste

Modelling groundwater contamination above a potential nuclear waste repository in the Columbia River Basalt, USA

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