Identification of key radionuclides in a nuclear waste repository in basalt

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Abstract
Radionuclides were identified which appear to pose the greatest potential hazard to man during long-term storage of nuclear waste in a repository mined in the Columbia Plateau basalt formation. The criteria used to select key radionuclides were as follows: quantity of radionuclide in stored waste; biological toxicity; leach rate of the wastes into groundwater; and transport rate via groundwater flow. The waste forms were assumed to be either unreprocessed spent fuel or borosilicate glass containing reprocessed high-level waste. The nuclear waste composition was assumed to be that from a light water reactor. Radionuclides were ranked according to quantity, toxicity, and release rate from the repository. These rankings were combined to obtain a single list of key radionuclides. The ten most important radionuclides in order of decreasing hazard are: /sup 99/Tc, /sup 129/I, /sup 237/Np, /sup 226/Ra, /sup 107/Pd, /sup 230/Th, /sup 210/Pb, /sup 126/Sn, /sup 79/Se, and /sup 242/Pu. Safety assessment studies and the design of engineered barriers should concentrate on containment of radionuclides in this list.

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