September 19, 2013

Study could help improve nuclear waste repositories

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Here’s the question faced by a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers: How fast will iodine-129 released from spent nuclear fuel move through a deep, clay-based geological repository?

Understanding that process is crucial as countries worldwide consider underground clay formations for nuclear waste disposal, because clay offers low permeability and high radionuclide retention. Even when a repository isn’t sited in clay, engineered barriers often include a compacted buffer of bentonite, a common type of clay, to improve waste isolation.