Radioactive Waste Management
GEOTRAP
GEOTRAP
is the OECD/NEA Project on Radionuclide Migration in Geologic, Heterogeneous
Media. GEOTRAP is devoted to the exchange of information and in-depth
discussions on present approaches to acquiring field data and testing
and modelling flow and transport of radionuclides in geologic formations
for the purpose of site evaluation and safety assessment of deep repository
systems. This information is important for both national waste management
programmes and the wider scientific community.
The project is structured as a series of forum-like workshops
at which implementers, regulators, and scientists interact. The most
recent workshop addressed Geological Evidence and Theoretical Bases
for Radionuclide-Retention Processes in Heterogeneous Media. The fifth
in the series, the workshop was hosted by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and
Waste Management Company (SKB) in May 2001; its proceedings are now
available. In addition to the proceedings, an overall synthesis report
for the series of five workshops is also now available. The preceding
workshops addressed different aspects of groundwater flow and transport
of radionuclides in geologic formations. The proceedings of these workshops
are available from the OECD
Bookshop.
The
fourth GEOTRAP workshop, "Confidence in Models of Radionuclide Transport
for Site-specific Performance Assessments" was held in June 1999. The
workshop examined the issue of technical confidence building and provided
an overview of current developments in this field.
The
third GEOTRAP workshop, "Characterisation of Water-Conducting Features
and their Representation in Models of Radionuclide Migration" investigated
how water-conducting features can determine the rate of radionuclide release
from the near-field to the far-field, the rate at which radionuclides
can migrate with flowing groundwater, and the degree of retention in the
geosphere. A key finding of the workshop was that the characterisation
of the structure and properties of water-conducting features is therefore
an important requirement for any performance assessment of deep repository
systems.
Variability
(heterogeneity) in the properties of the rocks over a wide range of spatial
scales is a common feature of most geologic media and broad agreement
exists that its characterisation and the corresponding analysis of the
consequences for groundwater flow and radionuclide transport form an important
part of the assessment of the safety of deep geologic repositories. The
second GEOTRAP workshop, "Modelling the Effects of Spatial Variability
on Radionuclide Migration" explored these issues and provided an overview
of current developments in the field.
The
first GEOTRAP workshop, "Field Tracer Experiments: Role in the Prediction
of Radionuclide Migration" was co-organised with the European Commission.
It provided an overview of on-going and planned work in the study of radionuclide
transport phenomena and the characterisation of relevant properties of
the geologic media.
Related publications
Most links are to the OECD bookshop
GEOTRAP: Radionuclide
Migration in Geologic, Heterogeneous Media
Summary of Accomplishments
(pdf format, 216 kb, cache)
Radionuclide
Retention in Geologic Media
Workshop Proceedings, Oskarshamn, Sweden, 7-9 May 2001 (in cache)
Confidence
in Models of Radionuclide Transport for Site-specific Assessments
Synthesis and Proceedings of the fourth GEOTRAP Workshop, Carlsbad,
New Mexico, United States, 14-17 June 1999 (in cache)
Water-Conducting Features and their Representation in Models of Radionuclide Migration (in cache)
Synthesis and Proceedings from the third GEOTRAP Workshop, Barcelona,
Spain, 10-12 June 1998
Modelling
the Effects of Spatial Variability on Radionuclide Migration
Synthesis and Proceedings from the second GEOTRAP Workshop, Paris,
France, 9-11 June 1997 (in cache)
Field
Tracer Experiments: Role in the Prediction of Radionuclide Migration
Synthesis
and Proceedings of an NEA/EC GEOTRAP Workshop, Cologne, Germany, 28-30
August 1996 - Coedition with the European Communities Series Disposal
of Radioactive Waste (in cache)
Related links
E-Mail
Contact: nea@nea.fr
