Recommended new criteria for the selection of nuclear waste repository sites in Columbia River basalt and US Gulf Coast domed salt

Screening criteria and specifications are recommended to aid in the evaluation of sites proposed for nuclear waste disposal in basalt and domed salt. The recommended new criteria proposed in this report are intended to supplement existing repository-related criteria for nuclear waste disposal. The existing criteria are contained in 10 CFR 60 sections which define siting criteria of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and ONWI 33(2) which defines siting criteria of the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI) for the Department of Energy. The specifications are conditions or parameter values that the authors recommend be applied in site acceptance evaluations. The siting concerns covered in this report include repository depth, host rock extent, seismic setting, structural and tectonic conditions, groundwater and rock geochemistry, volcanism, surface and subsurface hydrology, and socioeconomic issues, such as natural resources, land use, and population distribution

Estimation of hydraulic parameters using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and empirical laws in a semi-confined aquifer

The estimation of hydraulic parameters is critical for the rational use of water resources and the development of reliable hydrogeological models. However, the cost of such estimation can be very high and the data are limited to the area near the pumping well. For this reason, complementary methods for estimating hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity have become increasingly important in recent years, such as the adjustment of empirical relationships between geoelectrical and hydraulic parameters. In this paper, two linear relationships were tested, combining resistivity measurements from well logging profiles and hydraulic conductivity values from pumping test data, in a semi-confined fluvial aquifer in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Furthermore, these relationships were used to obtain two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity sections from electrical resistivity tomography using a high-definition electrode array. Predicted values were compared with traditional pumping test in a near well showing very good agreement with both methods. Results showed that it would be possible to quantify the 2D variation of hydraulic parameters in aquifers and to identify high- or low-productivity areas. By knowing this information in advance, it is possible to reduce the number of failures or unexpected results when drilling a well. These 2D sections also provide additional information about hydraulic parameters and their lateral variability, and can improve hydrogeological models without drilling new wells.Fil: Perdomo, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Kruse, Eduardo Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de la Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ainchil, Jeronimo Enrique. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentin