Rapport final du projet européen CatClay sur les processus de migration des cations dans les roches argileuses indurées

International audienceIn the framework of the feasibility studies on the radioactive waste disposal in deep argillaceous formations, it isnow well established that the transport properties of solutes in clay rocks, i.e. parameter values for Fick’s law, are mainlygoverned by the negatively charged clay mineral surface. While a good understanding of the diffusive behaviour of non-reactiveanionic and neutral species is now achieved, much effort has to be placed on improving understanding of coupledsorption/diffusion phenomena for sorbing cations. Indeed, several cations known to form highly stable surface complexes withsites on mineral surfaces migrate more deeply into clay rock than expected. Therefore, the overall objective of the EC CatClayproject is to address this issue, using a ‘bottom-up’ approach, in which simpler, analogous systems (here a compacted clay,‘pure’ illite) are experimentally studied and modelled, and then the transferability of these results to more complex materials, i.e.the clay rocks under consideration in France, Switzerland and Belgium for hosting radioactive waste disposal facilities, isverified. The cations of interest were chosen for covering a representative range of cations families: from a moderately sorbingcation, the strontium, to three strongly sorbing cations, Co(II), Zn(II) and Eu(III). For the 4 years of this project, much effort wasdevoted to developing and applying specific experimental methods needed for acquiring the high precision, reliable data neededto test the alternative hypotheses represented by different conceptual-numerical models. The enhanced diffusion of the sorbingcations of interest was confirmed both in the simpler analogous illite system for Sr2+, Co(II) and Zn(II), but also in the naturalclay rocks, except for Eu(III). First modelling approach including diffusion in the diffuse double layer (DDL) promisinglysucceeded in reproducing the experimental data under the various conditions both in illite and clay rocks, even though someassumptions made have to be verified. In parallel, actual 3D geometrical pore size distributions of compacted illite, and in lessextent, clay rock samples, were successfully determined by combining TEM and FIB-nt analyses on materials maintained in awater-like saturation state by means of an extensive impregnation step. Based on this spatial distribution of pores, first numericaldiffusion experiments were carried at the pore scale through virtual illite, enabling a better understanding of how transferpathways are organized in the porous media. Finally, the EC CatClay project allowed a better understanding of the migration ofstrongly sorbing tracers through low permeability ‘clay rock’ formations, increasing confidence in our capacity to demonstratethat the models used to predict radionuclide migration through these rocks are scientifically sound

The Immune Cellular Effectors of Terrestrial Isopod Armadillidium vulgare: Meeting with Their Invaders, Wolbachia

Most of crustacean immune responses are well described for the aquatic forms whereas almost nothing is known for the isopods that evolved a terrestrial lifestyle. The latter are also infected at a high prevalence with Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacterium which affects the host immune system, possibly to improve its transmission. In contrast with insect models, the isopod Armadillidium vulgare is known to harbor Wolbachia inside the haemocytes.In A. vulgare we characterized three haemocyte types (TEM, flow cytometry): the hyaline and semi-granular haemocytes were phagocytes, while semi-granular and granular haemocytes performed encapsulation. They were produced in the haematopoietic organs, from central stem cells, maturing as they moved toward the edge (TEM). In infected individuals, live Wolbachia (FISH) colonized 38% of the haemocytes but with low, variable densities (6.45±0.46 Wolbachia on average). So far they were not found in hyaline haemocytes (TEM). The haematopoietic organs contained 7.6±0.7×10(3)Wolbachia, both in stem cells and differentiating cells (FISH). While infected and uninfected one-year-old individuals had the same haemocyte density, in infected animals the proportion of granular haemocytes in particular decreased by one third (flow cytometry, Pearson's test = 12 822.98, df = 2, p<0.001).The characteristics of the isopod immune system fell within the range of those known from aquatic crustaceans. The colonization of the haemocytes by Wolbachia seemed to stand from the haematopoietic organs, which may act as a reservoir to discharge Wolbachia in the haemolymph, a known route for horizontal transfer. Wolbachia infection did not affect the haemocyte density, but the quantity of granular haemocytes decreased by one third. This may account for the reduced prophenoloxidase activity observed previously in these animals

Shales and geological waste repositories: from microstructure description to macro-scale properties

International audienceThe mineralogical and chemical properties of clays have been the subject of longstanding study for the long-term disposal of nuclear wastes in geological repositories. The low permeability of clay materials, including shales, provides at least part of the safety functions for radionuclide contaminants confinement. From a geochemical and mineralogical point of view, the high adsorption capacity of clay minerals adds to the effect of low hydraulic conductivities by greatly increasing the retardation of radionuclides and other contaminants, making clays ideal where isolation from the biosphere is desired. While their low permeability and high adsorption capacity are widely acknowledged, it is clear nonetheless that there is a need for an improved understanding of how the chemical and mineralogical properties of shales impact their macroscopic properties. It is at the pore-scale that the chemical properties of clay minerals become important since their electrostatic properties can play a large role. The negative electrostatic potential field at the clay mineral surfaces results in the presence of porosity domains where electroneutrality is not achieved: cations are attracted by the surfaces while anions are repulsed from them, resulting in the presence of a diffuse ion swarm - or diffuse layer. Numerical methods for modeling macroscopic properties of clay media with the consideration of the presence of a diffuse ion swarm have met a growing interest in diverse communities in the past years. In this presentation we will highlight the complex interplays of mineralogical, chemical and microstructural characteristics of clay materials that are ultimately responsible for a remarkable array of macro-scale properties such as specific adsorption, high swelling pressure, semi-permeable membrane properties, and non-Fickian diffusional behavior

P-208: Identification of frailty in community-dwelling older persons with the Gérontopôle Frailty Screening Tool: prevalence and feasibility in primary care

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In-situ interaction between different concretes and Opalinus Clay

International audienceInteractions between cementitious materials and claystone are driven by chemical gradients in pore water and might lead to mineralogical modifications in both materials. In the context of a radioactive waste repository, this alteration might influence safety-relevant clay properties like swelling pressure, permeability, or specific retention. In this study, interfaces of Opalinus Clay, a potential host-rock in Switzerland, and three concrete formulations emplaced in the Cement-Clay Interaction (CI) Experiment at the Mont Terri Underground Laboratory (St. Ursanne, Switzerland) were analysed after 2.2 years of interaction. Sampling techniques with interface stabilisation followed by inclined intersection drilling were developed. Element distribution maps of the concrete-clay interfaces show complex zonations like sulphur enrichment, zones depleted in Ca but enriched in Mg, strong Mg enrichment adjacent to the interface, or carbonation. Consistently, the carbonated zone shows a reduced porosity. Properties of the complex zonation strongly depend on cement properties like water content and pH (ordinary Portland cement vs. low-pH cement). An increased Ca or Mg content in the first 100 lm next to the interface is observed in Opalinus Clay. The cation occupancy of clay exchanger phases next to the ordinary Portland cement interface is depleted in Mg, but enriched in Na, whereas porosity shows no changes at all. The current data suggests migration of CO2=HCO 3 , SO2 4 , and Mg species from clay into cement. pH decrease in the cement next to the interface leads to instability of ettringite, and the sulphate liberated diffuses towards higher pH regions (away from the interface), where additional ettringite can form

Profiles of chloride and stable isotopes in pore-water obtained from a 2000m-deep borehole through the Mesozoïc sedimentary series in the eastern Paris Basin

International audienceWater stable isotopes and chloride profiles in pore-water through more than 800 m of sediments were obtained from a 2000 m-deep borehole (EST 433) drilled by Andra in the eastern Paris Basin. Vapour exchange method and aqueous leaching were used to obtain the stable isotope and chloride concentrations of pore-water from 24 rock samples. Petrophysical measurements included water contents, grain densities and porosities of the studied formations. Pore-water and some groundwater samples collected during the drilling are mainly of meteoric origin: they plot near the Global Meteoric Water Line, distributed between heavy-isotope depleted Oxfordian groundwater and enriched Triassic groundwater, in good agreement with previous data. The δ2H and δ18O values describe curved profiles in the Callovo-Oxfordian formation, and show an increase with depth below this formation (Dogger and Liassic). Similar trends were observed for the chloride concentrations, except in the Liassic formation where they are more or less constant. The low chloride concentrations in the basal Jurassic layers indicate that the source of salinity to the Dogger aquifer is likely the middle Liassic formation and not the Triassic salt as previously suggested. A preliminary modelling exercise showed that currently available diffusion parameters (diffusion coefficients and accessible porosities) might be used to properly simulate these exchanges for deuterium. This is not the case for chloride, perhaps because the used values for anion accessible porosity were not relevant and/or the applied modelling conditions were unsuitable