• journal_title：Vadose Zone Journal
• Contributor：C. J. Mayers ; B. J. Andraski ; C. A. Cooper ; S. W. Wheatcraft ; D. A. Stonestrom ; R. L. Michel
• Publisher：Soil Science Society of America
• Date：2005-
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.2136/vzj2004.0179
• journal_abbrev：Vadose Zone Journal
• issn：1539-1663
• volume：4
• issue：4
• firstpage：967
• section：ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Understanding transport of tritium (³H) in unsaturated zones is critical to evaluating options for waste isolation. Tritium typically is a large component of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). Studies at the U.S. Geological Survey's Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) in Nevada investigate ³H transport from a closed LLRW facility. Two boreholes are 100 and 160 m from the nearest waste trench and extend to the water table at 110 m. Soil-water vapor samples from the deep boreholes show elevated levels of ³H at all depths. The objectives of this study were to (i) test source thermal and gas-advection mechanisms driving ³H transport and (ii) evaluate model sensitivity to these mechanisms and to selected physical and hydraulic properties including porosity, tortuosity, and anisotropy. A two-dimensional numerical model incorporated a non-isothermal, heterogeneous domain of the unsaturated zone and instantaneous isotopic equilibrium. The TOUGH2 code was used; however, it required modification to account for temperature dependence of both the Henry's law equilibrium constant and isotopic fractionation with respect to tritiated water. Increases in source temperature, pressure, and porosity enhanced ³H migration, but failed to match measured ³H distributions. All anisotropic simulations with a source pressure component resembled, in shape, the upper portion of the ³H distribution of the nearest borehole. Isotopic equilibrium limited migration of ³H, while effects of radioactive decay were negligible. A 500 Pa pressure increase above ambient pressure in conjunction with a high degree of anisotropy (1:100) was necessary for simulated ³H transport to reach the nearest borehole.