In a high level waste repository in which temperatures are elevated due to waste decay, concrete structures will be subjected to hydrothermal conditions that will alter their physical and chemical properties. Virtually no studies have examined the interaction of hydrothermally altered concrete with radionuclides. We present the results of experiments in which soluble and colloid-associated U and Np, were eluted into a fractured, hydrothermally altered concrete core. Although the fluid residence time in the fracture was estimated to be on the order of 1 minute, U and Np in the effluent from the core were below detection (10-9 - 10-8 M), for both soluble and colloid-associated species. Inorganic colloids and latex microspheres were similarly immobilized within the core. Post-test analysis of the core identified the immobilized U and Np at or near the fracture surface, with a spatial distribution similar to that of the latex microspheres. Because hydrothermal alteration followed fracturing, the growth of crystalline calcium silicate hydrate and clay mineral alteration products on, and possibly across the fracture, resulted in a highly reactive fracture that was effective at capturing both soluble and colloidal radionuclides. Comparison of results from batch experiments [1] with these experiments indicate that partitioning of U and Np to the solid phase, and equilibration of the incoming fluid with the concrete, occurs rapidly in the fractured system. Transport of U through the concrete may be solubility and/or sorption limited; transport of Np appears to be limited primarily by sorption.
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