Isotopic Tracers for Waste Fluid Tracking and Fluid Soil Interactions

The primary purpose of this project is to apply the use of isotopic measurements to develop and test conceptual models of the migration of radionuclides through the unsaturated zone and into groundwater. These models form the basis for making assessments of the environmental impacts of the contamination on short and long time scales, and for assessing how useful a particular remediation strategy will be. Specifically, we wish to determine whether: (1) The isotopic compositions of O, H, C, and Sr in near-field groundwater samples can be used to evaluate the presence of- and sources of waste fluids, and therefore evaluate the fluid transport independent of the contaminants. (2) The isotopic compositions of O, H, C, Sr, N and U in near-field groundwater samples can be used to determine whether chemical processes (dissolution-precipitation, evaporation, microbial processes) significantly perturb transport of radionuclides