PORE-WATER ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION AND UNSATURATED-ZONE FLOW, YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA

Site characterization at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the site of a potential high-level radioactive waste repository, has included studies of recharge, flow paths, percolation flux, perched water bodies, and chemical compositions of the water in the thick unsaturated zone (UZ). Samples of pore water from cores of two recently drilled boreholes, USW SD-6 near the ridge top of Yucca Mountain and USW WT-24 north of Yucca mountain, were analyzed for isotopic compositions as part of a study by the US Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the US Department of Energy, under Interagency Agreement DE-AI08-97NV12033. The purpose of this report is to interpret {sup 14}C, {delta}{sup 13}C, {sup 3}H, {delta}D and {delta}{sup 18}O isotopic compositions of pore water from the core of boreholes USW SD-6 and USW WT-24 in relation to sources of recharge and flow paths in the UZ at Yucca Mountain. Borehole designation USW SD-6 and USW WT-24 subsequently will be referred to as SD-6 and WT-24. The sources of recharge and flow paths are important parameters that can be used in a UZ flow model, total system performance assessment (TSPA), and the license application (LA) for the potential repository at Yucca Mountain