Groundwater dating applied for geological disposal of radioactive waste; A Review of methods employed worldwide

Hama, Katsuhiro ; Metcalfe, R.*

Groundwater dating methods employed in projects aiming to develop deep geological repositories for radioactive wastes have been reviewed. The reviewed projects are being, or have been, undertaken in Japan, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S.A. A wide range of actual and potential repository host rock types are represented by these projects: fractured crystalline igneous and metamorphic rock (Japan, Finland and Sweden); fractured volcanic rock (U.K.); plastic argillaceous rock (Belgium); indurated argillaceous rock (Japan, France, Switzerland); salt (Germany and U.S.A); limestone (Canada); and tuff (U.S.A). Whatever the combinations of methods that have been used in a particular program their results have invariably been interpreted in combination with one another and in the context of other information that is available for the investigated site. That is, a particular groundwater dating method is never applied in isolation.