Long-term density-dependent groundwater flow analysis and its effect on nuclide migration for safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal with consideration of interaction between fractures and matrix of rock formation in coastal crystalline groundwater systems

Park, Y.-J.*; Sawada, Atsushi ; Ozutsumi, Takenori*; Tanaka, Tatsuya*; Hashimoto, Shuji*; Morita, Yutaka*

Safety analysis for underground disposal facilities for high-level radioactive waste requires thorough understanding of long-term groundwater flow and nuclide migration processes in geologic media. In the coastal subsurface systems, groundwater flow is defined by the complex interactions between freshwater of meteoric origin and denser saline water from the sea. In addition, sea levels are expected to fluctuate significantly due to a transgression and regression of the sea over the millions of years for safety analysis. This study presents long-term evolution of groundwater environment such as salinity concentration and flow velocity with focus of the interaction between fractures and matrix blocks in regional and near-field scale analysis framework for groundwater flow and nuclide migration for underground disposal facilities in hypothetical fractured crystalline coastal systems.