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ProjectsYucca Mountain Project - Issues and AnswersYucca Mountain, a high ridge in the southern Nevada desert composed of ancient volcanic ash layers, is a potential site for the permanent underground disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The next step is approval by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a license application that the DOE will submit in December 2008. For the license application to be successful, DOE must demonstrate that there will be minimal risk of radioactive contamination to surrounding populations for the next ten thousand years. How can we be confident about repository performance over such a long period into the future? The answer lies in a multiple-barrier approach. Any leaking radioactive contamination would have to migrate through the walls of its container, through a 300-meter-thick unsaturated zone to the water table, and then through the water table for many kilometers until it reaches a human who might pump the water for drinking and irrigation. Each one of these steps serves as a barrier in which chemical interactions between the contamination and surrounding rocks and mixing with clean groundwater may reduce the dose to which humans might be exposed. Los Alamos National Laboratory's Hydrology, Geochemistry, and Geology Group is using field geologic observations along with advanced experimental and computational approaches to characterize parts of these barriers and to help predict the risk to people who might live close to Yucca Mountain in the future. Similar approaches are taken by the group to reduce excess CO2 in the atmosphere, to solve legacy environmental issues at Los Alamos and other DOE sites, and to explore the evolution of planets and the origin of life
Research AreasMajor Basic and Applied Science Programs Using Our CapabilitiesTransport of Contaminants in Saturated and Unsaturated Hydrologic Systems. Los Alamos develops geologic, geochemical, and hydrologic framework models for contaminated sites, based on field observations, experimental geochemical laboratory investigations, and analytical studies. Interactions between contaminants and the rocks at these sites are determined, resulting in parameters that are incorporated into highfidelity predictive models. Model results allow cost-effective planning for mitigation or cleanup of contaminated sites, as well as for the performance of long-term repositories such as the potential Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository. CO2 Sequestration. Our scientists are involved in efforts to minimize the climate impacts of CO2 derived from combustion of fossil fuels. One approach we are developing to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is injecting the CO2 deep into the ground instead of releasing it into the air from power plants and other sources. EES-6 researchers are applying geologic, rock-fluid interaction, and stochastic fluid flow expertise to determine the best methods of geologic sequestration. We also are studying the removal of dispersed CO2 from the air using novel geochemical processes. Basin-Scale Hydrology. We apply our understanding of geochemistry and geology to the development of conceptual models for groundwater basins such as the Espanola Basin in northern New Mexico. Using specially developed computational grids that honor the three-dimensional complexity of the basins, we then use numerical models to explore different scenarios for water usage and potential contamination. Zero-Emission Coal Technology. Created and spearheaded by Los Alamos, the Zero Emission Coal Alliance has grown into an organization comprised of groups involved in coal production and the use of coal in electrical generation in the US and Canada. Zero-emission coal technology supports the DOE's Clean Coal Technology vision and programs. Alliance affiliates are planning to launch a pilot study by 2007, and, eventually, to commercialize the technology. Volcanic Geology and Hazards. EES-6 scientists, along with researchers in other groups, comprise one of the nation's largest concentrations of expertise in volcanic processes and geology. We are currently applying this expertise to expand our knowledge about the Nevada Test Site (which is dedicated to underground nuclear test readiness) and to determine the risks associated with volcanism at or near the potential Yucca Mountain repository. Our scientists also participate in a joint Los Alamos-University of New Mexico graduate program in volcanology. Planetary Geology and Astrobiology. We are applying our knowledge of geologic materials and hydrology to address the history of water on Mars and potential implications for the development of life on that planet. We also are using both theoretical and experimental approaches to study self-organizing processes that may form the link between nonliving and living matter.
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