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Hypothetical receptor scenarios have not yet been developed, but a simple
dose calculation for a future resident has been done to include a drinking water
exposure pathway, as an example.
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The CSM is translated into a mathematical representation, focused on following
the fate and transport of the radiological constituents from the waste form
to hypothetical receptor locations. Meteoric waters migrate slowly through the
engineered cap and into the zone containing the wastes. The VLLW, which is
not in the specialized concrete containers, is more easily leached than the
LILW, which is containerized. Both are placed within large concrete vaults,
which are underlain by a transmissive layer of gravel. All of these features
are accounted for in the GoldSim model.
Once the contaminant-bearing water has reached the bottom of the repository,
it migrates into the environmental system. This is modeled as "columns" of
GoldSim Cell pathways, representing the aquifer below. Single Cell pathways
are used to represent surface water conveyances, since the trnapsort in these
is rapid. These two pathways merge at the point that the groundwater emerges
at a spring, and surface waters carry contamination, diluted by local
hydrologic phenomena, to a small lake.
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John Tauxe
Last modified: 9 July 2007