Coupled Geochemical and Hydrological Processes Governing the Fate and Transport of Radionuclides and Toxic Metals Beneath the Hanford Tank Farms

Provide an improved understanding of how preferential vertical and lateral flow, and the formation of immobile water influence the transport of radionuclides and toxic metals in heterogeneous, laminated sediments. Quantify the rates and mechanisms of radionuclide and toxic metal interaction with the solid phase under various hydrologic conditions. Provide new insights into how physical and mineralogical heterogeneities (e.g. stratification, pore regime connectivity, mineral composition along flowpaths) influence contaminant retardation and the degree of geochemical nonequilibrium during transport