Can radioactive waste escape? Novel use of deuterium μ-MRI to track fluid migration through barrier materials.

Can radioactive waste escape? Novel use of deuterium μ-MRI to track fluid migration through barrier materials. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Can radioactive waste escape? Novel use of deuterium μ-MRI to track fluid migration through barrier materials. Galina Pavlovskaya, Sean Rigby, Katherine Daniels, Frank Scotti, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3903785/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Nuclear energy currently contributes about 10% of the world’s electricity supply but, at present, there are only interim storage facilities for the accumulated 2.6 x 10 8 kg of spent nuclear fuel. Geological storage is the universally favoured option for permanent removal of this highly radioactive waste from the biosphere with the first purpose-designed and constructed permanent disposal site, the Onkalo facility in Finland, expected to become operational in the next few years. Envisioned and planned geological disposal facilities for high-level radioactive waste will commonly include a bentonite clay buffer called the Engineered Barrier System (EBS); this flow barrier both surrounds the waste cannisters and backfills the disposal galleries. However, questions are being raised about the long-term performance of bentonite for waste containment due to specific issues associated with inhomogeneous fluid-rock interaction occurring within the material. We apply a novel combination of μ-MRI methods and 2 H labels to monitor flow in barrier materials in unprecedented detail and resolution to reveal micro-scale fluid-flow variations caused by nano- and microheterogeneities not possible via other techniques. We demonstrate the fluid penetration front becomes fragmented, and that fragmentation is governed by heterogeneities in the clay’s pore structure; both must be considered in host rock characterisation and long-term EBS design, manufacture, and performance. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Porous materials Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Nuclear energy/Nuclear waste Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation/Imaging techniques Physical sciences/Physics/Techniques and instrumentation/NMR spectroscopy/Solid-state NMR Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Table 2 is not available with this version. Supplementary Files Supplementaryf.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3903785","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":273928762,"identity":"58508778-fad8-4ecb-8f24-fb3cbe4b329e","order_by":0,"name":"Galina Pavlovskaya","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4352-3269","institution":"University of Nottingham","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Galina","middleName":"","lastName":"Pavlovskaya","suffix":""},{"id":273928763,"identity":"eecda435-1fc8-43fe-8776-f74d2204e76a","order_by":1,"name":"Sean Rigby","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nottingham","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sean","middleName":"","lastName":"Rigby","suffix":""},{"id":273928764,"identity":"290192f6-eb12-47b5-9ec0-faf9c12b81cd","order_by":2,"name":"Katherine Daniels","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Cardiff University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katherine","middleName":"","lastName":"Daniels","suffix":""},{"id":273928765,"identity":"6340ef4f-8d70-4f89-a9e3-2a8e29b2eefb","order_by":3,"name":"Frank Scotti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nottingham","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Frank","middleName":"","lastName":"Scotti","suffix":""},{"id":273928766,"identity":"9ef9a72f-5499-4462-b585-7e27c121aa68","order_by":4,"name":"Jon Harrington","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"British Geological Survey","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jon","middleName":"","lastName":"Harrington","suffix":""},{"id":273928767,"identity":"a547f08b-fa20-4374-98b4-79b3dbc6d45d","order_by":5,"name":"Antoni Milodowski","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"British Geological Survey","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antoni","middleName":"","lastName":"Milodowski","suffix":""},{"id":273928768,"identity":"d2797b07-9d00-4610-8e12-d556ec612dcb","order_by":6,"name":"Thomas Meersmann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nottingham","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thomas","middleName":"","lastName":"Meersmann","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-01-27 18:30:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3903785/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3903785/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":53729640,"identity":"9a41cc64-7ad9-4c0d-b665-3bfd80b7e786","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-29 12:48:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3291018,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Naturecommsf.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3903785/v1_covered_06db3586-260f-44e8-a70c-08a8d758247a.pdf"},{"id":51435470,"identity":"661a90d1-9a6f-488b-81c0-95b0af98d10d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-21 14:58:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":750424,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplementaryf.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3903785/v1/1ff2f669c110a48bef6fcf1d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThere is \u003cstrong\u003eNO\u003c/strong\u003e Competing Interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 2 is not available with this version.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"Can radioactive waste escape? 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