Prof. D. N. Singh

SRIDHAR VALLURI

M.Tech.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, India sri_jntk@yahoo.co.in

LYSIMETRIC STUDIES AT A RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL SITE

Safety assessment of low level nuclear waste disposal sites has become mandatory due to the stringent norms imposed by the regulatory bodies. Usually, zero tension lysimeters and tension lysimeters have been employed by researchers for modeling transport of radionuclides, in the soil mass and the water table, under in situ conditions. However, installation of these lysimeters is quite difficult, time consuming, and leachate and soil sample collection requires special design considerations. In addition to this, installation of these lysimeters disturbs texture and pore-structure of the soil mass, and the organic and microbiological activities occurring in it. As such, these lysimeters do not replicate the real-life soil mass-contaminant interaction which occurs under in situ conditions. In order to overcome these limitations, a novel lysimeter was fabricated and its utility and efficiency for safety assessment of the nuclear waste disposal sites has been demonstrated.