Review and performance of four models to assess the fate of radionuclides and heavy metals in surface soil

Abstract

The nuclear industry uses computer models to calculate and assess the impact of its present and future releases to the environment, both from operating reactors and from existing licensed and planned waste management facilities. We review four soil models varying in complexity that could be useful for environmental impact assessment. The goal of this comparison is to direct the combined use of these models in order to preserve simplicity, yet increase the rigor of Canadian environmental assessment calculations involving soil transport pathways. The four models chosen are: the Soil Chemical Exchange and Migration of Radionuclides (SCEMR1) model; the Baes and Sharp/Preclosure PREAC soil model, both used in Canada's nuclear fuel waste management program; the Convection-Dispersion Equation (CDE) model, commonly used in contaminant transport applications; and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) derived release limit model used for normal operations at nuclear facilities. We discuss how each model operates, its timestep and depth increment options and the limitations of each of the models. Major model assumptions are discussed and the performance of these models is compared quantitatively for a scenario involving surface deposition or irrigation. A sensitivity analysis of the CDE model illustrates the influence of the important model parameters: the amount of infiltrating water, V; the hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, D; and the soil retention or partition coefficient, Kd. The important parameters in the other models are also identified. This work shows we need tested, robust, mechanistic unsaturated soil models with easily understood and measurable inputs, including data for the sensitive or important model parameters for Canada's priority contaminants. Soil scientists need to assist industry and its regulators by recommending a selection of models and supporting them with the provision of validation data to ensure high-quality environmental risk assessments are carried out in Canada. Key words: Soil transport models, environmental impact assessments, model structure, complexity and performance, radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 129I