Weathering alteration of volcanic glass is regarded as a suitable natural analogue for the long-term leaching behavior of radioactive waste glass under conditions of geological disposal. Specimens of basaltic glasses were collected from the Fuji and the Izu-Ohshima pyroclastic fall deposits (280-2, 800yr), and were studied in detail. The following results were obtained;
(1) Climatological conditions have not varied significantly during at least the last three thousand years. Therefore, the temperature, amount and quality of groundwater, were quantitatively estimated from the present meteorological data. (2) The mass balance between the amounts of elements depleted from the glasses and chemical composition of groundwater was examined on this basis and it was found that the cases studied could be regarded as leaching experiments of the glasses by groundwater. (3) The natural alteration products associated with leaching of the volcanic glasses were closely similar to those of laboratory experiments with simulated waste glasses. (4) Although the groundwater was of Ca(Mg)-HCO
3 type in the Fuji area, and of Na-Cl type in Izu-Ohshima area, similar values (2-3μm/1, 000yr) were obtained for the alteration rates of the glasses, together with similar values of temperature and water supply rate. (5) The alteration rates decreased with increasing silica content in groundwater.
These results illustrate the validity and usefulness of the natural analogue study for estimation of long-term leaching behavior of waste glass.
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