Migration mechanisms of radionuclides from a clay repository toward adjacent aquifers and the surface

This article is a critical review of the current understanding of migration processes of solutes in clay. The major migration mechanisms are examined: advection through compaction, thermal convection, migration by hydrocarbon expulsion, gravitational flow, osmosis, molecular diffusion, hydrodynamic dispersion. Examples are taken from the Callovo-Oxfordian clays of the Paris basin in the Meuse/Haute Marne area, near Bure, where France is studying the feasibility of a potential nuclear waste disposal facility. Recent work on the helium distribution in the aquifers of the Paris Basin confirms the importance of molecular diffusion for solute transport in clays. Migration in aquifers is also described, and the major causes of uncertainties for solute migration are discussed. To cite this article: G. de Marsily et al., C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 945–959.