Analysis of heat and mass transfer in subseabed disposal of nuclear waste

A mathematical basis is developed for the pre‐diction of thermal and radionuclide transport in marine sediments. The theory is applied to the study of radioactive waste disposal by emplacement in specially designed containers well below the sediment/water interface. Numerical results are obtained for a specified model problem through use of two computer programs designed primarily for the analysis of waste disposal problems. One program (MARIAH) provides descriptions of the temperature and fluid velocity fields induced by the presence of a container of thermally active nuclear waste. A second program (IONMIG), which utilizes the results of the thermal analysis, is used to provide predictions for the migration of four representative radionuclides: 239Pu, 137Cs, 129I, and 99Tc.