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A novel methodology for investigating the redox potential of underground water in China’s Beishan HLW repository site

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Abstract

The determination of the redox potential (Eh) of underground water in repository site is extremely important for long-term safety evaluation. The present study has developed a novel methodology for Eh estimation of the underground water of Beishan borehole 28 (BS28), which consists of the on site logging, the modelling with the characteristics of sampled water and rock cores and the verification study dedicated to evaluate the reliability of the Eh measurement. An Eh range between − 56 and 118 mV is suggested for BS28 underground water at 365–690 m deep after a thorough analysis of both modelling data and measurements.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 41773095, 41403075) and the Fundamental Research Fund of Sun Yat-sen University No. 45000-18833403). The authors are grateful to Zhichao Zhou, Ming Zhang, Ruili Ji, Weiqiang Li and other workers from Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, for their skilful and helpful contribution to the on site investigation. Thanks are also given to Prof. Gérard Cote (PSL Research University, Chimie ParisTech - CNRS, France), for his helpful and constructive comments. Declarations of interest: none.

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Correspondence to Mingliang Kang or Ju Wang.

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Yang, G., Kang, M., Cheng, X. et al. A novel methodology for investigating the redox potential of underground water in China’s Beishan HLW repository site. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 322, 923–932 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06728-x

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