Groundwater system characterisation in support of safety assessment for radioactive waste disposal

Radioactive waste disposal is a strategic activity in the nuclear field to safeguard the population and the environment from radiological risks. In the radioactive waste disposal field, safety assessment aims to foresee and manage the environmental and radiological impact of possible radionuclide releases. One of the main radionuclide transport pathways in the environment is through groundwater. This paper deals with an assessment process applied to a characterisation of a groundwater system and its relations with surface water, in order to foresee critical scenarios of possible radionuclide migration in environmental matrices (e.g., groundwater, surface water, soil, etc.). The study examines in depth the groundwater system of a nuclear site in Italy.