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Weathering Conditions and Behavior of Fission Products in Oklo Reactors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

L. Pourcelot  and
F. Gauthier-Lafaye
L. Pourcelot
Affiliation:
Centre de Géchimie de la Surface-CNRS, 1, rue Blessig F67084 STRASBOURG, France
F. Gauthier-Lafaye
Affiliation:
Centre de Géchimie de la Surface-CNRS, 1, rue Blessig F67084 STRASBOURG, France
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Extract

Two billion years ago, natural fission reactions occured in the uranium ore deposit of Oklo (Gabon), mainly due to the high concentrations of fissile 235U. At that time, high uranium contents (40-60 % U) allowed reaching criticality when oxidised uranium bearing fluids met reduced fluids accompanying the migration of hydrocarbons. Natural fission reactors consist of a core made of uraninite crystals embedded in a clay matrix (mainly chlorites). The thickness of the clay layer range between few centimetres to 2 meters. Fission products are mostly located in the uraninite grains but newly crystallised minerals such as phosphate minerals, clays and metallic aggregates retain some proportions of migrated fissiogenic elements [1].

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 506: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXI , 1997 , 1071
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

REFERENCES

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