Migration of Ruthenium-106 in a Nevada Test Site Aquifer: Discrepancy Between Field and Laboratory Results

Abstract
Ruthenium-106 has been observed to migrate in ground water at about the same velocity as tritium from the site of an underground nuclear explosion to a pumped satellite well 91 meters distant. This finding contradicts the prediction, based on laboratory batch sorption measurements, that ruthenium-106 should migrate at a much lower rate than tritium. To predict migration of radionuclides in ground water, more relevant laboratory measurements are required.