Research Associate in Radionuclide Geochemistry

The UK has been generating electricity from nuclear power for over sixty years. Consequently, the issue of safely disposing of the UK’s approximately 750,000 m3 Intermediate and High-Level Nuclear Waste (ILW/HLW), and future waste is a clear priority. The UK government policy is to dispose of the higher activity nuclear wastes in an underground geological disposal facility (GDF) at an estimated cost of £20-53 billion, and lifetime of 100+ years. One of the rock types identified as potentially suitable to host a GDF are lower strength sedimentary rocks (LSSRs).

The purpose of a GDF is the safe disposal of radioactive waste for periods of tens of thousands of years, in a manner that ensures that any transport of radioactive materials into the surrounding biosphere is kept below specified limits. Siting and construction of a GDF in LSSR would therefore require a quantitative understanding of both the physical and (biogeo)chemical properties of the host rocks surrounding a GDF. However, many fundamental gaps still exist in our knowledge of the issues related to performance of these host rocks as a geological barrier to radionuclide transport.

Addressing these gaps requires fundamental new understanding and the development and application of next generation experimental, analytical, and modelling approaches to meet the challenges of characterising key processes in these complex systems.

This position will form part of the NERC and Nuclear Waste Services (NSW) funded ‘Towards Safe Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste in LSSRs (GeoSafe)’ project. This consortium project is a £5 M collaboration between Imperial College London, University of Manchester, the British Geological Survey, University of Liverpool, Heriot Watt University, Leeds University,  and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). The successful applicant will be based in Department of Earth and Environment at The University of Manchester, and will also undertake research visits to other universities and institutes (e.g. Diamond Light Source). The PDRA will work closely with other members of the GeoSafe team to exchange and integrate their results and achieve the projects broad objective of understanding the key aspect of radioactive waste disposal in lower strength sedimentary rock.

The purpose of this Research Associate position is to undertake experiments to determine the suitability of LSSR as a GDF host rock and develop accurate models to predict the transport and fate of key radionuclides under relevant (biogeo)chemical conditions. The Research Associate will be involved in several key aspects of the research, including radionuclide uptake and transport studies using experiments at a range of conditions relevant to LSSR systems (e.g. diffusion and advective flow studies). These studies will be supported by multi-scale analysis using state-of- the-art synchrotron-based X-ray (e.g., Hard X-ray nanoprobe), electron beam imaging (atomic/nano resolution analytical TEM), and spectroscopic analysis approaches, to build a combined understanding the speciation, distribution, and fate of radionuclides as they move through heterogeneous LSSRs. In conjunction, geochemical models will be developed to predict radionuclide speciation and processes controlling transport in LSSRs.

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status.  All appointments are made on merit.

Further particulars including job description and person specification are available on the University of Manchester website - click on the 'Apply' button above to find out more.