Evaluation of the influence of a highly permeable fault on transport of pollutants by the local groundwater flow

Underground disposal of hazardous industrial waste is carried out with the objective of their longterm isolation from the biosphere. That is why one o f the most important quantitative characteristics of underground disposal s afety is the groundwater travel time from a repository to a discharge area. Rom the hydrogeological point of view, platform artesian basins are the mo st favorable geological structures for underground disposal of industrial w aste. In selecting a site for waste disposal, it is recommended to locate r epositories as far as possible from fault zones. This article contains the results obtained from a quantitative analysis of the influence exerted by h ighly permeable faults on the groundwater travel time in a simplified model of an artesian basin. It is demonstrated that the influence of a highly pe rmeable fault on the structure of regional now changes depending on the fau lt position relative to recharge and discharge areas. This influence can le ad to either a decrease or an increase in groundwater travel time from a di sposal site to a discharge area.