Under the given experimental conditions, an evaluation of the reversibility of radionuclide sorption onto bentonite colloids cannot be done in situ. However, CRR laboratory desorption kinetic experiments indicate that both Cs and U indicate some degree of irreversibility, implying that, at least part, of the radionuclides could potentially migrate through fractures in the host rock, provided the colloids remain stable and mobile.

Further investigations on the reversibility of radionuclide sorption onto bentonite colloids are currently underway within CRR and the results will be added to the web page soon.