Population explosion and rapid industrialization have led to generation of large amount of solid and liquid wastes, which require safe disposal and containment. Currently, land disposal or shallow disposal of these wastes is being practiced by industries and the municipal authorities. However, subsequent interaction of the disposed of waste with rain or ground water generates leachates, which in due course of time contaminate the geoenvironment viz., soil, rock and the ground water (Shu et al. 2018). In addition, high-level radioactive waste generated by nuclear industry comprising of radionuclides of transuranics (viz., Pu, Np and Am) and fission products (viz., I, Cs and Sr), require safe handling and disposal in the geological formations. The efficacy of these formations must be established based on detailed investigations related to their geological, hydrological, geochemical, geophysical and geotechnical characteristics and their impact on integrity of the waste form (IAEA 1993; Gurumoorthy and Singh 2004a, b). It must be noticed that the migration of radionuclides from these waste forms depends on the type and condition of the rock mass (intact or fractured) and the soil mass (saturated on unsaturated). The fractured rock mass creates a pathway for the ground water movement and thereby enhances the probability of dissolution and migration of radionuclides from the radioactive waste matrix and resulting in contamination of the geosphere (Hakanen 1993; Jedinakova 1998). © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.