Nuclear wast storage materials

Abstract

This chapter describes different aspects of nuclear waste storage materials. The operation of a nuclear power reactor producing 1300 MW of electrical power typically results in the accumulation of around 30 t of spent fuel per year. The fuel elements are intact but highly radioactive. Leaching tests on sphene glass ceramics containing simulated waste including some with trace-active doping have confirmed their predicted superiority by at least 1–2 orders of magnitude over borosilicate glass. In the associated radiation-damage assessment program, severe radiation damage produced by argon ion bombardment did not increase the leach rate by more than a factor of five. Other glass ceramics that have been studied as nuclear waste forms are celsian glass ceramics, fresnoite glass ceramics, and basalt glass ceramics. The chapter also briefly discusses the following proposals most of which are at an early stage of development: (1) sintered glass, (2) lead-iron-phosphate glasses, (3) high-silica porous glass matrix, (4) multibarrier concepts, and (5) FUETAP. It further highlights borosilicate glass as a generally accepted first-generation form for high-level nuclear waste solidification and storage. Second-generation waste forms designed to increase public acceptability of nuclear waste disposal in the 21st century should have greatly increased leach resistance in ground water. © 1991 Pergamon Press plc. Published by Elsevier Ltd.