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The reaction of reference commercial nuclear waste glasses during gamma irradiation in a saturated tuff environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

John K. Bates
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4837
William L. Ebert
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4837
Donald F. Fischer
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4837
Thomas J. Gerding
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4837
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Abstract

The effects of gamma irradiation on groundwater and the reaction between groundwater and glass have been investigated at radiation exposure rates of 2 × 105 1 × 103 and 0 R/h. These experiments, which bound the conditions that may occur in a high-level nuclear waste repository located in tuff, have been performed using the actinide-containing glasses ATM-lc and ATM-8, and have been performed for time periods up to 278 days. The experimental results indicate that when only the repository groundwater is present, the pH of the system remains near-neutral, regardless of the radiation field, due to the buffering capacity of the solution. When glass is added to the system, the subsequent reaction is governed by the solution chemistry, which results from a complex interaction between radiolysis products, glass reaction products, and groundwater components. While no long-term reaction trends have been extracted from the current data, it is noted that there are no outstanding differences in the reaction of the glasses as measured by the release of the soluble components B, Mo, and Na, as a function of radiation exposure rate. However, there is a marked difference in the amount of U, Np, and Pu released from the glasses as a function of radiation exposure rate. This difference can be correlated with the pH values of the leachate, with more basic solutions resulting in lower actinide release.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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