Surface Alteration of Borosilicate and Phosphate Nuclear Waste Glasses by Hydration and Irradiation

Abstract

We examined the degradation of nuclear waste borosilicate and phosphate glasses containing strong alpha-emitter 238Pu at a specific activity of 6.33 × 105 MBq/g in comparison with similar non-radioactive, non-radioactive irradiated and radioactive samples containing beta- and gamma-emitters, namely radionuclides 134Cs and 137Cs. For irradiation and leaching experiments, we used borosilicate and phosphate glasses, which are well-known and currently used to immobilize high-level radioactive waste. The main focus was the observation of the surface of altered glasses. Comparative analysis of hydrolytic surface alteration of borosilicate and phosphate nuclear waste glasses reveals that the behavior of radioactive samples differs significantly from that of non-radioactive glasses.

Keywords

• nuclear waste
• borosilicate glass
• phosphate glass
• hydration
• irradiation
• self-irradiation