The role of synroc in partitioning and conditioning strategies in radioactive waste management

Partitioning of radioactive waste permits special matrices, such as Synroc, to be considered for the conditioning of selected streams of radionuclides in parallel with established wasteforms such as glass. Results are presented of the capacity and durability of Synroc for immobilising high loadings of long-lived fission products, including Cs, Tc, and minor actinides that will be difficult to recycle for transmutation on an industrial scale. The low alteration rates of Synroc confirm it as an independent immobilisation barrier over geological timescales. Three scenarios involving Synroc in parallel with glass are described which together with partitioning/transmutation can be regarded as complementary in limiting the ''residual radiotoxicity'' of nuclides reaching the outlets of a waste disposal site. (author)