Glass packages in interim storage

This report summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the behavior of type C waste packages consisting of vitrified high-level solutions produced by reprocessing spent fuel. The composition and the physical and chemical properties of the feed solutions are reviewed, and the vitrification process is described. Sodium alumino-borosilicate glass compositions are generally employed - the glass used at la Hague for LWR fuel solutions, for example, contains 45 % SiO2. The major physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of the glass are reviewed. In order to allow their thermal power to diminish, the 3630 glass packages produced (as of January 1993) in the vitrification facilities at Marcoule and La Hague are placed in interim storage for several decades. The actual interim storage period has not been defined, as it is closely related to the concept and organization selected for the final destination of the packages: a geological repository. The glass behavior under irradiation is described. Considerable basic and applied research has been conducted to assess the aqueous leaching behavior of nuclear containment glass. The effects of various repository parameters (temperature, flow rate, nature of the environmental materials) have been investigated. The experimental findings have been used to specify a model describing the kinetics of aqueous corrosion of the glass. More generally all the ''source term'' models developed in France by the CEA or by ANDRA are summarized. (author). 152 refs., 33 figs