Inhibition of nuclear waste glass leaching by chemisorption

Leaching of waste glass in lead and aluminum containers is much less extreme than in relatively inert Teflon containers. Lead and aluminum are already included in several waste-package designs. The chemical durability imparted to a waste glass by sorption of lead and aluminum corrosion products onto the glass surfaces, as reported in this study, is an additional reason to include these metals in the waste-package assembly. Glass corrosion was inhibited in lead containers even though the solution pH rose to values considerably higher than necessary to accelerate silica dissolution in the absence of lead. Relatively minor effects on glass leaching were found in copper, tin, and titanium containers when compared to those measured in Teflon containers. No sorption of materials from any of these containers onto the glasses was evident, although sorption of glass corrosion products onto the container walls was observed