Hydrothermal leaching of rhyolite glass in the environment has implications for nuclear waste disposal

A microprobe analysis to investigate hydrothermal leaching of rhyolite glass adjacent to a fluid conduit in the Tertiary hydrothermal system of the Isle of Skye, north-west Scotland, is reported. As the composition of rhyolite and proposed high-silica radioactive waste glasses are similar, implications of this study on predictions of the long-term leaching behaviour of such glasses after underground burial are examined. (U.K.)