Development of QC and predictive leach tests for West Valley glasses

Two types of leach tests have been developed for the characterization of the chemical durability of nuclear waste glasses. A pulsed-flow test has been evaluated for applicability at long residence times, using S/V scaling, for ability to distinguish between more durable and less durable glasses in the long term, for applicability in the presence of ground water and canister materials, and for compatibility with observations on natural analog systems. A quick, simple, and highly reducible static test procedure has been evaluated as a tool for screening glass compositions according to chemical durability by comparing its results with those of the pulsed-flow test