Evaluation and compilation of DOE waste package test data: Biannual report, December 1985-July 1986

This report summarizes results to date of NBS evaluations of Department of Energy (DOE) activities in waste packages designed for containment of radioactive high-level nuclear waste (HLW). The waste package is a proposed engineered barrier that is part of a permanent repository for HLW. Candidate repository sites include three different media: tuff, basalt, and salt. Metal alloys are the principal barriers for the proposed canisters and overpacks. In addition, borosilicate glass and various packing materials have been proposed as components of this engineered system. Thus, the associated technical problems involve corrosion, leaching, dissolution and transport within the waste packages. This report gives status reports on waste package activities related to each of the three host media. Appended to the report are NBS reviews of selected DOE technical reports and NBS trip reports of pertinent meetings, seminars, and workshop attended. Also presented in the report is background information on the Materials Characterization Center (MCC) as well as discussion on statistical considerations in fitting leaching and corrosion models to measurements. The MCC was established to assess and characterize waste package materials for reliable performance for DOE's nuclear waste needs