Natural basaltic glass analogue for the long-term extrapolation of nuclear waste glass aging

Increased confidence is provided to the extrapolation of long-term waste form behavior by comparing the alteration of experimentally aged natural basaltic glass to the condition of the same glass as it has been geologically aged. The similarity between the laboratory and geologic alterations indicates that important aging variables have been identified and incorporated into the laboratory experiments. This provides credibility to the long-term predictions made for waste form borosilicate glasses using similar experimental procedures. In addition, these experiments have demonstrated that the aging processes for natural basaltic glass are relevant to the alteration of nuclear waste glasses, as both appear to react via similar processes. The alteration of a synthetic basaltic glass was measured in MCC-1 tests done at 900C, a SA/V of 0.1 cm-1 and time periods up to 182 days. Tests were also done using (1) MCC-2 procedures at 1900C, a SA/V of 0.1 cm-1 and time periods up to 91 days and (2) hydration tests in saturated water vapor at 2400C, a SA/V of approx. 106 cm-1, and time periods up to 63 days. These results are compared to alteration observed in natural basaltic glasses of great age. 6 references, 6 figures, 1 table