Colloid formation during the corrosion of SRL 200 glass

Nonradioactive SRL 200S glass and fully radioactive SRL 200R glass were reacted at glass surface areas to leachant volume (SA/V) ratios of 20,000, 2,000, and 340 m-1 for times varying from several days to a few years. The particles present in the leachates of these tests have been examined by analytical electron microscopy (AEM). The major colloidal clay phase was identified as a smectite clay from its characteristic electron diffraction pattern. The clay colloids eventually disappear from the solution and return to the glass; the time at which this occurs depends on the SA/V. Uranium silicate particles and calcium-bearing phases were also sometimes found in the leachates