Study on Engineering Barrier Role in Nuclear Waste Disposal

This paper studies the leaching behaviors of pyrochlore-rich synroc incorporated 46.8 wt% simulated actinide waste sunder the five simulated geological disposal media, which included the bentonite, granite, granite + ferroferric oxide, granite + cement, bentonite + ferroferric oxide, respectively. The mass loss rates reached to equilibrium after 182 day and was 10-7 g/cm2·.d. That suggests the mass loss rate of pyrochlore-rich synroc, loaded 46.8wt% actinides waste, was very low. The surfaces of the leached specimens were analyzed by XRD, SEM/EDS. The experimental results show that the pyrochlore-rich synroc samples in the systems, which contained bentonite and cement, have two new phases formed on the leached specimens surface at 90 .deg. C for 728d; The bentonite and cement can retard the elements leaching; Fe304 can speed the elements leaching; Expect for Ti ion depleted on the sample surface, other ion, such as U, Zr, Al, Ca, were in equable states and Ba ion was enriched during test time, which indicated the simulated disposal media have good ability to retard the leaching behavior of the pyrochlore-rich synroc