System developed for safe storage of nuclear waste using ceramic containers

A practical method for the safe containment and storage of the waste materials produced by nuclear reactors developed by ASEA, Vasteras, Sweden, is briefly described. The company will produce full-scale ceramic containers for encapsulating spent fuel rods or other nuclear wastes in a new plant at Robertsfors, in the north of Sweden. The waste, together with other suitable materials, will be compacted under high pressure (about 1000 bar) and high temperature (1350;degree;C) to form dense, solid bodies having a very high resistance to the leaching action of ground water and a greater mechanical strength than, for example, granite