[en] Cement based materials are often used as a solidification matrix for wet radioactive waste from nuclear power plants such as ion exchange resins, sludge and evaporator concentrates. The mechanical and chemical properties of the cement-waste matrix are affected by the type and the concentration of the waste. For this reason the recipe used in the solidification process has to be carefully adjusted to respond to the variations of the waste. At the Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) an evaporator was to be taken into operation during the mid 2005. As a result of this process an evaporator concentrate containing boric acid was expected. The aims of the present study were to develop a recipe for the solidification of artificial evaporator concentrates, (AEC), containing H₃BO₃ and measure the compressive strength of the waste/cement matrix over a period of 4 years. The confirmation of the previously reported retarding properties of H₃BO₃ and the studies of AEC without H₃BO₃ were also included as a part of this work. Finally, thermodynamic calculations were used as a tool in order to predict the evolution of the mineralogy and integrity for the different cement-waste specimens over very long periods of time, i.e. up to about 100 000 years. The most important finding was that when an optimized waste/cement matrix recipe was used the compressive strength increased during the entire 4 year period and no signs of degradation were noticed. It was also found that the long-term performance of the waste matrices is to a large extent site-specific. In general, the composition of the infiltrating water is more influential than the waste matrices, both on the degradation of the waste matrices itself as well as on the engineered barriers. (author)