Performance assessment of zircon as a waste form for excess weapons plutonium under deep borehole burial conditions
- Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Zircon (ZrSiO{sub 4}) is proposed as a waste form for excess weapons-grade plutonium. Zircon is an extremely durable ceramic that is often found as an accessory mineral in Precambrian terranes with ages up to 4 billion years. The chemical durability of zircon in groundwater far exceeds that of other waste forms, as modeled leach rates may be as low as 10{sup {minus}11} g/m{sup 2}d. At least 10 wt% Pu can substitute for Zr in zircon. Self-radiation damage from alpha decay leads to a crystalline-to-amorphous transformation that is modeled as a function of time and temperature for deep borehole conditions. Based on the results of this assessment, zircon could meet all necessary durability and criticality criteria required for a Pu waste form. The types of data used in this analysis are generally not available for other crystalline ceramics or glasses.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830; FG03-93ER45498
- OSTI ID:
- 264407
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951155-; ISBN 1-55899-315-0; TRN: 96:016552
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Fall meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Boston, MA (United States), 27 Nov - 1 Dec 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Scientific basis for nuclear waste management 19; Murphy, W.M. [ed.] [Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States)]; Knecht, D.A. [ed.] [Lockheed Idaho Technologies Co., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)]; PB: 957 p.; Materials Research Society symposium proceedings, Volume 412
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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