The materials used to store the waste 'will likely degrade faster than anyone previously knew' because of the way the materials interact, according to new research.
The research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, focused primarily on defense waste, the legacy of past nuclear arms production, which is highly radioactive, according to a press release from Ohio State University. Some of waste has a half-life -- the time needed for half the material to decay -- of about 30 years. But others, such as plutonium, have a half-life that can be in the tens of thousands of years, according to the release.
Containers with high-level radioactive waste stand in interim storage in Lower Saxony, Germany, Dec. 11, 2019. "In the real-life scenario, the glass or ceramic waste forms would be in close contact with stainless steel canisters. Under specific conditions, the corrosion of stainless steel will go crazy," he said in a statement."It creates a super-aggressive environment that can corrode surrounding materials."
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