Effects of α‐Radiolysis on Leaching of a Nuclear Waste Glass

Abstract
The effects of α‐radiolysis on leaching were studied in compositionally identical Pu‐doped waste glass samples which were prepared at different α‐activities (dose rates) by varying the 239Pu/238Pu isotopic ratio in the Pu dopant. The results of 14‐, 28‐, and 56‐d static leach tests at 40°C, in both deionized water and brine solution, indicate that α‐radiolysis at the samplelsolution interface increased Pu and Si release by a factor of ≅3.