Abstract
Abstract Radiation-induced point defects have been discovered in several clay minerals such as kaolinite, dickite, montmorillonite, illite, and sudoite, using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Besides, amorphization of smectites could be produced by electron or heavy ion irradiation with different cumulative doses. Two main applications are derived: (i) The tracing of past radioactivity using point defects. In geological systems where the age of the clay can be constrained, one can quantitatively reconstruct ancient migrations of radioelements. In closed systems where the dose rate can be assumed constant over time, the defects have been used to date clay populations from tropical soils. (ii) The impact of irradiation on physico-chemical properties. In a worst case scenario of leakage of transuranic elements in a high-level nuclear waste repository, alpha recoil nuclei may amorphize smectite after periods of the order of 1000 years. Moreover, radiation-induced amorphization of smectite significantly enhances its dissolution kinetics.
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