Container Materials for the Storage and Disposal of Nuclear Waste

Abstract

A wide range of alloys have been considered as candidate container materials for the storage and disposal of nuclear waste. The goal of the majority of national nuclear waste management programs is the ultimate disposal of the waste, although, depending upon the strategy being followed, disposal may come only after an extended period of storage. The management strategy depends on the nature of the waste, with intermediate level waste (ILW) generally being stored for a longer period before disposal than is the case for higher activity wastes, such as high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessing activities or spent fuel (SF). This review describes the corrosion issues associated with the storage and disposal of both ILW and HLW/SF. Various factors enter into the decision of which material to select for the container, of which the corrosion behavior in the expected service environment is only one. The corrosion behavior of the container material(s) is closely tied to the nature of the environment to which the co...