Materials issues in nuclear-waste management

In this article, materials issues in the management of nuclear waste, including its generation, processing, storage, transport, and disposal, are examined for low-level and high-level waste, with an emphasis on the aspects of their immobilization and long-term isolation. Selecting materials for low-level and high-level waste form and containers is reviewed, and the long-term performance issues with these materials as barriers to nuclide migration or release are discussed. Editor’s Note: A hypertext-enhanced version of this article is available on the web at www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0009/Yim-0009.html. For more information, contact M.-S. Yim, North Carolina State University, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7909; (919) 515-1466; fax (919) 515-5115; e-mail yim@ncsu.edu.