The ‘granite encapsulation’ route to the safe disposal of Pu and other actinides

Waste actinides, including plutonium, present a long-term management problem and a serious security issue. Immobilisation in mineral or ceramic waste forms for interim storage is a widely proposed first step. The safest, most secure geological disposal for Pu is in very deep boreholes and we propose that the key step to combination of these immobilisation and disposal concepts is encapsulation of the waste form in cylinders of recrystallized granite. We discuss the underpinning science, focusing on experimental work, and consider implementation. Finally, we present and discuss analyses of zircon, UO₂ and Ce-doped cubic zirconia from high pressure and temperature experiments in granitic melts that demonstrate the viability of this solution and that actinides can be isolated from the environment for millions, maybe hundreds of millions, of years.