NATURALLY-OCCURRING ZIRCONOLITES ANALOGS FOR THE LONG-TERM ENCAPSULATION OF ACTINIDES IN SYNROC

The use of natural zirconolites to assess the effect of alpha-decay da mage and geochemical alteration on the release of actinides from HLW w asteforms is critically examined. There is evidence that the natural z irconolites provide a good chemical and radiation damage analogy for t he HLW wasteforms, but additional work is required to define the geoch emical environments in which zirconolite is stable or unstable (e.g., suffering corrosion or chemical alteration, including loss of actinide s).