Crystalline Titanate Ceramic Nuclear Waste Forms: Leaching and Radiation Damage

Leaching in the range 22° to 150°C and pH 2 to 12 was studied to assess the effects of compositional changes and processing variables on the dissolution behavior of titanate ceramic waste forms. Lead‐ion implantation was used to simulate long‐term a‐recoil damage in the crystalline titanate phases. All the titanate phases sustained significant lattice damage at equivalent a‐doses of 1 × 10 19 /cm 3 ; however, Rutherford backscattering and transmission electron microscopy studies showed that the damage did not result in significant enhancement of matrix dissolution during leaching.