UO₂ dissolution in high pH conditions of the Belgian Supercontainer

To assess the long-term behavior of spent fuel in alkaline conditions representative for the Belgian Supercontainer design, static and dynamic dissolution tests were performed with depleted and Pu-doped UO₂, simulating medium burn-up UOX fuels of different fuel ages. The experiments were performed under argon atmosphere at 25-30°C in cement waters in the pH range 11.7-13.5 and at different SA/V ratios. This paper presents the observed UO₂ matrix dissolution rates based on the (²³⁸U or ²³³U) release, and proposes a selection of reference dissolution rates for performance assessment. We demonstrate that the dissolution rates at high pH are equivalent to the dissolution rates reported in the literature for neutral pH conditions. The a-activity threshold below which radiolytical fuel oxidation becomes negligible, seems to be close to the threshold reported for anoxic media at neutral pH.