Plutonium and “minor” actinides: safe sequestration

The actinides exhibit a number of unique chemical and nuclear properties. Of particular interest are the man-made actinides (Np, Pu, Cm and Am) that are produced in significant enough quantities that they are a source of energy in fission reactions, a source of fissile material for nuclear weapons and of environmental concern because of their long half-lives and radiotoxicity. During the past 50 yr, over 1400 mT of Pu and substantial quantities of the “minor” actinides, such as Np, Am and Cm, have been generated in nuclear reactors. There are two basic strategies for the disposition of these elements: (1) to “burn” or transmute the actinides using nuclear reactors or accelerators; (2) to “sequester” the actinides in chemically durable, radiation-resistant materials that are suitable for geologic disposal. There has been substantial interest in the use of isometric pyrochlore, A2B2O7 (A=rare earths; B=Ti, Zr, Sn and Hf), for the immobilization of actinides, particularly plutonium. Systematic studies of rare-earth pyrochlores have led to the discovery that certain compositions (B=Zr, Hf) are stable to very high doses of α-decay event damage. The radiation stability of these compositions is closely related to the structural distortions that occur for specific pyrochlore compositions and the electronic structure of the B-site cation. This understanding provides the basis for designing materials for the safe, long-term immobilization and sequestration of actinides.