Study of Long Term Behavior of Intermediate Level Long Lived Waste Packages: An Overview of the R&D Approach and Results

This paper addresses the radiolysis phenomenon on organic compounds leading to the formation of new molecular species such as gases and small soluble molecules. A large number of industrial and pure polymers were irradiated either with gamma radiation or swift heavy ions. Radiolytic yields were determined and the effects of the dose and the oxidation of materials were studied. A specific tool dedicated to the determination of the energy released through organic materials by alpha particles was developed. The release of chemical species such as carboxylic acids from more than twenty polymers under gamma and simulated alpha radiolysis at different cumulated dose was also described.