The joint research project "ImmoRad - Fundamental investigations for the immobilization of long-lived radionuclides through interaction with secondary mineral phases in deep geological nuclear waste repositories" started in February, 2012 and is financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education on Research (BMBF).
ImmoRad contributes to the safety assessment of nuclear waste disposal and concentrates on application-based fundamental research for the retentive processes in deep geological environments. Within this project, structural incorporation of radionuclides into host minerals will be studied and also the influence of the formation of solid solutions in aquatic environments.
Practically, the structural, physical and thermodynamic properties of relevant compounds will be characterized experimentally. Subsequent atomistic modelling calculations will give insight into the long term retentive behaviour for radionuclides. Thereby, the resilience of statements regarding the long term safety of geological repositories can be improved.
National and international partners cooperate for this project: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Paul Scherrer Institut PSI (Villigen, Switzerland), University Frankfurt, University Bonn and University Oviedo (Spain).
