Heavy-ion irradiation effects on uranium-contaminated soil for nuclear waste.

In the field of radioactive waste immobilization, the investigation of irradiation stability is of considerable importance. In this study, uranium-contaminated soil samples were irradiated by 1.5 MeV Xe ions with fluences ranging from 1 × 10 to 1 × 10 ions/cm. Xe heavy-ion radiation was used to simulate the self-irradiation of actinide nuclides. The uranium-contaminated soil samples were sintered via microwaves. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction results showed that irradiation can cause crystallization of the sample. After irradiation, the Vickers hardness of the samples decreased slightly. Comparative analysis showed that the sample had good radiation resistance, and the leaching rate (28 d) of the sample increased slightly after irradiation, but the overall performance was stable. Our investigation reveals the corresponding mechanism of uranium-contaminated soil irradiation of 1.5 MeV Xe ions.