Weathering Kinetics of Glasses
Aqueous alteration of Silicate - Glass Case of Nuclear Glasses

The primary goal of understanding the weathering mechanisms of nuclear glass is to quantify the release of radionuclides into the environment. This involves determining the weathering kinetics of the glass and the glass surface exposed to water. Indeed, without weathering of the glass matrix, radionuclides remain permanently confined within the glass.

For SON68 glass, weathering rates are calculated based on the release of boron into solution, which is considered a tracer element for weathering. Boron is a soluble element that does not contribute to the formation of the weathering film. Its retention in the weathering film is generally low, if not negligible. As noted above, this has only been observed in specific cases (highly passivating weathering layers formed on simple glasses