Crevice corrosion of copper for radioactive waste packaging material in simulated groundwater

The investigation described here was conducted to clarify the corrosion behaviour of high level radioactive waste containers made of copper. The influences of oxygen, chloride ion and sulphate ion on copper crevice corrosion were studied in solutions simulating groundwater characteristic of northwest China. The results showed that oxygen, chloride ion and sulphate ion promote crevice corrosion. Chloride ion was found to play a significant role in the crevice corrosion mechanism in copper, but sulphate ion had no effect on the mechanism.