A ten-year-long laboratory experiment was recently started in order to study interactions between the groundwater, the bentonite, and the canister in the near-field of the planned Finnish repository for spent nuclear waste. The experimental set-up consists of a number of samples containing sodium MX-80 bentonite and cast iron cylinders placed in copper vessels. The bentonite stays in contact with an external solution, either distilled water or a 0.5 M NaCl solution, via metal sinters. The experiments are performed under anoxic conditions (N2 atmosphere) at ambient room temperature (∼30 °C). The experimental measurements focus mainly on the development of (1) the water chemistry, (2) the cast iron corrosion, and (3) the diffusion of corrosion products inside the bentonite, since these processes are the most likely ones to produce detectable changes during the ten-year-long programme.

The first analyses, after 9 months, showed that the iron corrosion had started and that the corrosion products had migrated into the bentonite. The corrosion products could not be identified by XRD, which either meant that the material was amorphous or present in concentrations too low to be detectable. The analyses of the gas phase indicated the presence of hydrogen, which most probably was the result of the iron corrosion. The compositions of the external water and the porewater were determined with regard to the major species of interest. A closer evaluation of the results will not be given until more data are at hand.