Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 December 2016
Mechanical damage of non-metallic nuclear wasteforms can be caused by electrical fields induced by decaying clusters of radionuclides surrounded by an insulating matrix. We assess the electric fields near clusters with decaying radionuclides 244Cm, 241Am, 238,239Pu and 137Cs in a glass matrix determining that matrix destruction can gradually occur via electric breakdown discharges and diffusion-controlled change in form of clusters. The most important parameters that control potential matrix destruction are the radioactive cluster (inhomogeneity) size, radionuclide specific radioactivity and effective electrical conductivity of the matrix.