The Role of Boron in Monitoring the Leaching of Borosilicate Glass Waste Forms

In the absence of any identified solid phase host (other than the original glass), boron has been assumed to accumulate in the fluid during the reaction of borosilicate glass waste forms with aqueous fluids. Using this assumption, it is possible to define a boron index which can be used to monitor the amount of glass that has been dissolved and to provide a worst-case measure of the degradation of the primary glass waste form. Several boron-containing silicate phases have been identified thus invalidating the assumption that boron does not precipitate. The effect is apparently small and the assumption that boron release is a direct measure of degree of alteration of borosilicate glass is still probably a good one.