The effect of ion irradiation on the dissolution of UO 2 and UO 2 -based simulant fuel

The irradiation experiment was performed at the Grand Accelerateur National d’Ions Lourds (GANIL) Caen, France, and supported by the French Network EMIR. The support in planning and execution of the experiment by the CIMAP-CIRIL and the GANIL staff, especially, T. Madi and F. Durantel is much appreciated. Characterization and dissolution studies were performed using EMSL, a DOE Office of Science User Facility sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. A.J.P. acknowledges funding from the UK EPSRC (grant EP/I036400/1 and EP/L018616/1) and Radioactive Waste Management Ltd (formerly the Radioactive Waste Management Directorate of the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, contract NPO004411A-EPS02).