Editing Radioactive waste (section)

==== Synroc ====
The Australian [[Synroc]] (synthetic rock) is a more sophisticated way to immobilize such waste, and this process may eventually come into commercial use for civil wastes (it is currently being developed for U.S. military wastes). Synroc was invented by Ted Ringwood, a [[geochemist]] at the [[Australian National University]].<ref>World Nuclear Association, [http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf58.html Synroc] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221142904/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf58.html|date=2008-12-21}}, ''Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper,'' 21. Retrieved January 2009.</ref> The Synroc contains [[pyrochlore]] and cryptomelane type minerals. The original form of Synroc (Synroc C) was designed for the liquid high-level waste (PUREX raffinate) from a [[light-water reactor]]. The main minerals in this Synroc are [[hollandite]] (BaAl<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>6</sub>O<sub>16</sub>), [[zirconolite]] (CaZrTi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>) and [[perovskite]] (CaTiO<sub>3</sub>). The zirconolite and perovskite are hosts for the [[actinides]]. The [[strontium]] and [[barium]] will be fixed in the perovskite. The [[caesium]] will be fixed in the hollandite. A Synroc waste treatment facility began construction in 2018 at [[ANSTO]].<ref>ANSTO, [https://www.ansto.gov.au/news/new-global-first-of-a-kind-ansto-synroc-facility ''New global first-of-a-kind ANSTO Synroc facility''], Retrieved March 2021</ref>