Since the first large scale commercial nuclear power plant became operational in 1958, the nuclear power industry has been faced with the growing problem of disposal of radionuclides produced from nuclear fission. The current global production of high level nuclear waste is approximately 10,000 metric tons p.a., consisting predominantly of uranium, plutonium, actinides and other minor radionuclides.

Developing a safe and cost-effective method for long term storage and disposal of nuclear waste is a key issue of concern to the nuclear power industry. A promising approach to radionuclide disposal is incorporation of the nuclear waste into refractory oxide host minerals or mineral matrices. This technique offers lower leaching rates when compared to the commonly used glass-based vitrification approaches. The refractory pyrochlore supergroup of minerals are particularly attractive for this purpose as they can incorporate considerable amounts of the radionuclides: ⁹³Zr, ¹³³Ba, ¹³⁵Cs, Th, U, ²³⁸Pu, and ²⁴⁴Cm, while demonstrating very low leachability.

This review examines the structural, compositional and chemical properties of radionuclide-containing pyrochlore supergroup minerals. Compiled leaching data for radionuclides hosted in pyrochlores demonstrates that these materials offer a high degree of aqueous durability making them strong candidates for radionuclide disposal, offering a viable storage alternative to traditional vitrification methods.

自从1958年第一座大型商业核电站投入运行以来，核电行业一直面临着越来越大的处置由核裂变产生的放射性核素的问题。当前，全球高放核废料的年产量约为10,000公吨，主要由铀，p，act系元素和其他微量放射性核素组成。

开发一种用于长期存储和处置核废料的安全且具有成本效益的方法是核电行业关注的关键问题。放射性核素处置的一种有前途的方法是将核废料掺入耐火氧化物主体矿物或矿物基质中。与常用的基于玻璃的玻璃化方法相比，该技术提供了较低的浸出率。难熔的烧绿石超族对此特别有吸引力，因为它们可以掺入大量的放射性核素：⁹³ Zr，¹³³ Ba，¹³⁵ Cs，Th，U，²³⁸ Pu和²⁴⁴ Cm，同时显示出极低的浸出率。

这项审查审查了含有放射性核素的烧绿石超族矿物的结构，组成和化学性质。编写的烧绿石中放射性核素的浸出数据表明，这些材料具有很高的水性耐久性，使其成为放射性核素处置的有力候选者，为传统玻璃化方法提供了可行的储存选择。