Microbially induced corrosion under repository environments

In Finland the corrosion studies of metallic waste were started in 1998. First studies concentrated on metallic low and intermediate level nuclear waste that is produced during operation, maintenance and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. A long-term field exposure study showed high corrosion rates, which indicated that microorganisms play a role in the corrosion process. Subsequently, we have discovered that a vast community of microbes, both archaea and bacteria, are inducing corrosion of steels under repository conditions. The studies targeting microbially induced corrosion in the low and intermediate level nuclear waste repository environment are still ongoing. During the last few years we have initiated studies on microbially induced corrosion as this process could compromise the integrity of the copper canisters in the high-level nuclear waste repository environment.