(1) Iodine Waste Form Performance
Iodine waste forms will be developed from the leading ceramic components  found in the DOE and open literature.  The waste forms will be developed with a focus on low cost fabrication, ease of fabrication, and durability of waste form.  The waste form development will be directed toward both the Secretary of Energy's FY'08 decision and longer term research (with integration to the Yucca Mountain acceptance criteria). Specialized material science synthesis and state of the art characterization techniques will be employed for rapid materials development and optimization.  In particular, a focus on two ceramic families of compounds that have high adsorption toward iodine, plus have high mechanical, chemical and thermal stability with time.  The first class of materials are silicates and silicas; the second class are bismuth-based compounds.

(2) Iodine Waste Form Development
The objective of this activity is to develop and test the performance of waste forms for the immobilization of iodine from GNEP process.  The performance of this form will directly affect the repository impacts of the GNEP project, so, high durability waste forms are key to GNEP success.  Iodine waste forms will be studied to identify structure/property characteristics that ensure and predict long-term durability, that is compatible with determined waste form storage and disposal.  The studies will focus on the materials phase development, the characterization of the structures and the performance of the waste forms in various degradation testing scenarios.  Characterization techniques will include powder X-ray diffraction, BET surface analysis, thermal analyses (TGA/DTA), Gas Chromotography -Mass Spectroscopy, and electron microscopy (TEM, SEM).  The materials will include, but not be limited to 3D pores: synthetic Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), and mineral silicates, aluminosilicates, transition-metal loaded zeolites, and 2D pores: aluminosilicate and bimuth-metal clay-analogs.