The long-term confinement of nuclear waste is a primary challenge for the nuclear industry. Now, a new study co-authored by postdoc Lucile Dezerald, visiting scientist Andres Saul, senior research scientist Roland JM Pellenq, and Professor Franz-Josef Ulm, offers a solution: quantum modeling of cement hydrate at the nano scale. “In short, what the research showed is that cement is a good choice for storing nuclear waste from the fission reaction in nuclear plants,” Pellenq said. This research has implications for the improvement of waste storage conditions in accidental cases, such as the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in March 2011. Read the article.