Interesting development in how things are going with the UK's geological disposal facility siting process... www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/54c7f75... #NukeSky #RadioactiveWaste #Nuclear

Smashing views at sunrise over the Mendips this morning. It's starting to feel a bit autumnal and the trails are satisfyingly muddy! 😁 #TrailRunning

It was hard to pick between these two drop dead gorgeous minerals 🥰 But tugtupite gets my vote purely because it's found with sodalite, and I'm currently working on how to use sodalite as a template for the immobilisation of radioactive waste from futuristic nuclear reactors ☢️ #MinCup25 #Nuclear

Battle of the most bland minerals in the world? #mincup25 yawn! There's a solid solution between BaSO4 and RaSO4, and radium is often found in baryte scale inside oil pipes. So it's the NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material)-containing baryte that gets my vote today! ☢️

In #MinCup25 today it's got to be perovskite for me! My favourite flavour is titanate perovskite because it's found in nature to be jam-packed full of uranium and thorium! ☢️ For that reason it's of interest as a ceramic host for radioactive waste.

Had a super visit to the NNUF EXACT facility @unisouthampton.bsky.social for nice discussions about radiochemistry and spectroscopy and, my personal highlight, coral reef grown on geopolymers! These corals might be fluorescent, but they sure ain't radioactive... #lablife #RadioChem #nuclear ☢️ 🐠

The historic start of radioactive waste treatment at the Hanford vitrification plant is a matter of weeks away. Or is it? “Any plans to deviate from this plan will delay the cleanup and waste billions in taxpayer dollars" #Nuclear #NukeSky #RadioactiveWaste www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/h...

We're on the dawn of the 7th (yes, 7) nuclear renaissance in the UK since 2010. Is it really going to happen this time? Cutting through red tape to speed up design approval is one way to do it, but only if shortcuts with waste management aren't made #nuclear www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It's that time of year again! #MinCup25 is here (I'm a bit late to the party...) Paddlewheelite gets my vote today, of course, it's a uranyl mineral! ☢️ No competition!

And hey there to our shiny new @brukercorporation.bsky.social D6 X-ray Diffractometer — bringing radioactive mineral structures into sharp focus (the photo is a bit wobbly because I'm excited about this guy!) Can’t wait to get hands-on and share what we discover! #NuclearScience #Radiomineralogy

Say hello to our brand-new @thermofishersci.bsky.social ICP-OES! Ready to tackle elemental analysis from glass, ceramic and mineral interactions with groundwater / cement porewater etc., like a pro! #lablife #radiomineralogy #NuclearScience #RadioactiveWasteDisposal

Good things come to those who wait… or maybe it’s those who work hard and convince funders to back them 😅 Excited to finally introduce the new Radiomineralogy Laboratory! 100 m2 dedicated to actinide mineralogy / materials science and radioactive waste immobilisation and disposal.

Hey BlueSky friends! Long time no post 👋 Life got a bit intense, so I stepped back for a while… but I’m back in a soft relaunch kind of way. This term is shaping up to be exciting — from radioactive waste to cutting-edge nuclear energy research, there’s plenty to explore and discuss!

UK nuclear scientists, including those of us from the @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social, speak with the BBC to allay concerns about the bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran. @cabot-institute.bsky.social BBC News - What are the risks of bombing Iran's nuclear sites? www.bbc.com/news/article...

Delighted to give an invited lecture about the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy in radioactive waste disposal at the 15th School on the Physics and Chemistry of the Actinides, at @esrf.fr and hosted by the ROBL team @hzdr.bsky.social. Now that's done, it's time to eat ALL THE CHEESE! 🧀 #nukesky

🚨New paper alert! 🚨 In this work led by PhD graduate James Mansfield, we explore the role of Mg and Ca in glass durability focusing on natural basaltic glass compositions. Read all about it here: sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social @cabot-institute.bsky.social

Making plutonium-rocks by baking a cake, and then disposing of them in a giant underground landfill. Sounds a bit bonkers, right? Learn more as I talk to @BBCRadio4's Inside Science programme (at 13:10): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social @cabot-institute.bsky.social

Listen to me witter on about plutonium immobilisation and how ancient natural uranium minerals can give us confidence in their safe long-term disposal in a geological disposal facility☢️ @cabot-institute.bsky.social @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/int...

Lovely to chat with @bbc5live.bsky.social about radioactive cakes, er, I mean plutonium, & the UK government's announcement (based on our research @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social) that we will dispose of it in a geological facility. From 2:47 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... @cabot-institute.bsky.social

Really thrilled to hear this news today and even more pleased to have worked on (and sometimes led) research that is making this happen. Always great to chat with @vicgill.bsky.social too! @sw-nuclearhub.bsky.social @cabot-institute.bsky.social www.bbc.com/news/article...

"the development of new small and advanced modular reactor designs offers a unique opportunity to allow nuclear energy to really live up to its 'clean' label and to put a cap on the costs of nuclear clean-up." My new article in @thebulletin.org. Check it out! thebulletin.org/premium/2025...

Working from home while recovering from a bug. Ably assisted by my shoulder-cat, the Doobinator. #ShoulderCatNotThunderCat #AcademicsWithCats

Contributions by Daniel J. Gregg, John S. McCloy, John D. Vienna, Allison M. Macfarlane, William J. Weber, Gregory R. Lumpkin, Daniel Metlay, Cameron L. Tracy, @clairecorkhill.bsky.social, Malcolm Joyce, Derek Lacey, Nigel Thrift, Rodney C. Ewing*, Bernd Grambow, and yours truly. (*) Posthumously

If my research group were a band, this would be our album cover. #RadiomineralogyLab☢️ #SeriousFaces @bristoluni.bsky.social @cabot-institute.bsky.social @sophielitherland.bsky.social 😅

Looking for advice from #AcademicSky! Is it academic / research misconduct when: (a) you have an idea that your PhD student tried but didn't have the time to make work, (b) you move institution and (c) you find out that someone at your old institution has used your idea to win research funding?

Ok then! It's time to say goodbye to the other place (well, I will still go there sometimes to check on those who have been left behind) and re-establish myself here. Hello BlueSky users! In case you're part of the mass exodus too here's what I'm all about 👇

🚨New paper alert!🚨 In our new joint publication with Orano in the Journal of Nuclear Materials, we describe novel materials for the disposal of plutonium, should policy dictate. Read all about it here: sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @SWNuclearHub @UoBEarthScience

Celebrating the small wins! 🙌Congrats to University of Bristol School of Earth Science #RadiomineralogyLab postdoc @lenutpenut for becoming a fully-qualified scientific laboratory radiation worker!! U/Th experiments ahoy! ☢️☢️☢️

D'accord! Où suis-je?

Embarrassing scientist admission time. I almost ALWAYS need to use the crocodiles when thinking about writing 'greater than' or 'less than'. And when I mean almost, I actually mean always. Whyohwhy won't it stick in my brain?! Surely all of us have such have stupid brain moments?

Check out the latest Geology Bites podcast, featuring yours truly! Learn more about how geology provides us with safe containment for radioactive waste and the mineral templates to keep harmful radionuclides immobilised for millennia: geologybites.com ☢️

The Sevmorput, the world's only nuclear-powered container ship, has been damaged by a fire and will likely be taken out of service. It has been supplying northern Russian military bases and oil operations.

There is, of course, a flip side to this story. Would everyone rather the UK government rushed their new nuclear plans? No. These things rightly take time, to ensure safety, proper regulation and the long-term planning that goes with 80-year infrastructure. #nukesky inews.co.uk/news/politic...

The IAEA confirm "increased levels of activity at, and near, the Light Water Reactor” at North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center, sparking concerns over plutonium production #nukesky www.forbes.com/sites/britne...

Super big thanks to @mineralcup.bsky.social for sprinkling some fairy dust and getting me an invite to this nice place. Time to do some exploring...