Chemists of DSV (CEA-Life science Division) and physicists of DSM (CEA-Matter science Division) specialists of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) have developed a new solid state NMR apporach to measure long inter-atomic distances. Based on the use of tritium, the hydrogen isotope with the highest sensitivity to NMR, this technique allows the determination of the conformation of small molecules bounded to their biological receptors.

One of the most important technological challenge of the century is the safe storage of nuclear wastes. In France, one part of the engineered barrier designed to separate the biosphere from wastes is a low alloy steel overpack. Thus, it is necessary to predict the very long term corrosion behaviour of this overpack for several centuries.