In the perspective of long term geological storage, high level nuclear wastes will be overpacked in low carbon steel containers. In that context, we have studied the influence of oxygen dissolved in water on iron corrosion. Therefore, leaching experiments were performed in desaerated D 2 O and in aerated H 2 O and a kinetic study of iron corrosion under proton irradiation was lead in aqueous media with two different dissolved oxygen concentrations.The leaching experiments underline the major role of dissolved oxygen in oxydoreduction reactions which take place as far as iron is in contact with water. But the kinetic study of iron corrosion under irradiation put in evidence the balance between the oxydoreduction reactions and the corrosion rate induced by radicals species generated by water radiolysis. 2In addition, to check if, in the atomic % concentration range, hydrogen diffuse from the air/Fe interface through the foil an irradiation experiment was performed in argon. It proved that no hydrogen permeation occurs at a concentration level of the atomic percent.

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This paper presents a study of the effects of proton irradiation on iron corrosion. Since it is known that in humid atmospheres, iron corrosion is enhanced by the double influence of air and humidity, we studied the iron corrosion under irradiation with a 45% relative humidity.