Argonne National Laboratory's (ANL) chemically bonded phosphate ceramic technology (also known as "phosphate cement") was initially developed between 1992 and 2001 as a stabilization method for radioactive and hazardous waste. Originally developed for the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear waste management program, the technology uses chemical syntheses to form phosphate ceramics at room temperature instead of high-temperature sintering.

Fully automated batching system used to manufacture the storage units. Five raw materials are inputted: two are added to water in a wet mixer; the final three are blended in a dry mixer and added to the wet mixer. The wet mixer mixes until the contents reach a preset temperature. The slurry is cast into a storage unit on the track.

Currently available structural shielding materials are only effective against either gamma or neutron radiation, but not both. Gamma shielding can be provided by the addition of iron oxides to the phosphate cement. Because isotopic boron has a large neutron cross-section, it is an ideal material for neutron shielding. Since both boron and iron oxides can be added to the phosphate cement technology in combination, the resulting material could be used to construct shields and storage casks effective against both neutrons and gamma rays. However, because the basic phosphate cement technology was developed for nonstructural applications, use of the borated phosphate cement technology in structural products—particularly given the nuclear industry's sensitivity to security risks and risks to human health and the environment—required the development and qualification of completely different test protocols than the technology had previously been subjected to.

Between 2001 and 2006, the basic phosphate cement technology was refined and expanded upon to allow the addition of isotopic boron in combination with iron oxides and prove the utility of the new formulations. This effort was conducted by ANL in collaboration with the Federal Nuclear Research Center (VNIIEF) located in Sarov, Russian Federation, and Eagle Picher Technologies, LLC (EP).

ANL built a phosphate cement laboratory with extensive R&D facilities to produce the borated product at bench and pilot scales, to conduct quality control procedures and testing, and to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the technology. ANL's Principal Investigator, Arun S. Wagh, wrote a book entitled Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramics (published by Elsevier in 2004) that served as a guide to the technology for all participants.

VNIIEF was funded through the DOE's Initiative on Proliferation Prevention Program. Initially, the Russian work focused on modeling and testing various formulations of borated phosphate cement. This effort built confidence in both the technology and in specific compositions with boron isotopes as structural components. Due to the novelty of the material and the fact that no similar products were currently on the market, this initial work by VNIIEF was essential to the development of a high degree of confidence in the products among EP management. During the initial phases of product development, EP contributed in-kind support and conducted in-house testing.

Ultimately, it was the confidence in the technology gained during the effort that led to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) under which EP staff training and industrial-scale process development occurred. During the industrial-scale process development, ANL identified and developed the compositions that were most suitable for structural materials, as well as detailed mechanical properties data for EP's boron product lines. VNIIEF provided third-party evaluation and confirmation of ANL's mechanical properties data.

EP is producing borated phosphate cement storage units for a DOE contractor under the trade name BoroBondTM. Storage units for fissile materials are in use at the Y-12 plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The borated phosphate cement technology will also be useful in the construction of hot cells, cyclotrons and other accelerators, and nuclear power plants. Projects to stabilize high-activity nuclear wastes with borated phosphate cements are ongoing with CH2M Hill and also at the Mayak nuclear complex (among others in Russia). In 2006, the effort to develop and transfer the borated phosphate cement technology was recognized with the FLC Midwest Region Excellence in Technology Transfer Award.