Alpha decay rate enhancement in metals: An unlikely scenario

In a recent publication, Kettner et. al. [1] have suggested that one could speed up alpha decay of transuranic nuclear waste material by embedding it in metals at low temperature. This would have a huge impact on waste disposal management and quite likely initiate a completely renewed public debate on the subject of nuclear energy. The proposed idea is that the electron screening provided by the metal will lower the alpha-decay lifetime. Perturbations to nuclear alpha decay energies and barriers is a basic problem that was clarified and solved many years ago [2]. The influence of an electron plasma environment on decay rates has also been carefully studied many times before and, as the present paper will demonstrate, the recently proposed effect is unlikely from the viewpoint of standard screening models.