  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. In 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.
