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Spent nuclear fuel, in Sweden, is planned to be put in 50-mm thick copper canisters and placed in 500-m depth in the bedrock. Depending on the conditions in the repository, an uptake of hydrogen in the copper may occur. It is therefore necessary to establish how a hydrogen uptake affects the microstructure in both the surface and the bulk. Phosphorus-doped, oxygen-free copper has been cathodically charged with hydrogen for up to 3 weeks. The amount of hydrogen as a function of the distance from the surface was measured by two methods: glow discharge optical emission spectrometry and melt extraction. The penetration of the increased hydrogen content was about 50 μm. Extensive bubble formation took place during the charging. A model has been formulated for the diffusion of hydrogen into the copper, the bubble formation and growth. The model can describe the total amount of hydrogen, the number of bubbles and their sizes as a function of the distance from the surface. Bubbles close to the surface caused the surface to bulge due to the high hydrogen pressure. From the shape of the deformed surface, the maximum hydrogen pressure could be estimated with the help of stress analysis. The maximum pressure was found to be about 400 MPa, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than previously recorded values for electroless deposited copper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]