According to a current concept, copper canisters of thickness 0.05 m will be safe for nuclear waste containment for 100,000 years. We show that more than 1 m copper thickness might be required for 100,000 years durability based on water exposures of copper for 20 h, 7 weeks, 15 years, and 333 years. An observed evolution of hydrogen which involves heterogeneous catalysis of molecular hydrogen, first principles simulations, thermodynamic considerations and corrosion product characterization provide further evidence that water corrodes copper resulting in the formation of a copper hydroxide. These findings cast additional doubt on copper for nuclear waste containment and other important applications.