Disposable Waste Management Programme

Managing pre-disposal of radioactive waste

Rationale - Pre-disposal management of radioactive waste includes wide range of steps and processes to prepare waste for the final disposal. It includes characterization and sorting of the wastes generated, several treatment steps and options to reduce waste volume and stabilize its form, conditioning and packaging steps to produce waste form acceptable for transportation, storage and disposal and eventually storage. Since the beginning of the use of nuclear energy for civil purposes, activities in pre-disposal are being undertaken, with continuous improvements in a large number of countries, such as volume reduction, improvement in stability of matrices or waste characterization techniques. Some countries and facilities have specific needs that have to be taken into consideration, or do not have adequate technological capacities to maintain and improve their existing facilities and operating methods on the subject. There is a need for an effective transfer of technology from most developed countries to less developed ones. The project will give priority to new technologies and to re-structuring and updating of the Agency technical documents with an aim to align technical information with safety requirements for pre-disposal, to decrease number of the existing documents to one or two for each pre-disposal management step, which will then in return provide an affective tool for technology transfer to Member States. It is to be expected that such consistent approach in ensuring that information on technology and safety is totally aligned, current and usable, will promote significant minimization of waste, as generated or in its final forms.

Objective

To provide for application of safety standards and good practices in Member States in planning and implementing safe, sustainable and cost-effective approaches and technologies for the pre-disposal of the various radioactive waste types, including spent nuclear fuel.

Major Tasks for 2010-2011

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Managing disposal of radioactive waste and spent fuel

Rationale - For low level radioactive waste (LLW), near surface disposal is an option being practiced in many countries for several decades. There is a growing need in various Member States for additional information in all aspects of this disposal option. To address these needs, guidance is provided in a number of aspects of their development, operation, and closure. For intermediate (ILW) and high level waste (HLW), geological disposal at different depths, using a system of engineered and natural barriers, is the preferred disposal option. The significant progress that has been made in the scientific and technical aspects of geological disposal over the last decades provides increasing assurance to the waste management community that sound technical solutions underpinned by good scientific investigation are available. However, geological disposal for these types of radioactive wastes has not yet been realized in any country, being a subject of debate and suffering delays. Consequently, a broad spectrum of non-technical issues, such as societal and institutional ones, or public policy and acceptance are developed and made available to interested countries as well. To further build up confidence, the Agency is also contributing supporting international projects and developing networks to enlarge knowledge transfer and to help demonstrating the technology and its implementation. Deep geological disposal could also be used for disused sources. However, it is expensive to develop and only viable for countries with extensive nuclear power programmes. Therefore increasing attention has been given to the disposal of disused sources in borehole facilities with a view to providing a safe and cost effective disposal option for limited amounts of radioactive waste and particularly disused sources.

Objective

To provide for application of safety standards and good practices in Member States in planning and implementing safe, sustainable and cost-effective approaches and technologies for the disposal of the various radioactive waste types, including spent nuclear fuel.

Major Tasks for 2010-2011

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Managing and controlling disused sources

Rationale - Many countries now have radioactive sources that need to be managed and disposed of carefully and in a safe and secure manner. These sources contain different radionuclides in highly variable quantities. Many sources are small in physical size, however they can contain very high activities, with typical levels in the MBq (106 Bq) to PBq (1015 Bq) range. Therefore, if they are not managed properly, radioactive sources can represent a significant hazard to human health and the environment. Storage in a secure facility can be considered as an adequate interim management option for sources containing quantities of short-lived radionuclides, which decay to harmless levels within a few years. However, for most other sources a suitable disposal option is required. Many countries have existing or proposed nearsurface radioactive waste disposal facilities for low and intermediate level waste. However, the specific activity of many sources exceeds the waste acceptance criteria for such facilities since the source constitutes a high, localised concentration in the facility. Borehole facilities are thus considered.

Objective

To provide for application of safety standards and good practices in Member States in managing disused sealed radioactive sources safely and securely.

Major Tasks for 2010-2011

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Supporting waste and spent fuel management in Member States embarking on nuclear power

Rationale - Several Member States have expressed their wishes to develop a Nuclear Power Programme. In order to ensure full adherence to the global nuclear safety regime (International Safety Conventions, the IAEA Safety Standards, and national safety infrastructure) these particular situations require the Agency to identify adequate ways for the transfer of knowledge on radioactive waste management and decommissioning issues taking into account the need for establishing an efficient and sustainable infrastructure within a given time scale.

Objectives

To ensure that Member States starting a nuclear power programme have put into place a sustainable safety infrastructure for radioactive waste management, commensurate with the installations they plan to operate and in full compliance with the Agency’s safety standards.

Major Tasks for 2010-2011

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