Management of Radioactive Waste

The classification of radioactive waste varies from state to state. This results in different management procedures for each country, while following IAEA and OECD/NEA recommendations.

Radioactive waste comes from numerous sources. The largest volumes are generated by the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities. Long-lived, medium- and high-activity waste - categorized as the most hazardous types of waste - are in fact largely produced by nuclear power reactors, spent fuel reprocessing plants and nuclear accidents.

Final disposal of very low-activity, low-activity and very short-lived waste is well controlled. However, final solutions for certain categories, including long-lived waste, sorted waste and spent graphite waste, are not yet in place.

Management of Radioactive Waste reviews all the possible solutions and presents those chosen by the various states, including a chapter detailing policy on radioactive waste management, taking France as an example.

Auteur

Jean-Claude Amiard is a Doctor of Radioecology, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS (University of Nantes, France) and former Associate Professor in Quebec and China. He is the author of more than 250 publications, 80 books or book chapters and 150 presentations at international conferences.

Contenu

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1. Classifications and Origins of Radioactive Waste 1

1.1. Introduction 1

1.2. What is radioactive waste? 2

1.3. Classifications of nuclear waste 3

1.3.1. General information on the classification of radioactive waste 3

1.3.2. The IAEA's recommendations 4

1.3.3. The French classification of radioactive waste 5

1.3.4. American classification 8

1.3.5. British classification 8

1.3.6. Russian classification 9

1.3.7. Comparisons of the various classifications 9

1.3.8. Classification of sealed sources 11

1.4. Origins of nuclear waste 11

1.4.1. The main radionuclides in radioactive waste 12

1.4.2. Wastes related to the nuclear fuel cycle 12

1.4.3. Nuclear waste from electricity production 14

1.4.4. Nuclear waste related to military activities 14

1.4.5. Wastes related to medical and industrial uses 15

1.4.6. Nuclear waste related to the dismantling of nuclear installations 16

1.4.7. Waste from nuclear accidents 17

1.5. The global radioactive waste balance 17

1.6. Conclusions 21

Chapter 2. Nuclear Waste Disposal Methods 23

2.1. Introduction. How do we get rid of nuclear waste? What solutions are there for nuclear waste in the future? 23

2.2. Nuclear waste management 24

2.2.1. Dilutions 24

2.2.2. Decontamination 26

2.2.3. Reduction of the volume of radioactive waste 27

2.2.4. Radioactive waste immobilizations 29

2.2.5. The separation of radionuclides 33

2.2.6. Packaging of radioactive waste packages 34

2.2.7. Physical decay 35

2.2.8. Final storage 37

2.2.9. Transport of nuclear materials and radioactive waste 38

2.3. The special case of long-lived radioactive waste management 39

2.3.1. Treatment and packaging 39

2.3.2. Temporary storage facilities 42

2.3.3. Long-term storage 46

2.3.4. Storage in the seabed 48

2.3.5. Geological storage in a deep continental repository 53

2.3.6. Sending into space 59

2.3.7. Immobilization in polar ice 60

2.3.8. Transmutation 61

2.4. Conclusions 65

Chapter 3. Management of Historic Radioactive Waste and Low-level Waste Around the World 67

3.1. Introduction 67

3.2. Management of historical radioactive waste 68

3.2.1. Uranium extraction and concentration waste 68

3.2.2. Direct discharges of liquid wastes into waterways and reservoirs 70

3.2.3. Historical military waste 72

3.2.4. The ancient uses of radium 73

3.2.5. Submergence in the ocean floor 73

3.3. International recommendations of the IAEA and NEA 78

3.3.1. General recommendations 79

3.3.2. Recommendations concerning graphite waste 83

3.3.3. Radioactive waste management solutions 83

3.3.4. Waiting and processing time for nuclear fuel 85

3.3.5. The need for teaching 85

3.4. Some examples of radioactive waste management 86

3.4.1. International inventories of radioactive waste 86

3.4.2. Surface storage 86

3.4.3. Geological disposal of radioactive waste 89

3.5. Radioactive waste outside the nuclear fuel cycle 93

3.5.1. Hospital and healthcare waste 93

3.5.2. Industrial and research waste 94

3.6. Conclusions 94

Chapter 4. Management of Intermediate- and High-level Nuclear Waste 97

4.1. Introduction 97

4.2. International recommendations of the IAEA and NEA 99

4.2.1. Spent fuel management 99

4.2.2. Management of radioactive waste resulting from a nuclear accident 100

4.2.3. Final repositories in deep geological layers 101

4.2.4. Site selection criteria 103

4.2.5. Temporal evolution of a deep geological repository 104 4.2.6. ...