Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:17:01.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Advances in conditioning of low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2017

Michael I. Ojovan*
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400Vienna, Austria
Rebecca A. Robbins
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400Vienna, Austria
Miklos Garamszeghy
Affiliation:
Nuclear Waste Management Organization, 22 St Clair Ave East, Toronto, ON, Canada
*
Get access

Abstract

Radioactive waste with widely varying characteristics is generated from the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, research facilities and medical facilities and the through the use of radioisotopes in industrial applications. The waste needs to be treated and conditioned appropriately to provide wasteforms acceptable for safe storage and disposal. Conditioning of radioactive waste is an important step to prepare waste for long-term storage or disposal and includes the following processes:

  • ▪ Immobilization which may or may not also provide volume reduction, including

    • a) Low temperature processes and

    • b) Thermal processes;

  • ▪ Containerization for

    • a) Transport,

    • b) Storage, and

    • c) Disposal;

  • ▪ Overpacking of primary containers

    • a) Prior to disposal and

    • b) In a disposal facility as part of disposal process.

Conditioning consists of operations that produce a waste package suitable for handling, transportation, storage and/or disposal and may be performed for a variety of reasons including standardization of practices and/or wasteforms, technical requirements for waste stability in relation to a repository design or safety case, technical requirements related to waste transportation, societal preferences, regulatory preferences, etc. This paper gives an overview of recent advances in conditioning of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

The paper is based on the new IAEA Handbook “Conditioning of Low- and Intermediate-Level Liquid, Solidified and Solid Waste” which is one of eight IAEA handbooks intended to provide guidance for evaluating and implementing various characterisation and radioactive waste processing and storage technologies before final disposal

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

IAEA TECDOC-1817, Selection of Technical Solutions for the Management of Radioactive Waste. IAEA, Vienna (2017).Google Scholar
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS, Waste Forms Technology and Performance: Final Report. Committee on Waste Forms Technology and Performance. National Research Council. ISBN: 0-309-18734-6, 340 p., Washington, D.C. (2011).Google Scholar
IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology Used in Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection — 2007 Edition, STI/PUB/1290, IAEA, Vienna (2007).Google Scholar
Ojovan, M.I. (editor), Handbook of advanced radioactive waste conditioning technologies. Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy No 12, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, UK (2011).Google Scholar
Samanta, S.K., Drace, Z., Ojovan, M.. An Overview of IAEA Activities to Support Predisposal Management of Radioactive Wastes in Member States. Proc. WM2012 Conference, February 26-March 1, 2012, Phoenix, Arizona, WM – 12334, 10 p. (2012).Google Scholar
Robbins, R.A., Ojovan, M.I.. Vitreous Materials for Nuclear Waste Immobilisation and IAEA Support Activities. MRS Advances, 1557, 6p. (2017).Google Scholar
Wickham, A., Steinmetz, H.-J., O’Sullivan, P., Ojovan, M.I.. Updating irradiated graphite disposal: Project ‘GRAPA’ and the international decommissioning network. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 171, 3440 (2017).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
The IAEA International Predisposal Network (IPN), https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/connect/IPNpublic/Pages/default.aspx (25.07.2017).Google Scholar