Belgian Low and Intermediate Level Waste Management

In March 2007 the UK Government and devolved administrations (for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, from here on referred to as ‘Government’) published their policy for the management of solid low level waste (‘the Policy’). The Policy sets out a number of core principles for the management of low level waste (LLW) and charges the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority with developing a UK-wide strategy in the case of LLW from nuclear sites. The UK Nuclear Industry LLW Strategy has been developed within the framework of the principles set out in the policy. A key factor in the development of this strategy has been the strategic partnership the NDA shares with the Low Level Waste Repository near Drigg (LLWR), who now have a role in developing strategy as well as delivering an optimised waste management service at the LLWR. The strategy aims to support continued hazard reduction and decommissioning by ensuring uninterrupted capability and capacity for the management and disposal of LLW in the UK. The continued availability of a disposal route for LLW is considered vital by both the nuclear industry and non-nuclear industry low level waste producers. Given that the UK will generate significantly more low level waste (∼ 3.1 million m3) than there is capacity at the LLWR (∼0.75 million m3), developing alternative effective ways to manage LLW is critical. The waste management hierarchy is central to the strategy, which includes strategic goals at all levels of the hierarchy to improve its application across the industry.

Low and intermediate level waste management in EDF PWRs

In support of the National Low-Level Waste (LLW) Management Research and Development Program being carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science Applications, Inc., conducted a survey of models and monitoring techniques associated with the transport of radionuclides and other chemical species from LLW burial sites. As a result of this survey, approximately 350 models were identified. For each model the purpose and a brief description are presented. To the extent possible, a point of contact and reference material are identified. The models are organized into six technical categories: atmospheric transport, dosimetry, food chain, groundwater transport, soil transport, and surface water transport. About 4% of the models identified covered other aspects of LLW management and are placed in a miscellaneous category. A preliminary assessment of all these models was performed to determine their ability to analyze the transport of other chemical species. The models that appeared to be applicable are identified. A brief survey of the state-of-the-art techniques employed to monitor LLW burial sites is also presented, along with a very brief discussion of up-to-date burial techniques.

ABSTRACTCarbon-14 (radiocarbon,14C) is a long-lived radionuclide (5730 yr) of interest regarding the safety for the management of intermediate level wastes (ILW). The present study gives an overview of the release of14C from irradiated Zircaloy cladding in alkaline media.14C is found either in the alloy part of Zircaloy cladding due to the neutron activation of14N impurities by14N(n,p)14C reaction, or in the oxide layer (ZrO2) formed at the metal surface by the neutron activation of17O from UO2or (U-Pu)O2fuel and water from the primary circuit in the reactor by17O(n,α)14C reaction. Various irradiated and unirradiated Zircaloys have been studied. The total14C inventory has been determined both experimentally and by calculations. The results seem to be in good agreement. Leaching experiments were conducted in alkaline media for several time durations.14C was mainly released as carboxylic acids. Further, corrosion measurements were performed by using both hydrogen measurements and electrochemical measurements. The corrosion rate (CR) ranges from a few nm/yr to 100 nm/yr depending on the surface conditions and the method used for measurement. From a safety assessment point of view, the instant release fraction (IRF) was determined on irradiated Zircaloy-2. The results showed that the14C inventory in the oxide was significantly below the 20% commonly used in safety case assessments.

The nuclear fuel cycle is described, including the distinction between the open cycle and the closed cycle. Mining to create yellow cake, and enrichment by gas centrifuge using uranium hexafluoride (HEX), are explained. Fuel fabrication of uranium oxide pellets completes the front-end of the fuel cycle. The benefits and disadvantages of MAGNOX as a fuel pin cladding are explained. The back-end of the fuel cycle covers spent fuel management, fuel pond storage with the visibility of Cherenkov radiation. A flow sheet covering the plutonium-uranium extraction (PUREX) reprocessing method with mixer settlers is explained. The methods for dealing with high-level waste (HLW), by vitrification, are described. It treats the management of intermediate-level waste (ILW) and low-level waste (LLW).

Influence of slurried silica fume on microstructure and tritiated water diffusivity of cement pastes

A method is being developed for assessing exposures of the air, water, and plants to low-level waste (LLW) as a part of an overall development effort of a LLW site evaluation methodology. The assessment methodology will predict LLW exposure levels in the environment by simulating dominant mechanisms of LLW migration and fate. The methodology consists of a series of physics-based models with proven histories of success; the models interact with each other to simulate LLW transport in the ecosystem. A scaled-down version of the methodology was developed first by combining the terrestrial ecological model, BIOTRAN; the overland transport model, ARM; the instream hydrodynamic model, DKWAV; and the instream sediment-contaminant transport model, TODAM (a one-dimensional version of SERATRA). The methodology was used to simulate the migration of /sup 239/Pu from a shallow-land disposal site (known as Area C) located near the head of South Mortandad Canyon on the LANL site in New Mexico. The scenario assumed that /sup 239/Pu would be deposited on the land surface through the natural processes of plant growth, LLW uptake, dryfall, and litter decomposition. Runoff events would then transport /sup 239/Pu to and in the canyon. The model provided sets of simulated LLW levels in soil, water and terrestrial plants in the region surrounding the site under a specified land-use and a waste management option. Over a 100-yr simulation period, only an extremely small quantity (6 x 10/sup -9/ times the original concentration) of buried /sup 239/Pu was taken up by plants and deposited on the land surface. Only a small fraction (approximately 1%) of that contamination was further removed by soil erosion from the site and carried to the canyon, where it remained. Hence, the study reveals that the environment around Area C has integrity high enough to curtail LLW migration under recreational land use.

CMT is a diverse technical organization with principal emphases in environmental management and development of advanced energy sources. It conducts R&D in 3 general areas: development of advanced power sources for stationary and transportation applications and for consumer electronics, management of high-level and low-level nuclear wastes and hazardous wastes, and electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel. The Division also performs basic research in catalytic chemistry involving molecular energy resources, mechanisms of ion transport in lithium battery electrolytes, materials chemistry of electrified interfaces and molecular sieves, and the theory of materials properties. It also operates the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, which conducts research in analytical chemistry and provides analytical services for programs at ANL and other organizations. Technical highlights of the Division`s activities during 1996 are presented.

The primary purpose of this project is to develop an understanding of chemical processes that significantly influence the migration of radionuclides at commercial low-level waste burial sites. Chemical measurements of waste trench leachate and identification of chemical changes in leachate during migration will provide a basis for geochemical waste transport models. This project will produce for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) information to support guidance for implementation of 10 CFR 61, particularly in the development of criteria for low level waste disposal site selection, management, permanent closure and monitoring. This project will also produce information needed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as they finalize plans to stabilize, close and monitor the Maxey Flats site. Current research results are presented for the following tasks: (1) chemical forms inorganic and organic radionuclide species; (2) subsurface migration and infiltration studies; (3) specific radionuclide mapping at Maxey Flats and other commercial shallow land burial sites; (4) ecological monitoring at commercial shallow land burial sites; and (5) technical program coordination for low-level waste research. 17 references, 6 figures, 3 tables.

This paper is a report on work in progress in support of the US Department of Energy Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has been providing technical support in the areas of waste characterization; waste treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facility descriptions (developed jointly with EG&G, Idaho); analysis of potential accidents at TSD facilities; and waste transportation risk assessment. Support efforts encompass the following six waste types: high-level waste; transuranic waste; low-level waste; greater-than Class-C low-level waste; low-level mixed waste; and hazardous waste. Treatment, storage, and disposal facility descriptions cover the following parameters: resource requirements, cost, staffing, capacity, by-products, and effluents. The variations in these parameters effected by the proposed alternatives are estimated. Selection of proposed initiating events, characterization of source terms, and descriptions of scenarios are covered in the accident analysis portion of the ANL work. The transportation risk assessment portion includes both off-site and on-site transportation of both radioactive and hazardous wastes for all waste management alternatives under consideration in the EM PEIS.

This report was prepared for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, National Low-Level Waste Management Program. It presents planning life-cycle cost (PLCC) estimates for four sizes of in-state low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facilities. These PLCC estimates include preoperational and operational expenditures, all support facilities, materials, labor, closure costs, and long-term institutional care and monitoring costs. It is intended that this report bc used as a broad decision making tool for evaluating one of the several complex factors that must be examined when deciding between various LLRW management options -- relative costs. Because the underlying assumptions of these analyses will change as the Board decides how it will manage Massachusett`s waste and the specific characteristics any disposal facility will have, the results of this study are not absolute and should only be used to compare the relative costs of the options presented. The disposal technology selected for this analysis is aboveground earth-mounded vaults. These vaults are reinforced concrete structures where low-level waste is emplaced and later covered with a multi-layered earthen cap. The ``base case`` PLCC estimate was derived from a preliminary feasibility design developed for the Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility. This PLCC report describes facility operations and details the procedure used to develop the base case PLCC estimate for each facility component and size. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the base case PLCC estimate by varying several factors to determine their influences upon the unit disposal costs. The report presents the results of the sensitivity analyses for the five most significant cost factors.

This article gives an overview of Russian legislation and international recommendations on the safe management regulation of the accumulated very low level radioactive waste (RW), provides the comparison of Russian and international criteria for RW attribution to this or that class and also the existing radiation safety requirements. This article also deals with the difficulties in management of production waste containing radionuclides. Criteria and standards were selected from international (ICRP and IAEA publications) and Russian (Federal Law on Management of Radioactive Waste, Government Decree on Radioactive Waste Classification, The Basic Sanitary Rules of Radiation Safety) documents for comparative analysis. International and Russian criteria for the radioactive materials attribution to RW and production waste containing radionuclides were compared during the analysis. A number of radionuclides for which it is necessary to establish such criteria have been identified. It was found that Russian classification of radioactive materials is generally consistent with IAEA classification. Practices of managing production waste containing radionuclides (protection from contact with the environment, the placement in the long-term storage facilities or disposal) depend on the period of potential hazard of radionuclides. The management of production waste containing radionuclides requires a separate system which should be developed in accordance with the RW management system.

The plating industry is one of the main toxic chemicals consumers, which uses various chemicals, including solvents, acids, bases, cleansers, sophisticated organic ingredients, and metal salts of cadmium, nickel and chromium. Due to the growing production of industrial waste in spite of actions related to these wastes’ management, no comprehensive pattern was introduced at different levels. This research uses equipment and standards, including techniques such as Multi-Criteria Decision Supporting System and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, to rank and prioritize the participation contribution of the factors that are effective in optimizing the management of waste from the plating industry in a case study, implementing the model on Paitakht Industrial District of Tehran. In order to evaluate waste management situation in the metal plating industry, an integrated empirical model with principles and concepts of Balanced Scorecard Method was used, and factors were identified using the Delphi method. Variation range related to total score based parameters were calculated by the scalographic method, and the significance of the linear relationship between them was analyzed using linear regression in order to determine industrial waste management at three levels, including weak, moderate, and appropriate, presentingthe final pattern. The results showed that waste management in the plating industry, as a sample of special waste and residue, was at a low level. Considering to outputs from the represented pattern, to improve industrial waste management in first priority considered, item interpretation and proceeding to medium-term strategic planning were provided to eliminate the limitations and mentioned issues.

As the prime contractor to the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID), Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO) provides comprehensive waste management services to all contractors at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) through the Waste Management (WM) Program. This Program Management Plan (PMP) provides an overview of the Waste Management Program objectives, organization and management practices, and scope of work. This document will be reviewed at least annually and updated as needed to address revisions to the Waste Management`s objectives, organization and management practices, and scope of work. Waste Management Program is managed by LMITCO Waste Operations Directorate. The Waste Management Program manages transuranic, low-level, mixed low-level, hazardous, special-case, and industrial wastes generated at or transported to the INEEL.

Healthcare is a rapidly growing industry worldwide. This sector consists of small to multispecialty hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, research centers, etc. Since 2014, it reached a value of nearly $8,452 billion in 2018 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%. It is expected to grow up to $11,909 billion by 2022. Moreover, the healthcare industry in India is growing at a rate of 17% annually and is expected to reach revenues of $300 billion by 2022. The healthcare sector generates a significant amount of infectious and/or toxic waste which is classified as hazardous waste. Typical hospital waste could be categorized into municipal waste, human blood and blood products, microbiological and pathological waste, contaminated/uncontaminated sharp waste, and pharmaceutical waste. It also contains a high concentration of heavy metals, low-level radioactive wastes, chemical waste, etc. In some cases, direct or indirect exposure to hospital workers is being observed of such waste. Thus, it is imperative to handle biomedical waste safely in order to avoid health and environmental risks for all healthcare units and at all stages of management, including segregation, collection, packaging, storage, transport, treatment, and disposal. This chapter reviews the current and previous applications of IoT and technology for addressing issues regarding hospital waste management sustainably in the long term. In order to manage hospital waste effectively, there is the need for automation in the biomedical waste management process as per the new biomedical waste management rule, 2016. Therefore, the Internet of Things (IoT) plays a vital role in appropriately handling this waste, which is with the use of connected sensor devices and a planned IoT-based environment. It helps in identification based on images and gathering data on their own, and also removes possible human errors. IoT automation helps to reduce the risk of error, and increases efficiency, lowers costs, and improves quality as well.