Solid Waste Management

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Solid Waste Management: Radioactive or Nuclear waste

Radioactive decay
A radioactive atom has
an unstable nucleus.
The nucleus moves to
a more stable
condition by emitting
an alpha or beta
particle; this emission
is frequently
accompanied by
emission of additional
energy in the form of
gamma radiation.
Collectively these
emissions are known
as radioactive decay.
It is spontaneous
process arising from
nuclear instability! 3
Nuclear Waste Management

Sources of radioactive pollution Inhalation

Inhalation of radioactive gases that are produced
by radioactive minerals found in soil and bedrock.
Radon is an odourless and colourless radioactive
gas that is produced by the decay of uranium-238.

Ingestion
Trace amounts of radioactive minerals are
naturally found in the contents of food and
drinking water. For instance, vegetables are
typically cultivated in soil and ground water which
contains radioactive minerals. Once ingested,
these minerals result in internal exposure to
natural radiation.
Terrestrial radiation
The composition of the earth's crust is a
major source of natural radiation. The main
contributors are natural deposits of uranium,
potassium and thorium
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Artificial sources of radiation
Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for

electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion.
Heat from nuclear fission of Uranium is passed to a
working fluid (water or gas), which in turn runs through
steam turbines to produce electricity.

As part of their normal activities, NPPs release regulated

levels of radioactive material which can expose people
to low doses of radiation.

Similarly, uranium mines, fuel fabrication plants and

radioactive waste facilities release some radioactivity
that contributes to the dose of the public

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Artificial sources of radiation
Nuclear Weapon Testing
The atmospheric testing of atomic
weapons from the end of the
Second World War until as late as
1980 released radioactive material,
called fallout, into the air. As the
fallout settled to the ground, it was
incorporated into the environment.
Medical sources
Radiation has many uses in
medicine. The most well
known use is in X-ray
machines, which use radiation
to find broken bones and
diagnose disease.
Radioactive isotopes
These are used to diagnose and treat diseases such as
cancer and some industrial or research activities.
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 Effect of Radioactive pollution

Humans

Exposure to large amounts of radioactivity can cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, diarrhea,
hemorrhage, destruction of the intestinal lining, central nervous system damage, and death.

It also causes DNA damage and raises the risk of cancer, particularly in young children and fetuses

Plants

Similarly to humans and animals, plants and soil are also affected negatively from high amounts of
nuclear radiation.

Just like in humans, radioactive material can damage plant tissue as well as inhibit plant growth.
Mutations are also possible due to the damage caused to the DNA.

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 Solid Waste Management: Radioactive waste
Radioactive waste includes any material that is either intrinsically radioactive, or has been
contaminated by radioactivity, and that is deemed to have no further use.

Radionuclides with long half-lives tend to

be alpha and beta emitters – making
their handling easier – while those with
short half-lives tend to emit the more
penetrating gamma rays.

Eventually all radioactive waste decays

into non-radioactive elements. The more
radioactive an isotope is, the faster it
decays.

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Nuclear Fuel Cycle

The various activities associated with the production of electricity from nuclear reactions are referred
to collectively as the nuclear fuel cycle. The nuclear fuel cycle starts with the mining of uranium and
ends with the disposal of nuclear waste.

Whilst waste is produced during mining and milling and fuel fabrication, the majority (in terms of
radioactivity) comes from the actual 'burning' of uranium to produce electricity. Where the used fuel
is reprocessed, the amount of waste is reduced materially.
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 Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Mined uranium is more than 99% U-238 and approximately 0.7% U-235.

The concentration of U-235 is increased to about 3 % by converting to UF6; the lighter isotope is then
converted to UO2 and fabricated into fuel. Plutonium is produced by neutron irradiation of U-238.

Enrichment and fabrication both produce radioactive waste. 10

 Solid Waste Management: Radioactive waste
Classification of radioactive waste

Radioactive waste is typically classified

as
(a)low-level waste(LLW),

(b)intermediate-level waste (ILW),

produces more radiation than LLW but
does not generate as much heat as
HLW

(c) high-level waste (HLW)

Spent fuel composition

Uranium 238-95%
Uranium 235-1%
Plutonium-1%
Fission Products-3%
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 Nuclear Waste Management : Treatment and Disposal
The objective of radioactive waste management is to prevent human exposure to radioactive
materials and therefore to minimize the possibility that radioactive materials will enter drinking
water or the food chain or be inhaled.

To date, isolation of the waste has been the only possible option for achieving this objective.

1. Treatment
Treatment techniques may involve compaction to reduce volume, filtration or ion exchange to
remove radionuclide content, or precipitation to induce changes in composition

2. Conditioning
Conditioning is undertaken to change waste into a form that is suitable for safe handling,
transportation, storage, and disposal.

3. Storage
Storage involves maintaining the waste in a manner such that it is retrievable, whilst ensuring it is
isolated from the external environment.

4. Disposal
Disposal of waste takes place when there is no further foreseeable use for it
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 Nuclear Waste Management

Treatment and Conditioning

The principal aims are to:

1. Minimize the volume of waste requiring management via treatment processes.

2. Reduce the potential hazard of the waste by conditioning it into a stable solid form that
immobilizes it and provides containment.

Treatment processes
Incineration and Compaction
reduce the volume of waste, the amount of radioactivity remains the same.
As such, the radioactivity of the waste will become more concentrated as the volume is
reduce

Conditioning processes
Cementation and Vitrification
used to convert waste into a stable solid form that is insoluble and will prevent dispersion to the
surrounding environment
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 Nuclear Waste Management: Treatment

Incineration
In the case of radioactive waste, Incineration has been used for the treatment of LLW from nuclear
power plants, fuel production facilities, research centres (such as biomedical research), the medical
sector, and waste treatment facilities.

Following the separation of non-combustible constituents,

the waste is incinerated in a specially engineered kiln at
temperatures up to around 1000oC.

The gases and fumes produced during incineration are

treated and filtered prior to emission into the atmosphere,
and emissions must conform to international standards
and national regulations.

After incineration, the resulting ash, which contains the

radionuclides, require further conditioning, prior to
disposal.

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 Nuclear Waste Management: Treatment

Compaction
Compaction is a straightforward means of reducing waste volumes and is used for processing mainly
solid industrial LLW. Compactors can range from low-force compaction systems (~5 tonnes) through
to presses with a compaction force over 1000 tonnes, referred to as super compactors.
Volume reduction factors are typically between 3 and 10, depending on the waste material being
treated.

Incinerator ash may be super compacted before storage or

disposal.

Here a large hydraulic press crushes a drum or other receptacle

containing various forms of solid low- or intermediate-level waste
(LLW or ILW).

The resulting pellets are then sealed inside an overpack container

for interim storage and/or final disposal.

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 Nuclear Waste Management: Conditioning
Cementation

Cementation provides a means to immobilize radioactive

material that is in various forms of sludges and precipitates/gels
(flocks) or activated materials, as well as fragmented solids.

In general the solid wastes are placed into containers. The grout
is then added into the container and allowed to set.

Sludges and flocks are placed in a container and the grouting

mix, in powder form, is added. The two are mixed and left to
set.

In each case the container with the now monolithic block of

concreted waste is then suitable for storage and disposal.

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Nuclear Waste Management: Conditioning

Vitrification
Vitrification is a process where HLW is
immobilized by the formation of an insoluble,
solid waste form that will remain stable for
many thousands of years.

Borosilicate glass has been chosen as the

medium for dealing with separated HLW.

Most HLW, other than spent fuel itself, arises in a liquid form from the reprocessing of spent fuel.
This HLW comprises highly-radioactive fission products and some transuranic elements with long-
lived radioactivity.
To allow incorporation into the glass matrix the waste is initially calcined (dried) to a granular
powder. The product is then incorporated into molten glass, poured into a robust stainless steel
canister and allowed to cool, forming a solid matrix.

The containers are then welded closed and are ready for storage and final disposal. 17
Storage and Disposal of Radioactive Waste

Storage Disposal

Radioactive wastes are stored so as to Near-surface disposal

avoid any chance of radiation exposure to at ground level, or in caverns below ground level
people, or any pollution.
(at depths of tens of meters)
The radioactivity of the wastes decays
with time, providing a strong incentive to Suitable for LLW and short-lived ILW
store high-level waste for about 50 years
before disposal.
Deep geological disposal
Storage of used fuel is normally done
under water may be in ponds either at at depths between 250m and 1000m for mined
reactor sites or centrally for at least five repositories, or 2000m to 5000m for boreholes
years and then often in dry storage.
Suitable for Long-lived ILW and HLW
(including used fuel)

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Disposal of Radioactive Waste
Near-surface disposal Used for LLW and short-lived ILW with half-lives of up to 30 years.

Near-surface disposal facilities at ground level.

These facilities are on or below the surface where the protective covering is of the order of a few
metres thick. Waste containers are placed in constructed vaults and when full the vaults are
backfilled. Eventually they will be covered and capped with an impermeable membrane and
topsoil. These facilities may incorporate some form of drainage and possibly a gas venting system.

Near-surface disposal facilities in caverns

below ground level.

Unlike near-surface disposal at ground

level, where the excavations are
conducted from the surface, shallow
disposal requires underground excavation
of caverns. The facility is at a depth of
several tens of meters below the Earth's
surface and accessed through a drift.
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Disposal of Radioactive Waste
Deep geological disposal For HLW

The long timescales over which some waste

remains radioactive has led to the idea of deep
disposal in underground repositories in stable
geological formations.

Isolation is provided by a combination of

engineered and natural barriers (rock, salt, clay)
This is often termed a 'multi-barrier' concept, with
the waste packaging, the engineered repository,
and the geology all providing barriers to prevent
the radionuclides from reaching humans and the
environment.

https://www.world-nuclear.org 20