S Y N T H E S I S R E P O R T 2 0 1 8 - R A D I O A C T I V E M AT E R I A L S A N D W A S T E A N D T H E I R M A N A G E M E N T 15

VSLW VERY SHORT-LIVED WASTE
Some waste, mainly from the medical sector or research,
contains very-short-lived radionuclides (with a half-life of less
than 100 days), which are used for diagnostic or therapeutic
purposes. This waste is managed by allowing it to decay in situ
for several days to several months until its radioactivity is low
enough for it to be disposed of using conventional methods.
Medical waste may constitute liquid or gaseous effluents, or
contaminated solid or liquid waste generated by the use of
radionuclides in this field.
Broadly speaking, with this classification, one or more
management methods can be assigned to each waste category
(see Special Report 1).
It does not, however, take into consideration certain complex
factors that lead to a management solution being adopted that
differs from the one normally corresponding to the category to
which the waste belongs.
Other criteria, such as stability or the presence of toxic
chemicals, must also be borne in mind.
Furthermore, the definition of a management method must
also take into account the general principles and guidelines
set out in the Environmental Code, particularly the need to
reduce the volume and harmfulness of final radioactive waste.
Two important points regarding the classification of radioactive
waste should therefore be noted:
¡¡ there is no single classification criterion that determines the
category of a waste item. The radioactivity of the various
radionuclides in the waste must be examined to assign it
a position in the classification. However, for want of a single
criterion, the waste in each category generally falls into
a specific radioactivity range, as indicated above;
¡¡ waste may fall under a defined category yet, because of other
characteristics (such as its chemical composition), may not be
accepted in the corresponding disposal solution.

Moreover, waste management options can evolve in the light of

advances made in knowledge about waste, when it is recovered
or when facilities are dismantled, as a result of progress made in
studies on optimisation of treatment and conditioning methods,
and design studies for potential or future disposal facilities.

Decay tanks

}CLASSIFICATION
} OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND ASSOCIATED MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

Category Very short-lived waste Short-lived waste Long-lived waste

Very low-level
waste (VLLW) VLLW Surface disposal (Industrial facility for grouping, storage and disposal)

VSLW
Low-level waste Near-surface disposal
(LLW) LLW-LL under development
Management through
LILW-SL
radioactive decay
Intermediate-level Surface disposal
waste (ILW) (Aube and Manche disposal facilities)
ILW-LL
Deep geological repository
at the project phase
High-level waste
(HLW)
Not applicable HLW