JNTUH 

College of Engineering Hyderabad (Autonomous)

Department of Chemical Engineering
IV/IV Year B.Tech. II Semester
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

A SEMINAR UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

    DR. S. DEVAKI RANI                                                 MS. P. SOWMYA
PROFESSOR AND HEAD OF                                    ASST. PROFESSOR(C)    
 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING   DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
          JNTUHCEH                                                                JNTUHCEH
Presented by
Name : N. Venkata Sai
Roll No.: 17011A0847
  Introduction
Contents   Radioactive waste generation
 Literature review
 Types of radioactive waste
 Radioactive waste management methods
 Processing of Radioactive waste
 Storage and disposal ways
 Treatment of Radioactive waste
 Conclusions
 Future scope of the work
 References
 Introduction

Radioactive wastes entail radioactive materials which are usually by-products of

nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear technology, used in
fields such as research and medicine.
These radioactive waste must be properly disposed because the irradiation from
radioactive waste will cause serious problems to humans and to the environment.
Radioactive waste management refers to the safe treatment, storage and disposal
of matter discharged from nuclear industry with the ultimate goal of protecting
people and environment.
 Radioactive wastes are generated from :
Various operations of nuclear fuel cycle

Radioactive Uranium mining and milling

Spent fuel processing
waste
Defence
generation Medicine 
Scientific research
Nuclear power generation
Industries
Literature Review

1 . Hansa Jeswani , Nikunj Khelurkar (2015). A review of radioactive

waste management, Conference paper, Indian Institute of Technology
Bombay.
Remarks: 
   1.1 Direct disposal to a geological repository takes 3,00,000 years.
   1.2 Aqueous reprocessing to remove uranium and plutonium takes
9000  years.
2. B.S. Kademani , Ganesh Surwase , Anil Sagar (2013). Research
trends in radioactive waste management: A global perspective, Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre, International Journal of Low Radiation
9(1):59-94
Remarks:
   2.1 Advanced electrometallurgical reprocessing which removes
uranium & plutonium together for recycling takes 300 years in a fast
reactor which is commercially not available.
 According to IAEA radioactive waste is classified into
six types. They are :
Exempt waste(EW)

Very short lived waste(VSLW)

Types of
Very low level waste(VLLW)
Radioactive
Low level waste(LLW)
waste
Intermediate level waste(ILW)

High level waste(HLW)

Description on types of radioactive waste
 
1.Exempt waste (EW) : This type of waste contains radioactive
materials at a level which is not considered harmful to people or the
surrounding environment. It includes materials such as concrete, plaster,
bricks, metals produced during operations on nuclear power sites.
2.Very short lived waste (VSLW) : This type of waste undergoes
radioactive decay and it is harmful for short period of time. Radioactive
waste from industrial and medical applications which has short half-
lives falls under this category.
3.Very low level waste (VLLW):This waste arises from the operation
and decommissioning of nuclear facilities with limited hazard, which
above or close to the levels for exempt waste. 
4. Low level waste(LLW): It is generated form hospitals, industries
as well as the nuclear fuel cycle which mainly comprises of
injection needles, syringes, reactor water treatment residues, rags,
paper, medical tubes, etc. It contains mostly short-lived radioactive
material in very small amount.
5.Intermediate level waste (ILW): It is defined waste containing
long lived radio nuclides in quantities that need more isolation from
the environment and generally require shielding. Reactor’s metal
cladding, resins, chemical, sludges falls under this category of
waste.
6. High level waste(HLW): It is generated from the uranium fuel and
transuranic elements present in the nuclear reactor core. This
materials are highly radioactive and have high temperature requiring
shielding as well as cooling. It contains large concentrations of both
short and long lived radio nuclides.
 Radioactive Waste Management involves:

Planning and Preparation

Radioactive Waste treatment

Waste
Packaging
Management
Methods Storage

Disposal
Description of management ways
 Planning  and Preparation : This technique aims to reduce the
amount of waste they produce. They also plan how to manage
before it arises.

 Waste treatment : It depend on the type of waste and intended

disposal route.  Ex: Decontaminating, Shredding, Compacting,
Drying etc.

 Packaging : Most radioactive waste requires packaging in

specially engineered containers for safe storage and disposal. This
also allows for easier handling and transport.

  
 Storage : Interim facilities will store certain waste types until a
suitable disposal route becomes unavailable. Storage may last from
a few months to many decades.

 Disposal : This involves placing wastes into engineered

facilities where they will remain permanently.
Processing of Radioactive waste

    Solid waste     Liquid waste  Gaseous waste

 Filtering
 Filtering
 Solid radioactive waste is  Routing through
sent to a drum , stored demineralizers  Compressed to occupy
and buried at offsite. less space
 Boiling off the water leading
 Also, materials remaining to evaporation which leaves  Allowed for decay
after evaporation will be solid particles
 Then, sampling test is
mixed with hardener to  Decay in Storage (DIS)  done after required time
form a solid composite
 After processing , sampling of elapsed, and if the
material such as ducrete
water is carried and if samples required standards are
and processed as solid meet the required fulfilled, they will be
radioactive waste. standards ,water is stored in released to environment. 
plant and safely released to
environment.
Storage and Disposal of radioactive waste

1.Deep geological repository:

 Located 200m beneath the ground level

 Storage for HLW
 It avoids the effect on human activities
 Long-term disposal
 Best storage model for radioactive waste
2.Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) :

 Contains thermally controlled water

 Water serves as a natural and effective barrier to radiation
 Spent fuel generated from nuclear fuel cycle is stored
in these pools
 Spent fuel must be kept under water due to heat generated
by decay of fission products.
 Heat generated by spent fuel abates and is transferred to
ground level where it is stored in specially designed casks 
Which provides radiation shielding.
3.Dry Cask Storage

 After HLW is cooled inside the spent fuel

pool the radioactive waste is transferred to
dry cask storage at the ground level
 Casks are fabricated with steel which are
either welded or bolted closed.
 Fuel rods inside are surrounded by inert gas
 Each cylinder is surrounded by additional
material to provide radiation shielding to
workers and people around it.
 Casks can be used for transportation
as well as storage purposes.
 1 . Radioactive waste Transmutation
Treatment of
Radioactive • Radioactive isotopes are converted into
non- radioactive isotopes.
waste
• Ex : Radioactivity of iodine-129 is eliminated
by bombarding it with neutrons as it absorbs the
neutron it gets converted into non-
radioactive Xenon isotope.
 2.Vitrification

Treatment of This is a method for storing radioactive waste for long


period of time.

Radioactive  HLW is mixed with sugar and calcined which

means passing the radioactive waste through a rotating

waste 
tube placed at a high temperature.
Water from the waste is evaporated and de-
nitrates the fission products to serve the stability of glass
produced.
 The product is then incorporated into molten glass in a
stainless steel container and cooled to give a solid matrix
and are stored.
 Best process for management of separated HLW
from reprocessing.
 Radioactive waste must be deligently identified,
classified, stored, transported and disposed off after
appropriate treatment.

Disposal of radioactive waste is a complex issue, not

only because of the nature of the waste, but also because
Conclusions of the stringent regulatory structure for dealing with
radioactive waste.

By following the rules and regulations of radioactive

waste management, public and the environment will be
safe guarded by irradiation from the deleterious
radioactive waste.
 India has achieved self-reliance in the management of all type of
radioactive waste. 

India has a unique distinction of having operation vitrification plant at

Tarapur and Trombay.

Future scope of An ongoing effort to upgrade technology to minimize radioactive

discharge is also under progress.

the work Bringing sustainability in to the fuel nuclear cycle.

Managing the present without compromising the future

Radioactive waste disposal policies has been changing substantially

over the last 20 years
 World Statistics. Nuclear Energy Institute. [Online]
References

http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Stati
stics/World-Statistics
.
 Nuclear Waste. Green action. [Online]
http://www.greenactionjapan.org/modules/english0/i
ndex.php?id=8
.
 CLASSIFICATION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE.
International Atomic Energy Agency. Vienna :
IAEA, 2009. GSG-1.
 Radioactive Waste Management, Second Edition.
James H. Saling and Anuden W. Fentiman
THANK YOU