Types
- High-Level Waste (HLW): Used nuclear fuel rods from reactors. Highly radioactive and generate heat for thousands of years. Requires secure storage and disposal solutions.
- Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW): Components from reactor operations, like filters and tools. Less radioactive than HLW but still requires careful management.
- Low-Level Waste (LLW): Clothing, tools, and materials with low-level contamination. Can be disposed of in specially designed landfills with proper monitoring.
Source
- Nuclear Power Plants: Generate significant quantities of radioactive waste, primarily spent fuel rods.
- Medical Facilities: Produce radioactive waste from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, and imaging.
- Research Institutions: Utilise radioactive materials for various scientific purposes, leading to the generation of radioactive waste.
- Industrial Applications: Some industries use radioactive substances in manufacturing processes, resulting in radioactive waste production.
Management
- Storage: Radioactive waste is often stored temporarily in specially designed facilities, such as dry cask storage for spent fuel or on-site storage at nuclear power plants.
- Treatment: Some radioactive waste may undergo treatment processes to reduce its volume or radioactivity level before disposal.
- Disposal: Final disposal of radioactive waste involves placing it in deep geological repositories or other secure facilities designed to isolate the waste from the environment for thousands of years.
Challenges
- Safe Disposal: Finding permanent repositories for HLW is a major challenge. Geological repositories deep underground are being explored but face public opposition and technical hurdles.
- Long-Term Storage: HLW needs secure storage for millennia to ensure public safety. Reliable storage solutions over such vast timescales are complex.
- Environmental Impact: Improper waste management can contaminate air, water, and soil, posing health risks. Leakage from storage facilities is a major concern.
- Public Perception: Fear of radiation exposure creates public resistance to nuclear power and waste disposal sites. Effective communication and transparency are crucial.
- Regulation and Policy: Robust regulations and international cooperation are essential for ensuring safe waste management practices.
Indian Approach
- Reprocessing: Reprocessing spent fuel to recover usable plutonium for new fuel reduces waste volume but creates additional radioactive materials.
- Vitrification: Solidifying liquid radioactive waste into glass for safer storage and disposal.
- Deep Geological Disposal: Identifying suitable geological formations for permanent HLW repositories is ongoing.