Radioactive Waste
Radioactive waste is radioactive material for which no further use is foreseen but still contains, or is contaminated with, radionuclides. Radioactive waste can be in gas, liquid or solid form (IAEA, 2018). It may remain radioactive from a few hours to hundreds of thousands of years.
N.B. For regulatory purposes radioactive waste is defined as material with activity concentrations greater than the clearance levels set by the regulatory authority (IAEA 2018).
Primary reference(s)
IAEA, 2018. IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology used in Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection, 2018 edition. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Accessed 15 November 2019.
Additional scientific description
It is common regulatory practice to define terms such as radioactive material and radioactive waste to include only material or waste that is subject to regulation by virtue of the radiological hazard that it poses. Although the exact specifications vary from State to State, this typically excludes material and waste with very low concentrations of radionuclides and those that contain only ‘natural’ concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (IAEA, 2018).
Metrics and numeric limits
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Glossary of 2018 for radioactive waste classification uses waste classes recommended in IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSG-1 (IAEA, 2009): High Level Waste (HLW), Intermediate Level Waste (ILW), Long Lived Waste, Low Level Waste (LLW), Short Lived Waste, Very Low Level Waste (VLLW) and Very Short Lived Waste (VSLW). For a detailed description of each, see IAEA (2009).
Other systems classify waste on other bases, such as according to its origin (e.g., reactor operations waste, reprocessing waste, decommissioning waste and defence waste) (IAEA, 2009).
Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty
The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (1972), also referred to as the ‘London Convention’ prevents dumping of waste (including radioactive waste) at sea. At the time of writing, there were 87 parties to the London Convention (IMO, 2019).
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (United Nations, 1997) entered into force in 2001 and addressed the issue of spent fuel and radioactive waste on a global scale. At the time of writing, there were 71 parties to the convention.
Examples of drivers, outcomes and risk management
Radioactive waste containing radioactive material remains hazardous to human, animal and plant health and the environment. External hazards (e.g., causing body damage from overexposure to gamma rays) and/or internal hazards (e.g., causing body damage from alpha and beta particles by contaminated food or air) can be present whenever radioactive materials are found.
Sources of radioactive waste include medical waste, industrial waste, and tailings from naturally occurring radioactive materials in metallic ores, coal, oil, and gas (Rosenfeld and Feng, 2011), as well as decommissioning of nuclear installations and other nuclear facilities, research reactors, research facilities, and from the production and use of radioisotopes (IAEA, 2009). Nuclear wastes are by-products of nuclear weapons production and nuclear power generation, plus residuals of radioactive materials used by industry, medicine, agriculture, and academia (Gee et al., 2005).
In general, exposure to large amounts of radioactivity (from radioactive waste or not) can cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, diarrhoea, haemorrhage, destruction of the intestinal lining, central nervous system damage, and death. It may also cause DNA damage and increase the risk of cancer, particularly in young children and foetuses. Beyond certain thresholds, radioactivity can impair the functioning of tissues and/or organs and can produce acute effects such as skin redness, hair loss, radiation burns, and/or acute radiation syndrome. These effects are more severe at higher doses and higher dose rates. For instance, the dose threshold for acute radiation syndrome is about 1 Sv (1000 mSv) (IAEA, 1997).
Currently, no method is known to neutralise radioactive waste (Rosenfeld and Feng, 2011) but long-term isolation in a geoenvironment is recommended. Most nuclear waste is radioactive for a few tens of years and is routinely disposed of in near-surface disposal facilities. About 3% of the total volume of radioactive waste is long-lived and highly radioactive requiring isolation from the environment for multiple millennia (World Nuclear Association, 2017).
References
Gee, G.W., P.D. Meyer and A.L. Ward, 2005. Nuclear waste disposal. In: Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment. pp. 56-63.
IAEA, 1997. Nuclear safety conventions: Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Accessed 20 December 2019.
IAEA, 2009. Classification of Radioactive Waste. General safety guide No. GSG-1. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Accessed 15 December 2019.
IAEA, 2018. IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology used in Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection, 2018 edition. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Accessed 15 November 2019.
IMO, 2019. Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. International Maritime Organization (IMO). Accessed 21 November 2019.
Rosenfeld, P.E. and L. Feng, 2011. Risks of Hazardous Wastes. Elsevier.
United Nations, 1997. Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management And on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Accessed 21 November 2019.
World Nuclear Association, 2017. Radioactive Waste - Myths and Realities.. Accessed 15 November 2019.