Radioactive waste management in a country not using nuclear power. The case of Austria

At the Austrian Research Centers Seibersdorf (ARCS) facilities are installed for treatment of low and intermediate level radioactive waste (Radwaste). ARCS is acting for the country as a centralized facility for treatment, conditioning and storing of such waste which is of low- and intermediate level radioactivity. All Radwaste arising in Austria as a result from the former operation of a research reactor, the application of radioactive materials in medicine, R and D, industry, IAEA Laboratories at Seibersdorf, and technically enhanced natural radioactive materials as by-product at industrial metallurgical processes and other processes, is transferred to ARCS for treatment, conditioning and interim storage. There are basically four categories of Radwaste: solid burnable, solid non burnable, liquid burnable and liquid non burnable. In addition there are spent sealed sources and fissile material. Dependent on the waste category, the relevant treatment technology is applied. In total more then 6800 m3 of low and intermediate level radioactive solid wastes originating from Austria were treated in the period 1976 to 1999. The aim of treatment and conditioning is the safe enclosure of the Radwaste by the use of barriers to surround and isolate the waste and transform it to an insoluble form. At the same time it is important to reduce the volume of the row waste by applying appropriate treatment technologies, in order to safe space in the storage facilities and - connected to that - to safe costs. The following facilities are available at ARCS: water treatment facility; incinerator for solid- and liquid burnable Radwaste; high force compactor; cementation equipment; interim storage facility. Spent sealed sources may need shielding before conditioning and storage. A special category of sources are radium sources where a special conditioning method is applied. Conditioning method at ARCS is cementation where the 200 liter steel drum concept is in use, i.e. conditioned waste is placed in such drums. All drums with conditioned Radwaste are transferred in dry engineered storage halls for interim storage. At the moment there exists no final repository for Radwaste in Austria. A study is under way to identity the structure for a long term storage facility. (author)