Status of the IAEA waste management program

The IAEA's on-going Waste Management Program includes the areas of handling, treatment, conditioning, storage and disposal in land and at sea of various radioactive wastes, the assessment of environmental consequences of radionuclide releases as well as the decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The main activity of the IAEA in these fields is: to collect, review and disseminate information, to develop internationally agreed guidelines, to encourage and sponsor research and to provide technical advice and training for Member States upon request. Along with the growing interest of Member States in recent years in waste management, the Agency's activities in the area have gathered added momentum. In the last five years about 80 scientific and technical reports have been prepared, ten coordinated research programs were concluded and seven have been initiated. Seventeen developing countries receive technical assistance in the field of waste management