Recent IAEA activities to support utilisation of cementitious materials in radioactive waste management

The International Atomic Energy Agency promotes a safe and effective management of radioactive waste and has suitable programmes in place to serve the needs of Member States in this area. In support of these programmes the Waste Technology Section fosters technology transfer, promotes information exchange and cooperative research, as well as builds capacity in Member States to manage radioactive wastes, resulting both from the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear applications. Technical assistance in pre disposal area covers all of these activities and is delivered through established Agency mechanisms including publication of technical documents. While the Agency does not conduct any in-house research activities, its Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) foster research in Member States. There are 2 CRPs concerning cementitious materials: a CRP on cements and an on-going CRP on irradiated graphite waste. The CRP on cements has resulted in the recent IAEA publication TECDOC-1701. An important activity concerned with characterisation of cementitious waste forms is the LABONET network of laboratory-based centres of expertise involved in the characterization of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes. The Waste Technology Section is preparing a series of comprehensive state of the art technical handbooks