Materials considerations in radioactive waste storage

Radioactive wastes generated in the commercial nuclear power program are to be converted to a stable package form and sent either to a Federally operated repository or to commercially operated shallow land burial sites. The status of alternate technologies to perform these operations has recently been reviewed and published. U.S. and Canadian materials research and development activities related to the commercial package wastes cover a wide range of waste forms and related waste treatment technologies for the various types of radioactive wastes. At this time, specific projects are under way and scheduled for completion to provide the plant-scale technology required for the engineered facilities for waste management