National policy on radioactive waste management

Every country should have some form of policy and strategy for managing its spent fuel and radioactive waste. Such policies and strategies are important; they set out the nationally agreed position and plans for managing spent fuel and radioactive waste and are visible evidence of the concern and intent of the government and the relevant national organisations to ensure that spent fuel and radioactive waste are properly taken care of in the country. There is a large diversity in the types and amounts of radioactive waste in the countries of the world and, as a result of this diversity, the strategies for implementing the policies may be different, although the main elements of policy are likely to be similar from country to country. In some countries, the national policy and strategy is well established and documented, while in others there is no explicit policy and strategy statement and, instead, it has to be inferred from the contents of the laws, regulations and guidelines. The present paper describes the work undertaken by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) related to identifying the main elements of national policies for spent fuel and radioactive waste management, recognising that policies and strategies vary considerably depending on, among other things, the nature and scale of applications of radioactive material in a country. An indication is provided of what might be contained in national policies recognizing that national policy and strategy has to be decided at the national level taking into account national priorities and circumstances. The paper is concerned with the contents of policies and strategies and does not address the development of national laws, regulations and guidelines - although these are clearly related to the contents of the national policy and strategy. (author)