The management of low level radioactive waste, report of a Pacific Nuclear Council task force

All of the countries of the Members of the Pacific Nuclear Council (PNC), except Australia, have nuclear power programs, and all have applications of nuclear science and technology in medicine, industry and research. Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) is generated in all of these programs and the quantities in the Pacific Basin at present total about 1,900,000 m3 (excluding some contaminated soil). These countries have management plans and appropriate legislation and control systems in place to manage their LLW safety to protect the health of workers and the general public. Shallow land burial of LLW has been practised in several countries for many years, and has largely been successful, especially in dry arid climates. Recent and proposed future designs of repositories usually involve some form of engineered barriers, such as concrete vaults above or below ground, with covers to minimize intrusion of water, plants and animals. Considerable effort is now being placed on the selection of suitable disposal sites taking into account geology, hydrology, climate, nearby population, transport, economics and public acceptance. There are usually many sites which are suitable on technical grounds and adequate performance assessment methods are available to assist in assuring that the sites will be safe to an acceptable degree after the sites are closed. Public acceptance is realized to be a very important factor in proceeding with waste disposal plans in all countries, and efforts are being made to improve communication with the public on all nuclear issues. A number of recommendations, which arise from the experience obtained in many countries, are made for consideration by those developing management plans for LLW. (author)