The Current Status of Radioactive Waste Management and Planning for Near Surface Disposal in Indonesia

Near surface disposal has been practiced for some decades, with a wide variation in sites, types and amounts of wastes, and facility designs employed. Experience has shown that the effective and safe isolation of waste depends on the performance of the overall disposal system, which is formed by three major components or barriers: the site, the disposal facility and the waste form. Near surface disposal also rely on active institutional controls, such as monitoring and maintenance. The objective of radioactive waste disposal is to isolate waste so that it does not result in undue radiation exposure to humans and the environment. The required degree of isolation can be obtained by implementing various disposal methods, of which near surface disposal represents an option commonly used and demonstrated in several countries. In near surface disposal, the disposal facility is located on or below the ground surface, where the protective covering is generally a few meters thick. The se facilities are intended to contain low and intermediate level waste without appreciable quantities of long-lived radionuclides