Waste Management in a National Institute

The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences within Switzerland. Its multidisciplinary research is dedicated to a wide field in natural sciences, medicine and technology as well as particle physics. In this context since more than 30 years, PSI is operating: - a large proton accelerator facility for medical and research purpose; - a hot laboratory; - the Federal Interim Storage for waste originating from Medicine Industry and Research (not from Nuclear Power Plants) and the facility for conditioning the waste (mainly with cement); - old nuclear research facilities in decommissioning, that are (or still have to be) dismantled. This inevitably generates radioactive waste we are taking care of. At PSI the Dismantling and Waste Management Section is responsible for this task. To achieve an optimal waste management strategy for interim storage or final disposal, radioactive waste has to be characterized, sorted and treated. This strategy is based on radiation protection demands, raw waste properties (size, material, etc.), and requirements to reduce the volume of waste; mainly for safety, legal and economic reasons. In addition, the radiological limitations for shipping of the waste packages to a future disposal site (planned in Switzerland to be in operation in approximately 40 years) have to be taken into account, as well as the ever-increasing regulatory and safety demands. All these activities are subject to changes kept up with the time. The main resulting challenges are listed