Managing radioactive wastes of nuclear power plants in operation and site decommissioning phases

A large nuclear reactor annually produces about 25-50 tons consumed Uranium. These consumed materials consist of Uranium and also Plutonium and Curium. In total, about three percent of these materials are remained from fission. Existing actinides (Uranium, Plutonium, and Curium) cause long-term and short-term radiation that could have harmful effects on the environment. In order to reduce the diverse effects of radioactive wastes in Nuclear Power Plants, different procedures are employed such as compaction, chemical treatment, vitrification, canning and sealing with concrete and safe storage. In this paper, the harmful effects of nuclear wastes on the environment are introduced and a management procedure is presented to minimize its diverse effects