Impact of technology applications to the management of low-level radioactive wastes

Low-level radioactive wastes are generated from reactor sources (nuclear power reactors) as well as from nonreactor sources (academic, medical, governmental, and industrial). In recent years, about 50,000 m3 per year of such wastes have been generated in the United States and about 10,000 m3 per year in Canada. Direct disposal of these wastes in shallow ground has been a favored method in both countries in the past. In the United States, three operating commercial sites at Barnwell, South Carolina; Beatty, Nevada; and Richland, Washington, receive most of the commercial low-level waste generated. However, with recent advances in waste management, technologies are being applied to achieve optimum goals in terms of protection of human health and safety and the environment, as well as cost-effectiveness. These technologies must be applied from the generation sources through waste minimization and optimum segregation -- followed by waste processing, conditioning, storage, and disposal. A number of technologies that are available and can be applied as appropriate -- given the physical, chemical, and radiological characteristics of the waste -- include shredding, baling, compaction, supercompaction, decontamination, incineration, chemical treatment/conditioning, immobilization, and packaging. Interim and retrievable storage can be accomplished in a wide variety of storage structures, and several types of engineered disposal facility designs are now available. By applying an integrated approach to radioactive waste management, potential adverse impacts on human health and safety and the environment can be minimized. 15 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab