Comparative study on the use of self-shielded packages or returnable shielding for the land disposal of radioactive wastes

A comparative study has been carried out on the two philosophies for providing the radiological protection necessary for the transport and handling of packaged intermediate level wastes from their sites of origin to disposal. The two philosophies are self shielding and returnable shielding. The approach taken was to assess the cost and radiological impact differentials of two respective representative waste management procedures. The comparison indicated the merits of each procedure. As a consequence, a hybrid procedure was identified which combines the advantages of each philosophy. This hybrid procedure was used for further comparison. The results of the study indicate that the use of self shielded packages throughout will incur considerable extra expense and give only a small saving in radiological impact. (author)