Status and issues on disposal and storage of radioactive waste from non-power applications

In most countries the legal and institutional framework for ensuring the safe management of radioactive materials was developed for materials used in the nuclear industry. Usually, the levels of activity in these materials are such that their use will always need to be controlled by the regulatory authorities. The quantities of material that need to be controlled are normally not large except for the increasingly important issue of decommissioning of large nuclear installations. The above frameworks are now being applied increasingly to other radioactive materials, including naturally occurring materials, where quite different considerations apply. For naturally occurring materials in particular the levels of activity are often smaller than the natural variability of those levels, and the quantities of materials involved can be extremely large. The possibility of being able to reuse or recycle materials released by decommissioning of redundant facilities, and the maintenance of adequate control of disused sealed sources, also relies on the existence of frameworks to ensure public safety. These aspects must be taken into account if optimal use is to be made of scarce regulatory and other resources. This paper is concerned with how the above issues are addressed in the European Union (EU). It begins by discussing the main legal requirements that apply to activities involving the use of radioactive materials, with emphasis on how these requirements are applied to non-nuclear materials. The paper then considers general arrangements for storage of these materials in EU Member States. Finally, some specific considerations relating to the management of NORM waste in the Netherlands are discussed. (author)