Radioactive waste

1. RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND ITS
DISPOSAL

2. RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND ITS
DISPOSAL

3. What is Radioactive Waste?
Symbol of Radioactivity
Types of Radioactive Waste
Sources of Radioactive Waste
Natural Sources
Anthropogenic Sources
Quantifying Radioactive Waste.
Causes of concern
Disposal of Radioactive Waste.
Ill-effects of Exposure
Why is it still being used?
Management Agencies
Conclusion
References
CONTENTS

4. • Any waste that emits energy as rays, waves, or streams
of energetic particles.
• Useless radioactive materials that are left after some lab
or commercial process are completed.
• Final product of activities with radioactive materials is
Radio Active Waste.
• It is a waste material containing radioactive chemical
elements that does not have a practical purpose.
What is Radioactive Waste?

5. Symbol
Radura Symbol.
Indicates that radioactivity is present.

6. Types of Radioactive Waste

7. Low level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals
and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises
paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters etc. which contain small
amounts of mostly short lived radioactivity and only 3% of
Low Level waste require shielding during handling and
transport.

8. Intermediate level Waste (ILW) contains higher
amounts of radioactivity and some requires shielding
comprises of resins, chemical, sludges and metal fuel
cladding and contaminated materials from reactors.

9. • High Level Waste (HLW) –arises from the
use of uranium fuel in nuclear reactor and nuclear
weapon procession includes spent fuel. Liquid
Waste is highly radioactive and hot.
• Can be considered the ‘ ash’ from “burning”
uranium.
•Because of radioactivity, HLW must be handled
by remote control from behind protective shielding
to protect workers.

10. • Transuranic Waste- Without regard to source or form,
waste containing alpha-emitting isotopes with atomic
no.>92, having half lives> 5 years.
• Arises from weapons production, consists of clothing,
tools, rags, residues, debris and other such items
contaminated with small amounts of radioactive
elements mostly plutonium.
• Decays slowly and require long term isolation.
• Must be handled by remote control.

11. Broadly classifying two types of sources of Radioactive
Waste:
• Naturally Occurring Radioactive material (NORM)
• Surprising that nature has been large producer of
radioactive waste.
• Over years, surface of Earth and terrestrial crust -an
enormous reservoir of primordial radioactivity.
• Small amounts of Radioactive materials are contained in
mineral springs, sand mounds and volcanic eruptions.
• No place on Earth i.e. free from natural radioactive
background, it may vary from place to place all the way
from low to high.
Sources of Radioactive Waste

12. • Following IInd World War and discovery of the fission
process, human activity added to radioactivity.
• There are three principal sources of radioactive waste, of
which first is the most important in terms of quantities.
• Reactors and chemical Process plants.
• Research establishments carrying out a wide
variety of investigations
• A number of other users, such as hospitals, research
institutions, universities, Research labs and Industries
b) Anthropogenic Source

13. • i.e. In general anthropogenic sources
constitute Waste from
• Industries- can contain
alpha,beta,gamma emitters.
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle- usually emitting
waste from the extraction of uranium
often contains radium and its decay
products.
• Medical Waste- contains beta & gamma-
ray emitters.
• Mineral Process- waste can contain
natural radioactivity.
• Oil & Gas industry - contain radium and its daughters.
Coal- contains a small amount of radioactive nuclides such as Uranium
and thorium
• Nuclear Weapons Production- contains alpha emitting actinides such as
Pu-239 used in bombs and Weapon systems.

14. Quantifying Radio Active Waves-
• Level of radioactive waste is quoted in terms of
Volume ( in cubic meters) or in Tonnage
– In terms of Becquerel’s (Bq)
• 1 Becquerel= 1 disintegration/sec

15. • Radioactive waste, whether natural or artificial is
a potential harbinger of radioactive exposure to
humans through many channels. The routes are
direct exposure to materials that are radioactive,
inhalation- when people breathe radioactive
material into the lungs e.g. Radon.
• Ingestion – when some one swallows
radioactive material.
• Quantum of exposure (dose x duration of
exposure) decides the deleterious effects that
may result.
Causes of Concern

16. Disposal of Radioactive waste
• Radioactive pollution poses a
serious threat to the environment
and future generation, as these
wastes persist in the environment
for a long time.
• Solutions of this problem are still
debatable, both technically and
ethically. There are many
proposals for disposing nuclear
wastes. However, the favoured
solution for the disposal of this
waste is isolating radioactive
waste from man and biosphere for
a period of time so that any
possible subsequent release of
radionuclides from waste
repository will not result in undue
radiation exposure.

17. Deep Geological formations on land:
• It is a multiple barrier approach to disposing of waste.
• Geologic repository is built at a depth of between 300-
1200 m. Waste is placed in holes drilled in the rock of
excavated tunnels.
• Waste will be able to be retrieved for a period of 100
years.

18. a) Sub Seabed Disposal
• 70% of earth is covered by the oceans & much of ocean
bottom is not considered for economic purposes.
• Method is based on the fact that there are some places
on the ocean floor at depth of 5 miles, where the
sediment is very old and deep in which waste could be
placed safely.

19. • It would require direct emplacement of
radioactive waste or slurries into underground
cavities.
• It is believed that after water has evaporated
from the initial transport phase, heat from
remaining radioactive waste would cause
melting of surrounding rocks, with later
dissolution of the waste and solidification would
be completed in about 1000 years.
Rock Melt Disposal

20. Island disposal
• Involves placing radioactive waste in deep,
stable geologic formations on island.
• Waste is transported to islands.
• Here oceans act as natural barriers.
• Estimated cost is twice as much as land
repository.

21. d) Ice sheet disposal-
• Involves placing waste into continental ice
masses in isolated area- Arctic & Antarctic
Region.
• Involves placing of waste into the ice at shallow
depths where it would melt its way down into
ice sheet.

22. Space disposal-
It was designed to permanently remove waste from
earth. Theoretically, waste package would be carried
by space shuttle to an orbit near earth from which it
would be sent into deep solar orbit by a transfer
rocket with supplementary solar orbit rocket which
will carry its pay load into solar orbit.

23. • Tectonic plate slides beneath another and is eventually
reabsorbed into the mantle.
Subductive waste disposal method

24. If land is contaminated by radioactive
elements, all living organisms
including plants and animals are
subjected to radiation.
A number of radioactive elements get
concentrated in the food chain-
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION.
Radioactive contamination of oceans
has posed a serious threat to aquatic
life.
I11 Effects

25. • Marine Organisms which are
filter feeders ingest the
radioisotopes directly. Thus
primary trophic level of food
chain is bypassed
• USA analysis has indicated that
radiation from radioactive
substances in soil may cause-
a) Killing of plants, trees and shrubs
b) Can cause reduction or permanent loss of
several plant species

26. c. may alter key population interactions.
• Radiation from radioactive
substances pose threat to human
life causing skin cancer, deformity
in bones, leukemia, anaemia,
cataracts, mutations reduced or
abnormal reproduction.
• Hazards may be acute, chronic or
genetic damage

27. In general, these radiations affects all forms
of life, plants and inert materials.

28. • Inspite of so many harms why it is still being
used is the question which arises
• We are confronted with a dilemma
• On one side, 50-100 years hence, our
• fossil fuel sources may be reaching the rock
bottom of availability and the renewable sources
of energy may not meet the demands of society.
• Till alternate energy sources are developed, the
only source available to mankind is nuclear
power.
Why it is still being used?

29. • Disposal of Radio Active Waste is a complex issue not
only because of nature of waste. There are a variety of
stake holders affected and a number of regulatory entities
involved. Many of radioactive material is regulated by four
separate Federal Government agencies i.e
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Department of
Energy (DOE) and Department of Transportation).
• These agencies ensure the safety of public and protection
of environment by providing guidance on acquisition,
storage and transport.
Management

30. • Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling Rules)
1989 (enacted under Environmental protection Act- 1986)
• 1991- Public Liability Insurance Act & Rules and
Amendment -1992
• Many NGOs like Green Peace is also involved.

31. • Radioactive waste is not a single thing that can be
isolated and dealt with a magic bullet. It involves
numerous physical, political and cultural factors in a
dynamic, ongoing process.
• The stuff we are dealing with can not go away until it
decays. You can containerize it, solidify it, immobilize it
and move it, but you can not, make it go away
• James D Werner, Scientific American, May, 1996.
• The problems will not be solved by throwing unlimited
money at them. Some processes take their own time to
fructify….
Conclusion

32. • CurrentScience,Vol81, No.12. Dec.01.
• Brookings Douglas G Geochemical Aspects of Radioactive Waste
Disposal, P-140-156
• Amphlett C.B- Treatment & Disposal of Radioactive Wastes
(P-4-26, P 184-220)
• Sharma B.K. – Environmental Chemistry (Radioactive 1-88).
• www.physics.undel.edu
• www.ipcs.org
• www.blackhole.on.ca
• www.defencejournal.com
• www.epa.gov
• www.orcbs.msu.edu
• www.cs.virginia.edu
• www.ce.cmu.edu
• www.ccnr.org
• www.asu.edu
• www.dac.gov.in
• www.dbe.dc
• www.shef.ac.uk
• www.niagara.com
• www.cartoonstock.com
References