Radioactive waste is waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is usually a by-product of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine. Radioactive waste is hazardous to all forms of life and the environment, and is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.
Radioactivity naturally decays over time, so radioactive waste has to be isolated and confined in appropriate disposal facilities for a sufficient period until it no longer poses a threat. The time radioactive waste must be stored for depends on the type of waste and radioactive isotopes. Current approaches to managing radioactive waste have been segregation and storage for short-lived waste, near-surface disposal for low and some intermediate level waste, and deep burial or partitioning / transmutation for the high-level waste.
A summary of the amounts of radioactive waste and management approaches for most developed countries are presented and reviewed periodically as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.[1]
2. Identify of Nuclear Waste :
*Nuclear waste is one of the biggest downsides to nuclear
power, and can remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of
years.
*Plutonium, cesium, strontium, elements created in a nuclear
reactor emit dangerous radiation that can literally knock
electrons off the atoms of our cells ,disrupting or destroying cell
function or even causing cells to mutate into cancer cells.
* Radioactive elements emit radiation because they are unstable
3. How much energy is produced ?
*Nuclear power is an extremely rich energy source*
*One gram of Uranium-235 delivers as much energy
as 3.5 metric tons of coal!!!
* No air pollution!
*Reactors run for years without refueling or
being shut down and need little maintenance
6. Classification of waste on basis of
Radioactivity:
1. Low level (90%)
2. Intermediate level (7%)
3. High level(3%)
Transuranic Waste :
Includes clothing, tools, and other materials
contaminated with plutonium, neptunium,
and other elements
7. Disposal of Waste :
1)Geological disposal
2)Deep borehole disposal
3)Disposal in outer space
4)Above ground disposal
5)Ocean disposal
8. Nuclear Waste Management
(1For low level waste :
2) For Intermediate Level Waste :
The nuclear waste of this category is cast in steel
drum. Usually it is buried in shallow landfill sites.
*The operation of a 1000 MW(e) nuclear power reactor
produces about 20 m3 of intermediate level waste each
year.
9.
10. 3) For High Level Waste :
placing the waste in high integrity steel
containers, then in excavated tunnels
with the clay, which is self-sealing. This
clay is self-sealing and has low
permeability so that almost no
groundwater can get into the nuclear
waste.
