The document discusses radioactive waste management, detailing various waste types generated from nuclear operations including very low level waste, low-level waste, intermediate-level waste, and high-level waste. It outlines disposal methods such as deep geological disposal and advanced reprocessing technologies, emphasizing India's achievements in self-reliant radioactive waste management. The conclusion notes that responsible disposal is complex due to regulatory structures and ongoing technology upgrades to minimize discharges.

1. RADIOACTIVE WASTE
MANAGEMENT
To protect the people and
environment

2. Generation
 Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive
material.
 Various operations of the nuclear fuel cycle.
 Mining
 nuclear power generation
 various processes in industry, defense, medicine
 scientific research

3. Types
Very low level waste (VLLW)
Low-level waste (LLW)
Intermediate-level waste (ILW)
High-level waste (HLW)

5. Very low level waste (VLLW)
 consists mainly of demolished material (such as
concrete, plaster, bricks, metal, valves, piping etc.)
produced during dismantling operations on
nuclear industrial sites.
 Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Materials
(NORM)
 Not harmful to humans or environment
 recycling or using as byproducts

6. Low-level waste (LLW)
 electricity generation
 diagnosis and treatment of disease
 medical research
 testing of new pharmaceuticals
 nondestructive testing of airplanes and bridges
 smoke detectors
 hardening of materials like hardwood flooring
 breeding of new varieties of seed with higher crop yields
 eradication of insect pests
 food preservation.

7. Low-level waste (LLW)
 short-lived radioactivity
 suitable for shallow land burial

8. Low-level waste (LLW)
Low-level waste
storage pit at the
Nevada National
Security Site.

9. Intermediate-level waste (ILW)
 Contains higher amounts of radioactivity and
some requires shielding.
 Resins
 Chemical sludges
 Metal fuel cladding

10. Intermediate-level waste (ILW)
Some low-level liquid wastes from
reprocessing plants are discharged
to the sea
Include radionuclides technetium-
99.

11. High level waste(HLW)
 Arises from the 'burning' of uranium fuel in a
nuclear reactor.
 Produced during reprocessing of used fuel.

12. Used nuclear fuel
Most used fuel from nuclear power plants is stored in
steel-lined concrete pools filled with water, or in airtight
steel or concrete-and-steel containers

13. Storage pond for used fuel at
the Thermal Oxide
Reprocessing Plant at the
UK's Sellafield site

14. POND
 7-12 metres deep
 The multiple racks are made of metal with
neutron absorbers incorporated in it
 The circulating water both shields and cools
the fuel
 Made of thick reinforced concrete with steel
liners

15. Deep geological disposal
A key idea was that long-term
disposal would be best carried out by
identifying suitable sites at which the
waste could be buried, a process
called deep geological disposal.
It must be located at least 200 m
below the ground surface to avoid
the effects of erosion and human

16. Recycle:
 Direct disposal (after storage) to a geological repository.
It takes 300,000 years
 Aqueous reprocessing to remove only uranium and
plutonium. It take 9000 years.
 Advanced electrometallurgical reprocessing which
removes uranium, plutonium and minor actinides
together for recycling in a fast reactor. It takes only
300years. (not commercialy available).

17. Kudankulam Nuclear power plant

18. conclusion
 Disposal of radioactive waste is a complex issue, not only
because of the nature of the waste, but also because of the
stringent regulatory structure for dealing with radioactive
waste.
 India has achieved self-reliance in the management of all
type of radioactive waste.
 An ongoing effort to upgrade technology to minimize
radioactive discharge is also on.

19. Citations

20. THANK YOU
BY Murali.E