Radioactive waste management complex

Five-gallon size waste forms were fabricated. Typical waste loading was 35-40 wt%. A small amount of potassium sulfide was added to the Ceramicrete binder mixture for stabilization of Hg, and dense and hard ceramic waste forms were produced. Just before solidification, TCLP results were obtained on small aliquots of the mixing slurry that was separated and allowed to set. Mercury levels in the leachate were found to be 0.05 /rg/1, well below the LfTS limit of 0.025 mg/1. The entire waste was treated, removed from the inventory, and sent to the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory for disposal. 

The TWTF will receive waste contaminated with transuranic nuclides (TRU waste) presently stored at the INEL Radioactive Waste Management Complex. Waste packages are opened and their contents are sorted, placed into charging containers, and charged into an incinerator. Combustibles will be burned and noncombustibles converted to a chemically inot, basalt-bke substance. This substance is cast into ingots and shipped to a federal waste repository. Because of the wide variety of shapes, sizes, and compositions of the waste, heavy reliance is placed on flssile material mass limits in the various process areas. The individual areas interact in the sense that an overload or accumulation of fissile material in one area may be propagated to the next area in the process chain. 

Progress in fission research, particularly in the development of higher efficiency reactors, in radioactive waste management, in transmutation studies and transuranic elements have contributed substantially to a renewed interest in the structure and properties of complex many-electron atoms and ions of arbitrary ionization. 

MAIN PECULIARITIES OF MANAGING SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE DURING COMPLEX DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINES IN THE KAMCHATKA REGION... 

The new Standards are intended to ensure the safety of all types of radiation sources and to complement engineering safety standards developed for large and complex radiation sources, such as nuclear reactors and radioactive waste management facilities. The Standards are not mandatory, but can serve as a practical guide to all those involved in radiation protection, taking into account local situations, resources, etc. 

I hope that our discussions will contribute to the development of the international Radioactive Waste Management Convention — a follow-up to last year s successful completion of the Nuclear Reactor Safety Convention. With due consideration of die complexity of the issues being discussed, I believe that the expeditious formulation and adoption of such a convention will demonstrate the solidarity and commitment of the international community to safely managing radioactive waste. Additionally, if the primary objective of such a convention is the protection of human health and the environment, which I believe it is, then it must apply to the broad spectrum of radioactive wastes that pose a threat - be they of civilian or defense-related origin. 

The radioactive waste classification system is complex, it is not transparent to the public, who are increasingly involved in decisions about management and disposal of waste, and it is not understandable by anyone but a studied expert. 

In the course of works each of the decommissioning objects can be a source of SNF, SRW, LRW, noxious chemicals or other non-radioactive waste reprocessible and re-usable in industry. Still, the main feature of the complex decommissioning objects is the presence of SNF and generation of RW during work execution. Considering a special importance of SNF, SRW and LRW for the work to be done and for justification of priorities, at some work phase they can be attributed to the category of independent objects of management. This is a quite natural decision because in the course of the... 

SNF reprocessing and management of Solid and Liquid Radioactive Waste (SRW and LRW) generated during complex decommissioning of NSs. 

When addressing the issues of radioactive waste and SNF management during complex decommissioning of NSs in Kamchatka, the following problem tasks should be emphasized ... 

Since 1998 Ministry for Atomic Energy (Minatom, presently Rosatom) of the Russian Federation (RF) has become responsible for solution of the issues related to complex decommissioning of Nuclear Submarines (NSs) and management of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and Radioactive Waste (RW) in the North-Western Russia and the Far East Russia. 

Established by a special decree of the RF Government, DalRAO is Rosatom s representative in the Far East Russia and the main executor of works related to -management of SNF, Solid Radioactive Waste (SRW) and Eiquid Radioactive Waste (FRW) produced in the course of complex decommissioning of NSs and Nuclear-Powered Surface Ships (NPSSs) and -environmental rehabilitation of radiation-hazardous objects in the Far East Russia. 

Nuclear waste management (and the permanent disposal of nuclear waste in particular) is a complex and contentious issue. Qasses of radioactive materials for which permanent disposal is a substantial challenge include transuranic (TRU) wastes (Section 16.2) and high-level wastes (HLWs) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) (Section 16.3). The subject of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal is discussed in Section 16.6. 

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