Classification & Clearance of Radioactive Waste

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International Atomic Energy Agency

Contents I. Regulation of radioactive materials. II. Clearance of Materials. III. IAEA Classification. IV. UK Classification. V. RF Classification. VI. End Points.

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I. Regulation of Radioactive Materials

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The IAEA developed internationally accepted and worldwide used standards based on the recommendations of the ICRP and experts from other organizations. A basic document is so-called BSS International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources published by the IAEA, Vienna, Safety Series No.115, (1996). Two criteria for exemption from the BSS: Low Individual risks and Optimised radiation protection.

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II. Clearance of Materials

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III. IAEA Classification

1994

2009
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HLW

LILW

EW

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INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. Classification of Radioactive Waste, Safety Series No.111-G-1.1, IAEA, Vienna, 1994.
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Waste Arisings
Radioactive waste arises from many different activities, for
example: Operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities (e.g. nuclear power plants); Application of radionuclides in industry, medicine, and research; Cleanup of contaminated sites; Processing of raw materials containing naturally occurring radionuclides.

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Waste Arisings (cont)

Wastes containing naturally occurring radioactivity (NORM)  Phosphate industry  Production of metals  Refractory materials  Energy production (oil and gas, coal, biomass, geothermal)  Usually large volumes, Ra-226, Rn-222

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Waste Arisings (cont) - Properties

Origin/Source Criticality Radiological Properties half-life heat generation intensity of radiation nuclide conc. surface contamination dose factors Biological properties: potential biological hazards
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Chemical Properties potential chemical hazard combustible, corrosive organic content reactivity gas generation sorption of radionuclides Physical Properties compactability, incinerability dispersability, volatility solubility, miscibility physical state (solid, liquid, gas) size and weight

Possible Ways to Classify Waste

Possible ways to classify waste: o Classification by origin  Nuclear fuel cycle, isotope production,.. o Classification by physical state  Solid, liquid, gaseous o Classification by activity concentration  Low Level Waste (LLW), Intermediate Level Waste
(ILW), High level Waste (HLW) o Classification by half-life  Short-lived waste, long-lived waste o Operational or disposal purposes
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Two main parameters of IAEA classification scheme are: Radionuclide half-life and Radioactivity content. In terms of radioactive waste safety, a radionuclide with a half-life longer than that of 137Cs (30.17 a) is considered to be long lived whereas those with half-life shorter than about 30 years are considered short lived.

In terms of radioactive waste safety, radioactivity contents are analysed compared with exemption levels. The activity content term is a generic name that covers activity concentration, specific activity and total activity and is used in classification schemes accounting for the generally heterogeneous nature of radioactive waste
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EW is that radioactive waste that contains such small concentrations of radionuclides that it does not require provisions for radiation protection, irrespective of whether the waste is disposed of in conventional landfills or recycled. The EW meets the criteria for clearance, exemption or exclusion from regulatory control for radiation protection purposes which are given in IAEA publications.

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VSLdW is that radioactive waste which can be stored for decay over a limited period of no longer than a few years with subsequent clearance from regulatory control. Clearance procedure is done according to existing national arrangements, after which VSLdW can be disposed of, discharged or used. VSLdW includes waste containing primarily radionuclides with very short half-lives which are most often used for research and medicine.

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VSLdW
VSLdW contains only very short half-life radionuclides with half-lives typically of the order of 100 days or less. Typical VSLdW from industrial and medical applications contain 192Ir and 99mTc although could contain other radionuclides with very short half-lives. Due to natural radioactive decay VSLdW will gradually transform into EW. Because of that VSLdW can be stored for relatively short periods of time until the activity has naturally decreased below clearance levels. After that storage period often termed storage for decay or delay for decay the cleared waste can be managed as any conventional (nonradioactive) waste. Storage for decay is thus the typical method used in the management of solid, liquid and gaseous waste containing very short half-life radionuclides.

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VLLW is that radioactive waste which does not necessarily meet the criteria of EW, but that does not need a high level of containment and isolation and because of that is suitable for disposal in near surface landfill type facilities with limited regulatory control. Typical VLLW includes soil and rubble with low levels of activity concentration.

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VLLW
VLLW is generated as a result of operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities as well as originating from the mining or processing of ores and minerals has the activity contents only slightly above the levels specified for the clearance of materials from regulatory control. Most typically this waste is solid. Although VLLW can not be exempt from regulatory control, the extent of the provisions necessary to ensure its safe disposal is rather limited. VLLW disposal facilities can range from simple covers to trenches or more complex disposal systems. Landfill facilities could safely accommodate waste containing artificial radionuclides with levels of activity concentrations one or two orders of magnitude above the levels for EW, for waste containing short lived radionuclides and with limited total activity.

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LLW has higher activity contents compared VLLW but with limited amounts of long lived radionuclides in it. Such waste requires robust isolation and containment for periods of up to a few hundred years and is suitable for disposal in engineered near surface facilities. LLW covers a very broad range of waste with long lived radionuclides only at relatively low levels of activity concentration.

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ILW is that radioactive waste that, because of its radionuclides content, particularly of long lived radionuclides, requires a greater degree of containment and isolation than that provided by near surface disposal. However, ILW needs no provision, or only limited provision, for heat dissipation during its storage and disposal.

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ILW may contain long lived radionuclides, in particular, alpha emitting radionuclides that will not decay to a level of activity concentration acceptable for near surface disposal during the time for which institutional controls can be relied upon. Therefore ILW requires disposal at greater depths, of the order of tens of metres to a few hundred metres. A precise boundary between LLW and ILW cannot be universally provided, as limits on the acceptable level of activity concentration will differ between individual radionuclides or groups of radionuclides. Waste acceptance criteria for a particular near surface disposal facility depend on its actual design and operation plann for the facility (e.g. engineered barriers, duration of institutional control, site specific factors). A limit of 400 Bq/g on average (and up to 4000 Bq/g for individual packages) for long lived alpha emitting radionuclides has been adopted in many countries. For long lived beta and/or gamma emitting radionuclides, such as 14C, 36Cl, 63Ni, 93Zr, 94Nb, 99Tc and 129I, the allowable average activity concentrations may be considerably higher (up to tens of kBq/g) and may be specific to the site and disposal facility. A contact dose rate of 2 mSv/h has been generally used to distinguish between LLW and ILW however contact radiation dose rate is not used to distinguish waste classes in the current IAEA classification scheme, which is based primarily on long term safety.

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HLW is the radioactive waste with levels of activity concentration high enough to require shielding in handling operations and generate significant quantities of heat by the radioactive decay process. HLW can be also the waste with large amounts of long lived radionuclides that need to be considered in the design of a disposal facility. Disposal in deep, stable geological formations usually several hundred metres or more below the surface is the generally recognized HLW disposal option.

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IV. UK Classification

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V. RF Classification

Sanitary rules on management of radioactive wastes (SPORO-2002). Sanitary rules SP 2.6.6.1168-02. Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow 2003.

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A tentative classification (sorting) of solid waste based on (i) surface contamination and (ii) dose rate at 0.1 m
Category Surface contamination, Particles/cm2min Beta Low level Intermediate level High level From 5 00 to 104 Alpha From 5 0 to 103 Transuranic From 5 to 102

From 104 to 107 From 103 to 106 From 102 to 105 Above 107 Above 106 Above 105

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A tentative classification-sorting of solid waste based on

(i) surface contamination and (ii) dose rate at 0.1 m (BSS exemption of sources is <10 QSv/h)

Low level when dose rate is from 0.001 mGy/h to 0.3 mGy/h; Intermediate level when dose rate is from 0.3 mGy/h to 10 mGy/h; High level when dose rate is above 10 mGy/h;
Sanitary rules on management of radioactive wastes (SPORO-2002). Sanitary rules SP 2.6.6.1168-02. Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow 2003.

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VI. End Points

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Summary
Permits appropriate decisions to be made at each step of
lifecycle management of wastes Provides a systematic foundation for waste segregation programmes Efficient management system for operators Provides essential input for national waste management policy and strategy

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Summary (cont.)
Many member states still use their own system, customized
to fit local needs. Disposal endpoint is what is most commonly used to define waste classes. As part of Joint Convention, each country reports on national system of waste classification and reports a national inventory of radioactive waste.

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Summary (cont.)
Although classification schemes are country dependent there is a generic consensus that end points (e.g. storage and disposal) and conditioning methods (e.g. immobilisation and packaging) depend on the level of radioactivity and radionuclide lifetime.
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