RADIOACTIVE WASTES

SUBMITTED

BY, SHINOJ K. THATTIL ROLL NO 63 S4 EEE JECC

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TYPES OF NUCLEAR WASTES SOURCE MANAGEMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE NUCLEAR HAZARDS CONCLUSION REFERENCE

INTRODUCTION

Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. Radioactive waste typically comprises a number of radioisotopes: unstable configurations of elements that decay, emitting ionizing radiation which can be harmful to human health and to the environment. Those isotopes emit different types and levels of radiation, which last for different periods of time.

SOURCE

Radioactive waste comes from a number of sources. The majority originates from the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear weapon reprocessing. Other sources include medical and industrial wastes, as well as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) that can be concentrated as a result of the processing or consumption of coal, oil and gas, and some minerals.

TYPES OF NUCLEAR WASTES

LOW LEVEL WASTE (LLW) INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTE (ILW) HIGH LEVEL WASTE (HLW) TRANSURANIC WASTE (TRUW)

LOW LEVEL WASTE (LLW)

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. Commonly, LLW is designated as such as a precautionary measure if it originated from any region of an 'Active Area', which frequently includes offices with only a remote possibility of being contaminated with radioactive materials. Low level waste is divided into four classes, class A, B, C and GTCC, which means "Greater Than Class C".

Removal of very low-level waste

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTE (ILW)

Intermediate level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity and in some cases requires shielding. ILW includes resins, chemical sludge and metal reactor fuel cladding, as well as contaminated materials from reactor decommissioning. It may be solidified in concrete or bitumen for disposal. As a general rule, short-lived waste (mainly non-fuel materials from reactors) is buried in shallow repositories, while long-lived waste (from fuel and fuel-reprocessing) is deposited in deep underground facilities.

HIGH LEVEL WASTE (HLW)

High level waste (HLW) is produced by nuclear reactors. It contains fission products and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core. It is highly radioactive and often thermally hot. LLW and ILW accounts for over 95% of the total radioactivity produced in the process of nuclear electricity generation. The amount of HLW worldwide is currently increasing by about 12,000 metric tons every year, which is equal to about 100 double-decker busses.

High Level Waste flasks are transported by train in the United Kingdom. Each flask is constructed of 3 ft (0.91 m) thick solid steel and weighs in excess of 50 tons

TRANSURANIC WASTE (TRUW)

Elements that have an atomic number greater than uranium are called transuranic ("beyond uranium"). Because of their long half-lives, TRUW is disposed more cautiously than either low level or intermediate level waste. In the U.S. it arises mainly from weapons production, and consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris and other items contaminated with small amounts of radioactive elements (mainly plutonium).

MANAGEMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE

STORAGE GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL TRANSMUTATION REUSE OF WASTE SPACE DISPOSAL

STORAGE

High-level radioactive waste is stored temporarily in spent fuel pools and in dry cask storage facilities. This allows the shorter-lived isotopes to decay before further handling. In 1997, in the 20 countries which account for most of the world's nuclear power generation, spent fuel storage capacity at the reactors was 148,000 tonnes, with 59% of this utilized. A number of nuclear power plants in countries that do not reprocess had nearly filled their spent fuel pools, and resorted to Away-from-reactor storage (AFRS).

GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL

Storing high level nuclear waste above ground for a century or so is considered appropriate by many scientists. This allows for the material to be more easily observed and any problems detected and managed, while the decay over this time period significantly reduces the level of radioactivity and the associated harmful effects to the container material. Sea-based options for disposal of radioactive waste include burial beneath a stable abyssal plain, burial in a subduction zone that would slowly carry the waste downward into the Earth's mantle, and burial beneath a remote natural or human-made island.

REUSE OF WASTE

Another option is to find applications of the isotopes in nuclear waste so as to reuse them. Already, caesium-137, strontium-90 and a few other isotopes are extracted for certain industrial applications such as food irradiation and radioisotope thermoelectric generators. While re-use does not eliminate the need to manage radioisotopes, it may reduce the quantity of waste produced.

SPACE DISPOSAL

Space disposal is an attractive notion because it permanently removes nuclear waste from the environment. It has significant disadvantages, not least of which is the potential for catastrophic failure of a launch vehicle. To further complicate matters, international agreements on the regulation of such a program would need to be established

NUCLEAR HAZARDS

A number of incidents have occurred when radioactive material was disposed of improperly, shielding during transport was defective, or when it was simply abandoned or even stolen from a waste store. In the former Soviet Union, waste stored in Lake Karachay was blown over the area during a dust storm after the lake had partly dried out. In other cases lakes or ponds with radioactive waste accidentally overflowed into the rivers during exceptional storms.

Chernobyl reactor number four after the disaster, showing the extensive damage to the main reactor hall (image center) and turbine building (image lower left)

HIROSHIMA NUCLEAR BOMB BLAST

NAGASAKI NUCLEAR BOMB BLAST

CONCLUSION
Although nuclear reactions and reactors are very useful and reliable sources of energy it has many drawbacks. It can also endanger the life of human being. Proper use of nuclear energy has a main role in development.

REFERENCE
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_hazard www.ccsa.asn.au/nic/NucHazards/NucHaz .html www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/issues/nuc lear.htm