radioactive waste and spent fuel management activities in...
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IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel
Management activities in the IAEA
Gérard Bruno
Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management Unit
Department of Nuclear Safety and Security
IAEA
Contents
IAEA activities in the IAEA
Elements of radioactive waste
management
Waste classification
Elements of safety demonstration
IAEA Lecture 1 - International Safety Standards, IAEA Course, Clausthal 2010 (B Batandjieva) 3
Waste Management at the IAEA
• Department of Nuclear Safety and Security
• Nuclear Installation Safety
• Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety
• Waste and Environmental Safety Section (safety
standards development)
• Department of Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear Power
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
• Waste Technology Section
IAEA
DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY STANDARDS
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• IAEA Statute: Support to Member States in establishing proper safety framework for management of radioactive waste and spent fuel:
Development of Safety Standards
Provisions for use and application of Safety Standards
IAEA activities – Waste and
environmental safety section
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Safety Standards Categories
Fundamental Safety Principles
Requirements – Legal, Technical,
& Procedural Safety Imperatives
Guidance on Best Practice
to Meet Requirements
Safety Guides
Safety Requirements
Safety Fundamentals
IAEA
• Policy document of the IAEA Safety Standards Series:
• States the basic objectives, concepts and
principles involved in ensuring protection
and safety
• 1 safety objective
• 10 safety principles
Safety Fundamentals
IAEA
Safety fundamentals
• Responsibility for safety
• Role of government
• Leadership and management for
safety
• Justification of facilities and activities
• Optimization of protection
• Limitation of risks to individuals
• Protection of present and future
generations
• Prevention of accidents
• Emergency preparedness and
response
• Protective actions to reduce existing
or unregulated radiation risks
SF-1
Objective: Protect people and the
environment from harmful effects
of ionizing radiation
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• Elaborate on the basic objectives and concepts of SF-1 as they apply to a specific activity or facility
• Should be concise and reflect the ‘What’ and ‘Who’ of safety management associated explanatory text should describe ‘Why’ the requirements exist
• Use “shall” statements
Safety Requirements
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Safety Guides
• Focus on ‘How’ safety
requirements can be met
• Guidance on best practices
to meet requirements
• Use “should” statements
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Status of Safety Standards
• IAEA Safety standards are
• Binding for IAEA’s own activities
• Not binding on the Member States (but may be
adopted by them) EXCEPT in relation to
operations assisted by the IAEA:
• Integrated Regulatory Review Service
• Technical Cooperation Fund work
• States wishing to enter into project
agreements with the IAEA
IAEA
Development of Safety Standards
Commission
on Safety Standards
(CSS)
Nuclear Safety
Standards
Committee
(NUSSC)
Radiation
Safety
Standards
Committee
(RASSC)
Waste Safety
Standards
Committee
(WASSC)
Transport
Safety
Standards
Committee
(TRANSSC)
Commission & Committees
IAEA
Steps in the development process
STEP 1: Preparing a DPP
STEP 2: Internal review of the DPP
STEP 3: Review of the DPP by the SSC(s)
STEP 4: Review of the DPP by the CSS
STEP 5: Preparing the draft safety standard
STEP 6: First internal review of the draft safety standard
STEP 7: First review of the draft safety standard by the SSC(s)
STEP 8: Soliciting comments by Member States
STEP 9: Addressing comments by Member States
STEP 10: Second internal review of the draft safety standard
STEP 11: Second review of the draft safety standard by the SSC(s)
STEP 12: Review of the draft safety standard by the CSS
STEP 13: Establishing as an IAEA safety standard (by the Publications Committee
and/or Board of Governors (for SF and SR only))
STEP 14: Publication of the safety standard
IAEA
Safety Standards:
Predisposal
HLW Predisposal
management of
Rw from FCF
DS 447
L/ILW
Predisposal
Management of
RW form
Reactors
DS 448
é
To be combined
with
GS-G 3.4
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Safety Standards for Disposal
Near Surface
Disposal
DS 356
Monitoring and
Surveillance
DS 357
To be combined with
GS-G 3.3
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Safety Standards - Decommissioning
Decommissioning
of Facilities Using
NORM
Under revision
Under discussion
1999 1999
2001
DS402 DS403
DS404
2006 2008 2004
To be combined (DS452)
2006, revision started in 2011 (DS450)
IAEA
Feedback and Review
• Feedback • Review
• About every 5 years
• Revision of DPPs
• Following the process of
standards' development
(Committees, CSS, BOG,
etc)
Safety standards survey:
-Questionnaire (form)
- Email:
http://www-
ns.iaea.org/standards/feedback.htm
IAEA
….where you can find the status of SS…
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APPLICATION OF SAFETY STANDARDS
IAEA
Standards Application
Progress on the DeSa Project
B. Batandjieva, WSS, NSRW
3rd EMRAS Project Meeting
21-25 November 2005, IAEA, Vienna
Generation
Disposal
SADRWMS
CRAFT
DeSa/
FaSa
ISAM/
ASAM/
PRISM
EMRAS
I and II MODARIA
Assessment
performance
Models inter-
comparison Impacts
evaluation
Safety Demonstration Framework for Management of
Radioactive Waste and Decommissioning
GEOSAF
HIDRA
ILW?
Dual Cask
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SERVICES/ASSISTANCE TO MEMBER STATES
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• Yucca Mountain Site
Characterisation Project (USA)
• Near Surface Disposal
(Australia)
• IAEA-EC-Ukraine (WWER review,
Ukraine)
• Site Characterisation (South
Korea) and selection (Lithuania)
• COVRA activities (Netherlands)
• Disposal (Russia), etc.
Peer Reviews
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• Safety of Waste Management
• Improving Waste Storage
• Safety Assessment
• Upgrading Safety of Disposal Facilities
• Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
IAEA Technical Cooperation
National, Regional and
Interregional projects
http://www-tc.iaea.org/tcweb/default.asp
IAEA Lecture 1 - International Safety Standards, IAEA Course, Clausthal 2010 (B Batandjieva) 25
• Safety of Radioactive
Waste Management
• Safety Assessment for
Near Surface Disposal
• Waste Acceptance
Criteria
• Legal and Regulatory
framework
• Decommissioning
• Discharge Control
• Remediation
Training Courses and Workshops
Training Material (30 Modules) and
Reference Syllabus
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Information Exchange
http://www-
pub.iaea.org/MTCD/meetings/meetings.asp
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THE JOINT CONVENTION ON THE SAFETY
OF SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT AND ON
THE SAFETY OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
MANAGEMENT
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Joint Convention (Cont.)
• A legally binding agreement between CPs
• The first international binding legislation in the area of safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management
• Based on the IAEA Safety Fundamentals for RWM (1995)
• An “Incentive” convention
• A “sister” convention of the Nuclear Safety Convention
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Joint Convention (Cont.)
• Objectives of the JC:
• To achieve and maintain a high degree of safety worldwide in spent fuel and radioactive waste management,
• To ensure that there are effective defences against potential hazards so that individuals, society and the environment are protected now and in the future
• To prevent accidents and mitigate their consequences should they occur
IAEA
67 Countries ratified as of May 2013
Review meetings:
1st review meeting: November 2003
2nd review meeting: May 2006
3rd review meeting: May 2009
4th review meeting: May 2012
http://www-ns.iaea.org/conventions/waste-jointconvention.htm
Joint Convention (Cont.)
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Elements of radioactive waste
management
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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; and
• Processing of raw materials containing naturally
occurring radionuclides.
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Pre-treatment
Treatment
Conditioning
Disposal
Recycling and
re-use
Effluent
discharge
Clearance
Waste and
materials
Elements of a Waste Management
Programme
Storage
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PREDISPOSAL MANAGEMENT
34
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An important concept for waste
management
• Waste minimization
Source reduction
Recycling and reuse of valuable materials
Actions to reduce the volume of waste (e.g. compaction or incineration)
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Waste Management Approaches (1)
• ‘Delay and Decay’ – hold
waste in storage until
sufficient decay has
occurred for desired
management approach
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Waste Management Approaches (2)
• ‘Dilute and Disperse’ –
discharge waste in a
manner that
environmental conditions
reduce concentrations to
acceptable levels
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Waste Management Approaches (3)
• ‘Concentrate and Contain’
– reduce volume and
condition and/or
containerize waste to limit
dispersion in the
environment
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Selection of Management Options
• Selected options must be consistent with National policies
for waste management;
• Need to consider interdependencies with other predisposal
and disposal options;
• Adequate characterization of waste is critical.
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The IAEA Classification of Radioactive
Waste
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Waste Classification
Purpose - for safety, engineering and regulatory aspects:
• Radioactive waste management strategies, planning and
designing waste management facilities
• Facilitating record keeping and giving a broad indication of
the potential hazards involved in the various types of
waste at the operational level
• Communication between interested parties by providing
well understood terminology (e.g., Joint Convention)
IAEA 42
Different ways to classify waste
• By origin: Nuclear fuel cycle, isotope production,..
• By physical state: Solid, liquid, gaseous
• By activity concentration: LLW, ILW, HLW
• By half-life: Short-lived waste, long-lived waste
• By Operational or disposal purposes, heat emitting or
not…
IAEA
The IAEA Waste Classification – GSG-1
Link between types of waste and management options
• Exempt waste (EW)
• Very low level waste (VLLW)
• Very short lived waste (VSLW)
• Low level waste (LLW)
• Intermediate level waste (ILW)
• High level waste (HLW)
IAEA
Waste that meets the criteria for
clearance, exemption or exclusion
from regulation control for radiation
purposes as described in Safety
Guide RS-G-1.7 “Application of the
Concepts of Exclusion, Exemption
and Clearance” (2004)
Exempt Waste (EW)
IAEA
• Does not necessarily meet the criteria of exempt waste
• Does not need a high level of containment and isolation
• Suitable for disposal in near surface landfill type facilities
with limited regulatory control
• Typical waste includes soil and rubble with low levels of
activity concentration
• Concentrations of longer lived radionuclides are generally
very limited
Very Low Level Waste (VLLW)
IAEA
• Waste that can be stored for decay over a limited period of
up to a few years and subsequently cleared from
regulatory control for uncontrolled disposal, use or
discharge.
• This class includes waste containing primarily
radionuclides with very short half-lives often used for
research and medical purposes.
Very Short Lived Waste (VSLW)
IAEA
• Above clearance levels, but with limited amounts of long
lived activity
• Requires robust isolation and containment for periods of up
to a few hundred years
• Suitable for disposal in engineered near surface facilities
• LLW cover a broad range of materials and may include:
• SL radionuclides at higher levels of activity concentration and
• LL radionuclides but at relatively low levels of activity concentration
Low Level Waste (LLW)
IAEA
• Greater degree of containment and isolation than that
provided by near surface disposal
• But no provision for heat dissipation during storage and
disposal
• May contain LL radionuclides, in particular alpha
emitting radionuclides
• Will not decay, during the IC period, to level of activity conc.
acceptable for NS disposal
• Disposal at greater depths than near surface disposal
Intermediate level waste (ILW)
IAEA
• Levels of activity concentrations high enough to generate significant quantities of heat by the radioactive decay process
or
• Large amounts of long lived radionuclides that need to be considered in the design of a disposal facility for such waste
• Disposal in deep, stable geological formations, usually several hundreds m or more is the generally recognized
option for disposal
High Level Waste (HLW)
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Half-life
Activity
content
VSLW
very short lived
waste
(decay storage)
HLW
high level waste
(deep geologic disposal)
ILW
intermediate level waste
(intermediate depth disposal)
LLW
low level waste
(near surface disposal)
VLLW
very low level waste
(landfill disposal)
EW
exempt waste
(exemption / clearance)
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WASTE TYPES & RELEVANT DISPOSAL
OPTIONS
Activity, half-life
VSLW VLLW LLW ILW HLW
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Broad Disposal Options
• Surface and near-surface disposal (with and
without engineered barriers) up to 30m
• Underground cavities (natural or engineered) at
few m to few 100 m
• Geological disposal (a mined facility) several
hundreds of m
• Borehole disposal
• Other “Exotic” disposal options (either not
considered credible or legal)
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Waste Disposal Options
Near-Surface Disposal
Near-Surface Disposal
Landfill Disposal
IAEA
Geological
Disposal
Waste Disposal Options (cont.)
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ELEMENTS OF SAFETY DEMONSTRATION
IAEA
The concept of Safety Case
• The concept of Safety Case has been circulated for many years now.
• The NEA defines the Safety Case as : “The synthesis of evidence,
analyses and arguments that quantify and substantiate a claim that the
repository will be safe after closure and beyond the time when active
control of the facility can be relied on”.
• IAEA defines it as the collection of arguments and evidence to
demonstrate the safety of a facility.
• The SC has to be developed in the early phases of the development of
a project. For the operator as a basis for internal decisions (R&D, site
selection and evaluation, design conceptualization…) as well as for
dialogue with the regulator
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Concept Siting Development Operation Post closure
Design Excavation IC Beyond IC
Government
Operator
Regulator
Safety Case
0 10 20 40 100 200?
Project stages / time frame
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Use of the safety case
• Comparison of Options
• Prioritization of Site Characterization and R&D
• Facility Design and Operation
• Licensing
• Derivation of Limits and Conditions
• Monitoring
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System Description Site and waste characteristics, Safety Functions, Design Options
Safety Case Context
• Safety objectives
• Safety principles
• Regulations
Safety Strategy • Isolation, Containment
•Passive systems, robustness
•Defence in depth, demonstrability
Integration of Safety Arguments Demonstration of robustness, defence in depth
system understanding, monitoring, etc
En
viro
nm
en
tal
Imp
act
Op
era
tiona
l
Sa
fety
Site / E
ng
ineerin
g
Assessments
S
takeh
old
er & R
egulato
ry In
volv
emen
t
Limits & conditions e.g. WAC
Man
agem
ent
System
Iteration &
Desig
n O
ptim
isation
Man
agem
ent o
f Un
certainty
Po
st-Clo
sure
radio
log
ical imp
act
M
anag
emen
t Sy
stem
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Conclusion
• Safety is an essential component of waste
management
• The IAEA is developing Safety Standards
with the Member States
• Safety standards are continuously updated
as necessary
• Feedback from the MS on their application is
important
IAEA
…Thank you for your attention