Many other countries in addition to the United States generate
electrical power using nuclear fuel. Altogether, there are 436 nuclear
power plants around the world, operating in 31 countries. All countries
using nuclear power must contend with radioactive waste, regardless
of the number of reactors they have in service. Nuclear energy production
eventually creates waste in the form of spent nuclear fuel. Spent
nuclear fuel is depleted or used fuel from nuclear power plants
and research facilities.
Spent nuclear fuel is highly radioactive, and remains so for thousands
of years. Isolating this high-level waste from people and the environment
is an important and challenging issue for countries that use nuclear
power. Social, economic, political, technical, and geographic considerations
shape a country’s radioactive waste management decisions.
Generally speaking, radioactive waste can be either long-lived
or short-lived. Long-lived radioactive waste decays at a much slower
rate than short-lived waste, and therefore retains its radioactivity
longer. The opposite is true for short-lived wastes. Radioactive
waste can also be categorized as low-level or high-level, according
to the amount of radiation given off.
Approximately 90 percent of the radioactive waste produced in the
world is low-level, yet contains only about five percent of all
the radioactivity in low- and high-level waste combined. It can
be either short- or long-lived, but most is short-lived. This type
of waste consists of lightly contaminated trash and debris, such
as paper, clothing, cleaning materials, metal and glass equipment,
and tools used in commercial and medical nuclear industries. It
also results when nuclear power plants are shut down.
Any radioactive waste that is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive
waste, uranium mining residues, or transuranic
waste falls into the low-level waste category.
Many countries bury their low-level, short-lived waste in protected shallow trenches or concrete-lined bunkers, but some countries choose other options. In the United States, low-level radioactive waste is sent to disposal sites licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Each state, or group of states, is responsible for disposing of and managing low-level waste. Low-level radioactive waste from United States Department of Energy (DOE) facilities is buried on the Nevada Test Site.
Spent nuclear fuel is fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear
reactor following irradiation, has undergone at least one year’s
decay since being used as a source of energy in a power reactor,
and has not been chemically separated into its constituent elements
by reprocessing. Spent fuel includes the special nuclear material,
byproduct material, source material, and other radioactive materials
associated with fuel assemblies.
High-level waste makes up the smallest volume of radioactive waste,
around three percent of the world’s total, but it contains approximately
95 percent of all the radioactivity in low- and high-level waste
combined. In the United States, high-level radioactive waste primarily
comes from defense-related reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. All
countries with high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel
plan to eventually dispose of these materials deep underground,
in a geologic disposal facility called a repository.
Underground disposal has been determined by the international
scientific community as the best option for permanently separating
high-level radioactive waste from people and the accessible environment.
Scientists and researchers around the world agree that deep geologic
disposal is technically feasible, provides a waste disposal solution
that keeps the public safe, provides for security from intrusion,
prevents the diversion of nuclear materials for harmful purposes,
and protects the environment for both the short and long term.
In addition to the United States, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland,
France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and
the United Kingdom have invested significant resources in their
radioactive waste management programs because of their historic
or anticipated reliance on nuclear energy. Despite some differences
in their programs, they all support deep geologic disposal as the
best method for isolating highly radioactive, long-lived waste.
Of these countries, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany,
Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have
all performed detailed studies, or characterizations, drilling numerous
boreholes and exploratory shafts and ramps in underground research
laboratories. The data are useful in determining the predicted safety
performance of future nuclear waste repository sites.
Common elements of potential repository systems include the radioactive
waste, the containers enclosing the waste, the tunnels housing the
containers, and the geologic makeup, or type of rock, of the surrounding
area. Some countries are individualizing their repository systems,
and many are working in collaboration with other countries to develop
shared technologies.
Belgium |
7 |
58% |
2% |
between 2035-2080 |
Canada |
14 |
12% |
3% |
after 2034 |
China |
3 |
1.2% |
0.6% |
at earliest 2040 |
Finland |
4 |
33% |
0.9% |
emplacement in 2020 |
France |
59 |
75% |
16% |
after 2020 |
Germany |
19 |
31% |
7% |
no projected date |
Japan |
53 |
36% |
14% |
at earliest 2035 |
Russia |
29 |
14% |
4% |
TBD |
Spain |
9 |
31% |
2% |
TBD |
Sweden |
11 |
47% |
3% |
around 2015 |
Switzerland |
5 |
36% |
1% |
after 2050 |
United Kingdom |
35 |
29% |
4% |
TBD |
International cooperation ensures that scientific advances in
radioactive waste management are shared among all countries. Participation
in international programs provides opportunities for developing,
obtaining, testing, and sharing deep geologic disposal technology.
Additionally, cooperation among countries promotes a better understanding
of waste management programs and develops international consensus
regarding common waste management concerns.
The Department of Energy is the agency responsible for radioactive
waste management in the United States. The department has been committed
to collaborating with other countries on nuclear waste activities
for more than 20 years, and maintains cooperative agreements with
Canada, France, Japan, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The DOE is an active member of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development/Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA). The DOE, the NRC,
and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide
technical experts to IAEA conferences, and the DOE sponsors participation
in the Radioactive Waste Management Committee of the OECD/NEA. The
DOE and the NRC also provide expertise in the field of computer
modeling, which is used to study the calculated behavior of radioactive
material in geologic disposal facilities.
On October 31, 1999, the DOE convened an international conference
addressing global efforts to dispose of spent nuclear materials
in geologic repositories. Its purpose was to highlight international
progress in and provide a forum for discussing ongoing and planned
activities in geologic repository development. More than 20 nations
maintaining commercial nuclear power programs attended the conference,
along with the IAEA and OECD/NEA. Many of these nations and international
organizations met to finalize and agree to a Joint Declaration pledging
to work together to address the safe management of nuclear waste.
As a result, a second international conference addressing these
global efforts is currently being planned through the IAEA to be
convened in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, during the year
2002.
To date, no country has built a high-level radioactive waste repository.
Public opposition can and has slowed repository development in many
countries. Despite the opposition, no country has yet withdrawn
its decision to pursue deep geologic disposal. Instead, more countries
have recognized the importance of public, or transparent, decision
making in their radioactive waste management programs. The insight
and approval of people outside scientific communities is becoming
more important to national policy-makers regarding radioactive waste
disposal.
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