Managing radioactive waste

Radioactive wastes are dangerous. The detrimental effects of radioactive wastes depend on the quantity, type, half-life of the waste and the type of radioactive rays emitted. Radioactive waste with the longest half-life poses the greatest risk to human health.

Radioactive waste can be classed into three main categories low, intermediate and high-level. (https://www.ansto.gov.au/education/nuclear-facts/managing-waste)

Low-level waste requires minimal shielding during, handling, transport and storage. They are made of paper, plastic, cloth and filters which contain a small amount of radioactivity. They are stored in drums and the radioactive emission are measured using a scanning system.

Intermediate-level waste requires additional shielding during handling, transport and storage as they emits higher radiation. They usually comprised of products of radiopharmaceuticals and reactor operations.

High-level waste requires increased shielding and human contact. It also requires cooling system as the waste can generate heat. The waste comes from the operation of nuclear power plants.

There has to be a consensus among countries on the safe disposal of radioactive wastes. For example, ocean disposal is no longer permitted. More information here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_waste).

Radioactive waste can be initially treated by immobilisation of waste through vitrification, ion exchange and synroc method.

Long-term options of radioactive waste management include above-ground disposal, geologic (underground) disposal, re-use, transmutation or space-disposal. Although, not all of the said methods are being currently implemented.

There is also issues associated with illegal dumping of radioactive materials which has caused international concerns.

More information on this topic is available here:
https://ukinventory.nda.gov.uk/about-radioactive-waste/how-do-we-manage-radioactive-waste/
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-waste-management.aspx