Waste Technology Section
Remediation of Contaminated Sites
Promoting Technologies for Restoration of Contaminated Sites (Project)
Objective:
To increase the capability of Member States to plan and implement strategies, methodologies and technological approaches to assess environmental contamination arising from a variety of sources and to conduct environmental remediation programmes for radioactively contaminated sites.
Responsible Officer : Horst MONKEN-FERNANDES
Rationale:
The IAEA attaches great importance to the dissemination of information that can assist Member States with the development, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of systems, programmes and activities that support the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear applications, including the legacy of past practices and accidents. Radioactive contamination of the environment has occurred as the result of both peaceful and military applications of nuclear energy, and needs timely and effective management. To this end, accurate assessments of radioactive contamination is required and methods/technologies should be available for Member States to minimize any environmental impact from the residues and wastes. Within this project, highest priority is given to tasks related to environmental remediation of contaminated environments, including sites with Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) waste. Target groups for project activities include nuclear facility operators, research and medical institutes, those responsible for sites with contamination of land or groundwater, including contamination with NORM materials, uranium mining and mill operators and government authorities responsible for site remediation, as well as the general public. To provide Member States with up-to-date information on methods and technologies for application in the fields of decommissioning, environmental remediation and disposition of resulting residual radioactive materials and to provide advice and assistance where appropriate.
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Status:
Contamination problems continue to exist in many Member States and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future. The lack of resources and other priorities in the Member States budgets, in particular those with economies under strain or in development, are delaying the implementation of remediation measures.
Remediation technology continues to be largely vendor driven, with improvements in efficiency and cost-reduction the main driving forces. A move towards passive solutions, e.g. reactive barriers or (monitored) natural attenuation can be observed.
Outcomes:
It is expected that , as the result of IAEA’s outputs, Member States will eventually have in place proper infrastructure and technologies for managing their radioactive legacies and resolve all related issues in a timely, safe and cost-effective manner.
Structure:
The project has been structured into four topical areas, as indicated below. Clicking on the fields below will take you to a short description of these areas. Where the report has been published already, in most cases you will also find the possibility to download it in PDF-format.
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Management |
Databases |
Technology |
Special Topics |
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Factors for Formulating Strategies for Environmental Restoration, IAEA-TECDOC-1032 1998 |
A directory of Information Resources on Radioactive Waste Management, Decontamination and Decommissioning, and Environmental Restoration Data as of June 1995, IAEA-TECDOC-841 |
Technologies for Remediation of Radioactively Contaminated Sites, IAEA-TECDOC-1086 1999 |
The Extent of Environmental Contamination by Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) and Technological Options for Mitigation, TRS-419,
2003 |
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Characterization of Radioactively Contaminated Sites for Remediation Purposes, IAEA-TECDOC-1017 1998 |
Design Criteria for a Worldwide Directory of Radioactively Contaminated Sites (DRCS), IAEA-TECDOC-1251 2001 |
Technical Options for the Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater, IAEA-TECDOC-1088 1999 |
The Long-Term Stabilisation of Uranium Mill Tailings Co-Ordinated Research Project 2000-2004 |
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Compliance monitoring for Remediated Sites, IAEA-TECDOC-1118 1999 |
The Web-based Directory of Radioactively Contaminated Sites (DRCS) |
Site Characterization Techniques Used in Environmental Restoration Activities, IAEA-TECDOC-1148 2000 |
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Non-Technical Factors Impacting on the Decision Making Processes in Environmental Remediation, IAEA-TECDOC-1279 2001 |
Remediation of Sites with Mixed Contamination of Radioactive and Hazardous Substances, in prep. |
The
long-term stabilisation of uranium mill tailings, IAEA-TECDOC-1403 |
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Non-Technical Factors Impacting on the Decision Making Processes in Environmental Remediation, IAEA-TECDOC-1279 2001 |
Applicability and Limitations of Monitored Natural Attenuation at Radioactively Contaminated Sites, in prep. |
Remediation
of Sites with Dispersed Radioactive Contamination,
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