Waste Technology Section
Environmental Remediation
Ongoing Activities
- Establishment of the Network of Environmental Management and Remediation
Some of the IAEA Member States face specific challenges to implement remediation projects, not only because of the lack of resources but also because of the lack of appropriate technology and expertise; these things can end-up constituting important barriers for project implementation. Experience has shown that with appropriate planning and assistance, remedial actions are more likely to be implemented successfully. As such, the interaction of inexperienced and experienced countries facilitated by the IAEA may lead to better conditions for implementation of projects and lessons learned within this franework may inspire countries to emulate the experience gained by others. However, the benefits of networking may not be restricted to the support of developing Member States. More developed Member States can also benefit from networking as they will have an open and flexible environment to exchange experience and build up partnerships. The ENVIRONET is being established by the IAEA as a facilitator, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency in sharing international experience in the application of best and proven practices for remediation of radiologically contaminated sites including issues related to stakeholder involvement (communication, participation in the decision making process, etc). The network is to deal with legacy (existing contaminated sites) as well as introducing the life-cycle approach in order to minimize the need of future remediation measures.
- Use of Remote Sensing Techniques in Environmental Remediation Programmes
Remote Sensing Techniques offer a rapid and cost-effective way of monitoring a wide variety of environmental parameters and features that may be relevant in environmental remediation programmes related to radioactively contaminated sites. This range of technologies has not been consolidated yet in the context of the environmental remediation of radioactively contaminated sites. This project is aimed at examining the potential of different techniques and at making guidance available on how to implement them in the context of environmental remediation projects so that Member States can make the best and cost-effective use of them the implementation and monitoring of environmental remediation programmes.
- Managing Environmental Remediation in Nuclear Operations Life-Cycle Perspective
In recent years a dramatic change in paradigms occurred: awakening awareness of environmental long-term problems has been bringing forth a move away from treating environmental problems only after they have occurred. The prevailing vision nowadays is to avoid environmental impacts from the beginning in the life-cycle of an activity. This life-cycle management aims to treat each stage of an operation in the life of a facility or site not as an isolated event, but as one phase in its overall life. Thus, the planning does not only cover each stage, but is a continuing activity, taking into account actual and projected developments. By implementing the elements covered in this project it is expected that the generation of contaminated sites as well as the need of extensive remediation programmes will be avoided.
- Application of Mathematical Models in Environmental Remediation
The role that mathematical models play are of major importance to predict the behaviour of different kinds of contaminants in the environment and to allow for the design of appropriate remediation solutions and also to assess their performance. The need to improve the understanding and the capabilities to simulate the behaviour of contaminates in the subsurface environments was established as a priority by a task group of the US National Research Council when reviewing the USDOE environmental remediation programme. As long as many mathematical models have been produced in the past years, their appropriate use is still a challenge for many professionals in charge of planning and implementing remediation strategies to be applied in the cleaning-up of contaminated sites. The lack of appropriate understanding of the capabilities of these models, their limitation and the mechanisms they are representing may lead to the design of inappropriate solutions that will imply on one hand in the application of undue amount of resources or in the design of remediation solutions that will not be able to reach the intended performance. Because of that this project is intended to revise the existing models (that can be used in the planning of environmental remediation of radioactively contaminated sites); discuss the limitations and needs of the existing tools; give orientation about the appropriateness of their use in specific situations; define the situations in which simplifications can be used and to give guidance when coupling contaminant reactive transport with dose assessment protocols.
- Management of NORM Waste
Since it has been recognized that many non-nuclear industrial operations have the potential to generate residues and wastes with enhanced levels of radioactivity it has been also accepted that some of these materials need to be disposed off in appropriate ways. Different types of non-nuclear industries can generate different amounts of residues and wastes with different levels of radioactivity. Up to the moment the IAEA has no document to give specific guidance to Member States about the disposal options available for NORM residues and wastes that also consolidates what could be called good-practices and calling attention to the specific issues that the disposal options need to take into account. As a result this project is intended to review the ongoing practices of NORM residue and waste disposal and give guidance to Member States about the strategies that can be considered when dealing with this type of material generated by different industrial operations.
- Technical Co-operation Project on Environmental Remediation and NORM
Environmental Remediation and NORM management are objects of different projects under the Technical Cooperation in which Waste Technology Section is involved by means of the Unit of Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation. These projects include:
- Establishment of Radioecological Monitoring and of Rehabilitation Programmes for the Contaminated areas of the Absheron Peninsula (AZB7002)
- Decommissioning and Remediation of the Former Nuclear Facilities and Sites in Iraq (IRQ3002)
- Monitoring and Assessing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials from the Oil Industry in Kuwait (Phase II) (KUW9005)
- Managing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in the Oil and Gas Industry in Libya (LIB3005)
- Developing Safe NORM Waste Disposal Technology and Long Term Repository Designs (ARASIA (RAS 3010)
- Supporting Preparation for Remediation of Uranium Production Legacy Sites in Central Asia (RER 3010)