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Waste Management

Although most sealed radioactive sources have a relatively long life time, at some point they must be replaced. Most countries with nuclear power programmes have some capacity for long term storage of radioactive waste that could also be used for such disused sources. One of the major challenges facing countries without waste facilities is how to safely manage disused sources. Waste management must ensure that sources can be kept secure without risk of loss, theft or accident over very long time periods. Source management includes conditioning the source, checking the status of the source regularly and keeping records of all transactions by the waste operator.

The importation of a source creates a long term obligation to manage the source when it no longer has a useful purpose, both for the importer and for the regulatory authority. If the source cannot be returned to the supplier the waste operator should condition the sources and store them in a secure central facility. Some manufacturers may be willing to take back sources they supplied. Final disposal of sources in a licensed disposal site is the ultimate solution.

Management of Disused Long Lived Sealed Radioactive Sources

In Conclusion

To balance both the risks and benefits of sealed radioactive sources from social, health and economic perspectives, national governments will require an adequate infrastructure to effectively control the use of sealed radioactive sources. Detailed technical information to assist governments to establish an effective infrastructure to ensure the safety and security of sealed radioactive sources is available from the IAEA Safety Series and technical documents:

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/publications.asp

See “Legal and Governmental Infrastructure for Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste and Transport Safety,
Safety Standards Series No. GS-R-1 (2000)”

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/ Pub1093_scr.pdf.






	Waste Management Although most sealed radioactive sources have a relatively long life time, at some point they must be replaced. Most countries with nuclear power programmes have some capacity for long term storage of radioactive waste that could also be used for such disused sources. One of the major challenges facing countries without waste facilities is how to safely manage disused sources. Waste management must ensure that sources can be kept secure without risk of loss, theft or accident over very long time periods. Source management includes conditioning the source, checking the status of the source regularly and keeping records of all transactions by the waste operator. The importation of a source creates a long term obligation to manage the source when it no longer has a useful purpose, both for the importer and for the regulatory authority. If the source cannot be returned to the supplier the waste operator should condition the sources and store them in a secure central facility. Some manufacturers may be willing to take back sources they supplied. Final disposal of sources in a licensed disposal site is the ultimate solution. Management of Disused Long Lived Sealed Radioactive Sources In Conclusion To balance both the risks and benefits of sealed radioactive sources from social, health and economic perspectives, national governments will require an adequate infrastructure to effectively control the use of sealed radioactive sources. Detailed technical information to assist governments to establish an effective infrastructure to ensure the safety and security of sealed radioactive sources is available from the IAEA Safety Series and technical documents: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/publications.asp See “Legal and Governmental Infrastructure for Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste and Transport Safety, Safety Standards Series No. GS-R-1 (2000)” http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/ Pub1093_scr.pdf. Download pdf: - Arabic (315 KB) - Chinese (470 KB) - English (214 KB) - French (150 KB) - Spanish (158 KB) - Russian (174 KB)














See an animated introduction » Go back to Index »

Issues for Government Agencies

Waste Management

In Conclusion