Radioactive Wastes Video Lecture - NEET

in Austria technicians check the welding
on pipes for a hydropower plant over in
Indonesia spices are being cleared of
biological contaminants in Budapest
pharmaceuticals are being created and
operators run a Chinese power plant that
provides electricity to thousands of
homes these are common activities taking
place every day in many parts of the
world they rely on nuclear technologies
that use radioactive materials the
benefits of these technologies whether
used in agriculture industry or medicine
are plentiful like other processes they
generate waste this waste contains
radioactive elements people and the
environment must be protected from the
potential hazards of such waste now and
in the future
so countries need to manage their
radioactive waste safely and securely
and make sure it's kept under control
this responsibility starts as soon as a
country decides to use nuclear
technologies and techniques are
available to manage radioactive waste
radioactive elements are unstable and
emit radiation as they decay
the decay rate is measured in half-lives
this means the time it takes for the
activity of a radionuclide to have
after another half-life period the
activity is again down by half this
continues and eventually the material
emits only negligible amounts of
ionizing radiation
each radionuclide has its own half-life
so waste can be hazardous for periods of
time stretching from a few hours or days
up to hundreds of thousands of years
radioactive waste is classified
depending on the half-lives and the
level of radioactivity of the nuclides
it contains according to the IAEA s
safety standards there are six classes
of radioactive waste each waste class
has different management and disposal
needs techniques exists to manage this
radioactive waste and the spent nuclear
fuel from power plants and research
reactors in a safe and secure way waste
containing only radionuclides with very
short half-lives can be stored for a few
days or years to allow for the decay of
the nuclides this type of waste is
usually generated when radioactive
materials are used for research or
medical purposes eventually it can be
disposed of as conventional waste other
waste forms need to be managed for
radioactive waste disposal by volume
most radioactive waste has low levels of
radioactivity this includes the majority
of the waste that comes from the routine
operation of a nuclear power plant and
waste that's produced when medical and
industrial devices that use radioactive
sources are no longer needed this could
be because the source has decayed and
the remaining radioactivity isn't strong
enough for its original purpose or the
device is damaged or obsolete in these
cases the radioactive source needs to be
removed from the equipment and prepared
for storage and eventual disposal some
countries process their waste at
centralized waste management and storage
facilities upon arrival the waste is
controlled to check for any surface
contamination and the radiation levels
are measured details of the waste type
are noted for the inventory before the
waste can be processed further
to prepare it for storage and disposal
such processes can involve measures to
reduce the volume of the waste such as
compaction and incineration and
capsulation is used to immobilize the
contaminants after being placed in
appropriate containers the waste is
stored it will remain in this kind of
facility until a suitable place or
system for its disposal is established
many countries already have near surface
disposal sites for waste with low levels
of radioactivity these facilities can
consist of silos in the ground trenches
or vaults once they're full they will be
back filled with grout or soil sealed
and closed according to their disposal
license alongside the radioactive waste
produced by the routine activities at a
nuclear power plant nuclear power
generation produces spent fuel or
high-level waste such waste is low in
volume but has a high level of
radioactivity and it remains hazardous
for thousands of years in some countries
the spent nuclear fuel that can no
longer be used to generate electricity
is reprocessed to extract usable
material for new fuel other countries
consider the spent fuel as waste for
direct disposal in all countries
generating nuclear power the spent fuel
is currently stored either in water
pools or dry casks at secure storage
facilities waste management experts
around the world agree that underground
geological disposal is the best and
preferred option as a solution for
high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel
this would be in a location where
geological conditions are stable and the
waste can be contained and isolated from
humans and the environment until it no
longer presents a hazard
while there's still no geological
disposal facility of this type in
operation some countries have already
selected a location designed the
facility and conducted safety
assessments a few for example Sweden
Finland and France are well advanced in
their development radioactive waste with
low and intermediate levels of activity
is already being disposed of in
geological facilities in several
countries since its inception the IAEA
has assisted its member states to safely
manage their radioactive waste
the IAEA produces internationally
respected safety standards and offers
technical guidance at its headquarters
in Vienna Austria the IAEA hosts
meetings and workshops bringing together
experts from around the world to
exchange experiences international teams
led by the IAEA reviews security
measures at waste storage facilities the
IAEA also helps countries to securely
store high activity sources in advance
of disposal its experts run training
courses in radioactive waste management
and conduct missions worldwide to assist
with the conditioning of disused sealed
radioactive sources its safeguards
inspectors make sure that all nuclear
material including spent nuclear fuel is
accounted for and used solely for
peaceful purposes
as populations grow and nations develop
we'll be making more use of nuclear
technologies this will result in more
radioactive waste and more waste means
more needs to be done to meet the
challenges with the technologies now
available the new developments in the
pipeline and the continuous support of
the IAEA countries are well equipped to
manage radioactive waste safely and
securely