The International Atomic Energy Agency is encouraging member governments to design national plans for the management of radioactive waste, including storage and final disposition.
Representatives from more than 60 countries discussed radioactive waste disposal last month in Vienna, Austria, during the IAEA’s International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Topics during the five-day conference, according to an IAEA report Friday, included radioactive waste management; waste processing; storage; disposal of low-, intermediate-, and high-level waste; disposal of disused radioactive sources; and post-accident waste management.
Officials also discussed the progress, or lack of progress, on the establishment of high-level waste and spent fuel disposal facilities. Repository projects are underway or planned in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. The U.S., Finland, and Sweden all have operating repositories. There is also anticipation that deep geological repository development will be underway soon in Finland, Sweden, and France.
Gerard Bruno, head of the Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management Unit at the IAEA, noted during the conference the progress of overall management of all types of radioactive waste internationally. He shared an optimistic outlook for high-level waste and spent fuel facilities.
“The establishment of such facilities does take a long time, and we should allow them to take as long as they require,” he said. “In the meantime, our understanding of long-term safety is improving.”
While officials agreed that interim storage is necessary for safely storing waste in a timely manner, disposal should be the end goal that utilities, regulators, and lawmakers pursue.
“Disposal remains, in some cases, a complex and long process,” Bruno said.
