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Energy and Environment
Published in T.M. Aggarwal, Environmental Control in Thermal Power Plants, 2021
Governments around the world are considering a range of waste management and disposal options, usually involving deep-geologic placement, although there has been limited progress toward implementing long-term waste management solutions. This is partly because the time frames in question when dealing with radioactive waste range from 10,000 to millions of years, according to studies based on the effect of estimated radiation doses.
Political and Regulatory Aspects of Energy and Environment
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Power Generation and the Environment, 2021
Because of their highly radioactive fission products, high-level waste and spent fuel must be handled and stored with care. Since the only way radioactive waste finally becomes harmless is through decay, which for high-level wastes can take hundreds of thousands of years, the wastes must be stored and finally disposed of in a way that provides adequate protection of the public for a very long time.
Radioactivity
Published in Michael J. Kennish, Ecology of Estuaries: Anthropogenic Effects, 2019
Since the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939, large quantities of radioactive waste have accumulated throughout the world. Radioactive waste is produced whenever radioactive materials are employed, such as in nuclear weapons testing and in nuclear reactors for the generation of electricity. The waste exists in liquid, gaseous, or solid form and based on its origin and potential hazard, may be classified into four categories: (1) high-level waste; (2) transuranic waste; (3) low-level waste; and (4) uranium mill tailings.1 In addition to differing in physical form, radioactive wastes can be distinguished by their chemical form and, consequently, their potential environmental impact, as well as the nature of the radiation they emit.2
Radiation Compatibility of Geopolymer, Polymer, and Composite Materials for Use as Inner Shielding in Radioactive Waste Containers—A Simulation-Based Study
Published in Nuclear Technology, 2022
Radioactive waste is generated in a wide variety of practices and activities involving radioactive materials, such as the operation of radiation and nuclear facilities; the use of sealed radioactive sources in medicine, industry, and research; and the decommissioning of such facilities. From its generation until disposal, radioactive waste may go through several stages of management, including treatment and conditioning. In all of these stages, radioactive waste may be stored, waiting for either the next processing step or disposal. Storage of radioactive waste is its placement into a storage facility with the intention of retrieving it for further processing or disposal.1 Disposal of radioactive waste is aimed at providing long-term isolation of radioactive waste from people and the environment. Contrary to storage, disposal is the placement of radioactive waste into a disposal facility with no intention for retrieval.2
Reactor Physics Assessment of Potential Feasibility of Using Advanced, Nonconventional Fuels in a Pressure Tube Heavy Water Reactor to Destroy Americium and Curium
Published in Nuclear Technology, 2021
The operation of nuclear reactors [including Generation III+ (Gen-III+), Generation IV (Gen-IV), and small modular reactor (SMR) technologies] produces high-level radioactive waste in the spent fuel, which contains numerous radioactive fission products, plutonium (Pu) isotopes, and minor actinides (MAs) [such as isotopes of neptunium (Np), americium (Am), curium (Cm), and other heavier elements]. Aside from the fission products and certain neutron activation products, a key long-term problem for radioactive waste storage is the isotopes of Am and Cm, particularly those that are nonfissile and those that have a long half-life, ranging from 432 years (for 241Am) to 15 600 000 years (for 247Cm), as shown in Table I. Long-term isolation and storage of MAs in a deep geological repository (DGR) to ensure the protection of the environment for millions of years is considered scientifically and technologically feasible.1,2 However, it may be preferable to separate and destroy Am and Cm through direct fission, or transmutation into fissile isotopes by neutron capture, followed by fission.
Design of an IoT-based indoor tracking and condition monitoring system for the safe and transparent management of drums storing low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2023
Jin-Woo Lee, Tack-Jin Kim, Hyun-Kyu Lee
We analyzed the regulatory requirements that should be considered when applying IoT technology to radioactive waste management being implemented in Korea, where radioactive waste management is regulated by the Radioactive Waste Management Act and must meet relevant conditions of the radioactive waste management enforcement order, rules, and notifications under Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3. In addition, according to the provisions of Article 13, radioactive waste management involving IoT devices must be observed at designated locations and management facilities. Technical standards for battery safety of IoT-related devices have not yet been included in the regulatory requirements. Therefore, the development of the necessary procedures and regulations would be worthwhile if the technology is commercialized. In the United States, regulations are applied according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Department of Energy (DOE) regulations based on the classification of radioactive waste. In the United States, there is currently no direct regulation on the use of IoT devices in relation to radioactive waste management. However, as the proportion of IoT devices has increased, agencies in the United States have recently begun focusing on security checks. Regulatory requirements for IoT devices are being investigated and formulated, and some are currently pending before the Federal Assembly (USA). The international standard (Y.2060) established in 2012 for the IoT has come to the forefront in the efforts of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to promote standardization. However, no IoT-related international standards or regulations for radioactive waste have yet been implemented.