View source for Radioactive waste

{{Short description|Unusable radioactive materials}}
[[File:TINT Radioactive wastes' barrel.jpg|thumb|[[Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology]] (TINT) [[Low-level waste|low-level]] radioactive waste barrels]]
{{Pollution sidebar|Radiation}}

'''Radioactive waste''' is a type of [[hazardous waste]] that contains [[radioactive material]]. It is a result of many activities, including [[nuclear medicine]], [[nuclear research]], [[nuclear power]] generation, [[nuclear decommissioning]], [[rare-earth]] mining, and [[nuclear weapon]]s reprocessing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Geological Society of London – Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste |url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gdrw |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=www.geolsoc.org.uk}}</ref> The storage and disposal of radioactive waste is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.

Radioactive waste is broadly classified into 3 categories: [[low-level waste]] (LLW), such as paper, rags, tools, clothing, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity; intermediate-level waste (ILW), which contains higher amounts of radioactivity and requires some shielding; and [[high-level waste]] (HLW), which is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, thus requiring cooling and shielding.

[[Spent nuclear fuel]] can be processed in [[nuclear reprocessing]] plants. One third of the total amount have already been reprocessed. With nuclear reprocessing 96% of the spent fuel can be recycled back into uranium-based and [[MOX fuel|mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Recovery and recycling of nuclear fuels {{!}} Orano |url=https://www.orano.group/en/nuclear-expertise/from-exploration-to-recycling/world-leader-in-recycling-used-nuclear-fuels |website=orano.group |access-date=26 September 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The residual 4% is [[minor actinides]] and [[fission products]], the latter of which are a mixture of stable and quickly decaying (most likely already having decayed in the [[spent fuel pool]]) elements, medium lived fission products such as [[strontium-90]] and [[caesium-137]] and finally seven [[long-lived fission products]] with half-lives in the hundreds of thousands to millions of years. The minor actinides, meanwhile, are heavy elements other than uranium and plutonium which are created by [[neutron capture]]. Their half-lives range from years to millions of years and as [[alpha decay|alpha emitters]] they are particularly radiotoxic. While there are proposed – and to a much lesser extent current – uses of all those elements, commercial-scale reprocessing using the [[PUREX]]-process disposes of them as waste together with the fission products. The waste is subsequently [[vitrification|converted into a glass-like ceramic]] for storage in a [[deep geological repository]].

The time radioactive waste must be stored depends on the type of waste and radioactive isotopes it contains. Short-term approaches to radioactive waste storage have been segregation and storage on the surface or near-surface of the earth. Burial in a [[deep geological repository]] is a favored solution for long-term storage of high-level waste, while re-use and [[Nuclear transmutation|transmutation]] are favored solutions for reducing the HLW inventory. Boundaries to recycling of spent nuclear fuel are regulatory and economic as well as the problem of [[radioactive contamination]] if chemical separation processes cannot achieve a very high purity. Furthermore, elements may be present in both useful and troublesome isotopes, which would require costly and energy intensive isotope separation for their use – a currently uneconomic prospect.

A summary of the amounts of radioactive waste and management approaches for most developed countries are presented and reviewed periodically as part of a [[Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management|joint convention]] of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Joint Convention |url=http://www-ns.iaea.org/conventions/waste-jointconvention.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328035249/http://www-ns.iaea.org/conventions/waste-jointconvention.htm |archive-date=2010-03-28 |publisher=IAEA}}</ref>

== Nature and significance ==
A quantity of radioactive waste typically consists of a number of [[radionuclides]], which are unstable isotopes of elements that undergo [[radioactive decay|decay]] and thereby emit [[ionizing radiation]], which is harmful to humans and the environment. Different isotopes emit different types and levels of radiation, which last for different periods of time.

=== Physics ===
{{Main article|Fission product yield}}
{{See also|Radioactive decay}}
{{Medium-lived fission products}}
{{Long-lived fission products}}
The radioactivity of all radioactive waste weakens with time. All [[radionuclide]]s contained in the waste have a [[half-life]]—the time it takes for half of the atoms to decay into another [[nuclide]]. Eventually, all radioactive waste decays into non-radioactive elements (i.e., [[stable nuclide]]s). Since radioactive decay follows the half-life rule, the rate of decay is inversely proportional to the duration of decay. In other words, the radiation from a long-lived isotope like [[iodine-129]] will be much less intense than that of a short-lived isotope like [[iodine-131]].<ref>{{cite web |date=28 March 2011 |title=What about Iodine-129 – Half-Life is 15 Million Years |url=http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/2115 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513121013/http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/2115 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |access-date=1 December 2012 |work=Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring Forum |publisher=University of California |language=en-us |publication-place=Berkeley, California}}</ref> The two tables show some of the major radioisotopes, their half-lives, and their [[fission product yield|radiation yield]] as a proportion of the yield of fission of uranium-235.

The energy and the type of the [[ionizing radiation]] emitted by a radioactive substance are also important factors in determining its threat to humans.<ref>{{cite book |title=Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry |last=Attix |first=Frank |year=1986 |publisher=Wiley-VCH |location=New York |isbn=978-0-471-01146-0 |pages=2–15,468,474 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PL8971RdEfoC}}</ref> The chemical properties of the radioactive [[chemical element|element]] will determine how mobile the substance is and how likely it is to spread into the environment and [[contaminate]] humans.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Mary |author-link1=Mary P. Anderson |title=Applied Groundwater Modeling |last2=Woessner |first2=William |publisher=Academic Press Incorporated |year=1992 |isbn=0-12-059485-4 |location=San Diego, California |pages=325–327 |language=en-us}}</ref> This is further complicated by the fact that many radioisotopes do not decay immediately to a stable state but rather to radioactive [[decay product]]s within a [[decay chain]] before ultimately reaching a stable state.

=== Pharmacokinetics ===
Exposure to radioactive waste may cause health impacts due to ionizing radiation exposure. In humans, a dose of 1 [[sievert]] carries a 5.5% risk of developing cancer,<ref name="ICRP103">{{cite journal |title=The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection |journal=Annals of the ICRP |year=2007 |volume=37 |series=ICRP publication 103 |issue=2–4 |url=http://www.icrp.org/publication.asp?id=ICRP%20Publication%20103 |isbn=978-0-7020-3048-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116084754/http://www.icrp.org/publication.asp?id=ICRP+Publication+103 |archive-date=2012-11-16}}</ref> and regulatory agencies [[linear no-threshold model|assume the risk is linearly proportional to dose]] even for low doses. Ionizing radiation can cause deletions in chromosomes.<ref>Gofman, John W. ''Radiation and human health''. San Francisco, California: Sierra Club Books, 1981, p. 787.</ref> If a developing organism such as a [[fetus]] is irradiated, it is possible a [[birth defect]] may be induced, but it is unlikely this defect will be in a [[gamete]] or a gamete-forming [[cell (biology)|cell]]. The incidence of radiation-induced mutations in humans is small, as in most mammals, because of natural cellular-repair mechanisms, many just now coming to light. These mechanisms range from DNA, [[mRNA]] and protein repair, to internal lysosomic digestion of defective proteins, and even induced cell suicide—apoptosis<ref>Sancar, A. et al ''Molecular mechanisms of mammalian DNA repair and the DNA damage checkpoints''. Washington, D.C.: National Institutes of Health PubMed.gov, 2004.</ref>

Depending on the decay mode and the [[pharmacokinetics]] [[radiopharmacology|of an element]] (how the body processes it and how quickly), the threat due to exposure to a given activity of a [[radioisotope]] will differ. For instance, [[iodine-131]] is a short-lived [[beta decay|beta]] and [[gamma decay|gamma]] emitter, but because it concentrates in the [[thyroid]] gland, it is more able to cause injury than [[caesium]]-137 which, being [[water soluble]], is rapidly excreted through urine. In a similar way, the [[alpha decay|alpha]] emitting actinides and [[radium]] are considered very harmful as they tend to have long [[Biological half-life|biological half-lives]] and their radiation has a high [[relative biological effectiveness]], making it far more damaging to tissues per amount of energy deposited. Because of such differences, the rules determining biological injury differ widely according to the radioisotope, time of exposure, and sometimes also the nature of the chemical compound which contains the radioisotope.

== Sources ==
{{Actinides vs fission products}}
Radioactive waste comes from a number of sources. In countries with nuclear power plants, nuclear armament, or nuclear fuel treatment plants, the majority of waste originates from the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear weapons reprocessing. Other sources include medical and industrial wastes, as well as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) that can be concentrated as a result of the processing or consumption of coal, oil, and gas, and some minerals, as discussed below.

=== Nuclear fuel cycle ===
{{Main|Nuclear fuel cycle|Spent nuclear fuel}}
{{see also|Nuclear power}}

==== Front end ====
Waste from the front end of the [[nuclear fuel cycle]] is usually alpha-emitting waste from the extraction of uranium. It often contains radium and its decay products.

[[Uranium dioxide]] (UO<sub>2</sub>) concentrate from mining is a thousand or so times as radioactive as the [[granite]] used in buildings. It is refined from [[yellowcake]] (U<sub>3</sub>O<sub>8</sub>), then converted to [[uranium hexafluoride]] gas (UF<sub>6</sub>). As a gas, it undergoes [[enriched uranium|enrichment]] to increase the [[U-235]] content from 0.7% to about 4.4% (LEU). It is then turned into a hard [[ceramic]] oxide (UO<sub>2</sub>) for assembly as reactor fuel elements.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cochran |first=Robert |url=http://www.new.ans.org/store/i_350015 |title=The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Analysis and Management |publisher=American Nuclear Society |year=1999 |isbn=0-89448-451-6 |location=La Grange Park, Illinois |pages=52–57 |language=en-us |access-date=2011-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016144333/http://www.new.ans.org/store/i_350015 |archive-date=2011-10-16 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The main by-product of enrichment is [[depleted uranium]] (DU), principally the [[Uranium-238|U-238]] isotope, with a U-235 content of ~0.3%. It is stored, either as UF<sub>6</sub> or as U<sub>3</sub>O<sub>8</sub>. Some is used in applications where its extremely high density makes it valuable such as [[anti-tank]] [[KE-penetrator|shells]], and on at least [[Pen Duick|one occasion]] even a sailboat [[keel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw010108_1_n.shtml |title=Global Defence News and Defence Headlines – IHS Jane's 360 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725032900/http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw010108_1_n.shtml |archive-date=2008-07-25}}</ref> It is also used with plutonium for making [[mixed oxide fuel]] (MOX) and to dilute, or [[enriched uranium#Downblending|downblend]], highly enriched uranium from weapons stockpiles which is now being redirected to become reactor fuel.

==== Back end ====
{{See also|Nuclear reprocessing}}
The back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle, mostly spent [[fuel rod]]s, contains [[fission product]]s that emit beta and gamma radiation, and [[actinide]]s that emit [[alpha particle]]s, such as [[uranium-234]] (half-life 245&nbsp;thousand years), [[neptunium-237]] (2.144&nbsp;million years), [[plutonium-238]] (87.7&nbsp;years) and [[americium-241]] (432 years), and even sometimes some neutron emitters such as [[californium]] (half-life of 898 years for californium-251). These isotopes are formed in [[nuclear reactor]]s.

It is important to distinguish the processing of uranium to make fuel from the [[nuclear reprocessing|reprocessing]] of used fuel. Used fuel contains the highly radioactive products of fission (see high-level waste below). Many of these are neutron absorbers, called [[neutron poison]]s in this context. These eventually build up to a level where they absorb so many neutrons that the chain reaction stops, even with the control rods completely removed from a reactor. At that point, the fuel has to be replaced in the reactor with fresh fuel, even though there is still a substantial quantity of [[uranium-235]] and [[plutonium]] present. In the United States, this used fuel is usually "stored", while in other countries such as Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and India, the fuel is reprocessed to remove the fission products, and the fuel can then be re-used.<ref>{{cite web |title=Recycling spent nuclear fuel: the ultimate solution for the US? |url=http://analysis.nuclearenergyinsider.com/operations-maintenance/recycling-spent-nuclear-fuel-ultimate-solution-us |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128101318/http://analysis.nuclearenergyinsider.com/operations-maintenance/recycling-spent-nuclear-fuel-ultimate-solution-us |archive-date=28 November 2012 |access-date=2015-07-29 |website=Nuclear Energy Insider}}</ref> The fission products removed from the fuel are a concentrated form of high-level waste as are the chemicals used in the process. While most countries reprocess the fuel carrying out single plutonium cycles, India is planning multiple plutonium recycling schemes <ref name="reprocess">{{cite web |title=Continuous Plutonium Recycling In India: Improvements in Reprocessing Technology |url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/13/742039/-Continuous-Plutonium-Recycling-In-India:Improvements-in-Reprocessing-Technology. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606130212/http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/13/742039/-Continuous-Plutonium-Recycling-In-India:Improvements-in-Reprocessing-Technology. |archive-date=2011-06-06 |website=dailykos.com}}</ref> and Russia pursues closed cycle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/russia-nuclear-fuel-cycle.aspx |title=Russia's Nuclear Fuel Cycle &#124; Russian Nuclear Fuel Cycle - World Nuclear Association}}</ref>

==== Fuel composition and long term radioactivity ====
[[File:Activityofuranium233.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Activity of [[Uranium-233|U-233]] for three fuel types. In the case of MOX, the U-233 increases for the first 650 thousand years as it is produced by the decay of [[Np-237]] which was created in the reactor by absorption of neutrons by U-235.]]
{{See also|Spent nuclear fuel|High-level waste}}
{{Main|Long-lived fission product}}
[[File:Activitytotal1.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Total activity for three fuel types. In region 1, there is radiation from short-lived nuclides, in region 2, from [[Sr-90]] and [[Cs-137]], and on the far right, the decay of Np-237 and U-233.]]
The use of different fuels in nuclear reactors results in different [[spent nuclear fuel]] (SNF) composition, with varying activity curves. The most abundant material being U-238 with other uranium isotopes, other actinides, fission products and activation products.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Radioactivity : Spent fuel composition |url=https://www.radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Spent_Fuel_Composition.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923005202/https://www.radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Spent_Fuel_Composition.htm |archive-date=2020-09-23 |access-date=2021-08-10 |website=www.radioactivity.eu.com}}</ref>

Long-lived radioactive waste from the back end of the fuel cycle is especially relevant when designing a complete waste management plan for SNF. When looking at long-term radioactive decay, the actinides in the SNF have a significant influence due to their characteristically long half-lives. Depending on what a [[nuclear reactor]] is fueled with, the actinide composition in the SNF will be different.

An example of this effect is the use of [[nuclear fuel]]s with [[thorium]]. Th-232 is a fertile material that can undergo a neutron capture reaction and two beta minus decays, resulting in the production of fissile [[uranium-233|U-233]]. The SNF of a cycle with thorium will contain U-233. Its radioactive decay will strongly influence the long-term [[radioactive decay|activity]] curve of the SNF for around a million years. A comparison of the activity associated to U-233 for three different SNF types can be seen in the figure on the top right. The burnt fuels are thorium with reactor-grade plutonium (RGPu), thorium with weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu), and [[Mixed oxide fuel]] (MOX, no thorium). For RGPu and WGPu, the initial amount of U-233 and its decay for around a million years can be seen. This has an effect on the total activity curve of the three fuel types. The initial absence of U-233 and its daughter products in the MOX fuel results in a lower activity in region 3 of the figure at the bottom right, whereas for RGPu and WGPu the curve is maintained higher due to the presence of U-233 that has not fully decayed. Nuclear reprocessing can remove the actinides from the spent fuel so they can be used or destroyed (see {{section link|Long-lived fission product|Actinides}}).

==== Proliferation concerns ====
{{See also|Nuclear proliferation|Reactor-grade plutonium}}

Since uranium and plutonium are [[nuclear weapons]] materials, there are proliferation concerns. Ordinarily (in spent nuclear fuel), plutonium is [[reactor-grade plutonium]]. In addition to [[plutonium-239]], which is highly suitable for building nuclear weapons, it contains large amounts of undesirable contaminants: [[plutonium-240]], [[plutonium-241]], and [[plutonium-238]]. These isotopes are extremely difficult to separate, and more cost-effective ways of obtaining fissile material exist (e.g., uranium enrichment or dedicated plutonium production reactors).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf15.html |title=Plutonium |author=World Nuclear Association |date=March 2009 |access-date=2010-03-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330221426/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf15.html |archive-date=2010-03-30}}</ref>

High-level waste is full of highly radioactive [[fission products]], most of which are relatively short-lived. This is a concern since if the waste is stored, perhaps in deep geological storage, over many years the fission products decay, decreasing the radioactivity of the waste and making the plutonium easier to access. The undesirable contaminant Pu-240 decays faster than the Pu-239, and thus the quality of the bomb material increases with time (although its quantity decreases during that time as well). Thus, some have argued, as time passes, these deep storage areas have the potential to become "plutonium mines", from which material for nuclear weapons can be acquired with relatively little difficulty. Critics of the latter idea have pointed out the difficulty of recovering useful material from sealed deep storage areas makes other methods preferable. Specifically, high radioactivity and heat (80&nbsp;°C in surrounding rock) greatly increase the difficulty of mining a storage area, and the enrichment methods required have high capital costs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nci.org/s/sp121495.htm |title=A Perspective on the Proliferation Risks of Plutonium Mines |author=Lyman, Edwin S. |publisher=[[Nuclear Control Institute]] |date=December 1994 |access-date=2015-11-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125225922/http://nci.org/s/sp121495.htm |archive-date=2015-11-25}}</ref>

Pu-239 decays to U-235 which is suitable for weapons and which has a very long half-life (roughly 10<sup>9</sup> years). Thus plutonium may decay and leave uranium-235. However, modern reactors are only moderately enriched with U-235 relative to U-238, so the U-238 continues to serve as a [[Denaturation (fissile materials)|denaturation]] agent for any U-235 produced by plutonium decay.

One solution to this problem is to recycle the plutonium and use it as a fuel e.g. in [[fast reactor]]s. In [[integral fast reactor|pyrometallurgical fast reactors]], the separated plutonium and uranium are contaminated by actinides and cannot be used for nuclear weapons.

=== Nuclear weapons decommissioning ===
Waste from nuclear weapons decommissioning is unlikely to contain much beta or gamma activity other than [[tritium]] and [[americium]]. It is more likely to contain alpha-emitting actinides such as Pu-239 which is a fissile material used in nuclear bombs, plus some material with much higher specific activities, such as Pu-238 or Po.

In the past the neutron trigger for an [[atomic bomb]] tended to be [[beryllium]] and a high activity alpha emitter such as [[polonium]]; an alternative to polonium is [[Pu-238]]. For reasons of national security, details of the design of modern nuclear bombs are normally not released to the open literature.

Some designs might contain a [[radioisotope thermoelectric generator]] using Pu-238 to provide a long-lasting source of electrical power for the electronics in the device.

It is likely that the fissile material of an old nuclear bomb, which is due for refitting, will contain decay products of the plutonium isotopes used in it. These are likely to include [[U-236]] from Pu-240 impurities plus some U-235 from decay of the Pu-239; due to the relatively long half-life of these Pu isotopes, these wastes from radioactive decay of bomb core material would be very small, and in any case, far less dangerous (even in terms of simple radioactivity) than the Pu-239 itself.

The beta decay of [[Pu-241]] forms [[Am-241]]; the in-growth of americium is likely to be a greater problem than the decay of Pu-239 and Pu-240 as the americium is a gamma emitter (increasing external-exposure to workers) and is an alpha emitter which can cause the generation of [[heat]]. The plutonium could be separated from the americium by several different processes; these would include [[Nuclear reprocessing#Pyroprocessing|pyrochemical]] processes and aqueous/organic [[solvent extraction]]. A truncated [[PUREX]] type extraction process would be one possible method of making the separation. Naturally occurring uranium is not fissile because it contains 99.3% of U-238 and only 0.7% of U-235.

=== Legacy waste ===
Due to historic activities typically related to the radium industry, uranium mining, and military programs, numerous sites contain or are contaminated with radioactivity. In the United States alone, the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] (DOE) states there are "millions of gallons of radioactive waste" as well as "thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel and material" and also "huge quantities of contaminated soil and water."<ref name="usemdoefyp">[http://www.em.doe.gov/ U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319214054/http://www.em.doe.gov/ |date=2007-03-19 }} – "[http://www.em.doe.gov/PDFs/170016EM_FYP_Final_3-6-06.pdf Department of Energy Five Year Plan FY 2007-FY 2011 Volume II] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705081614/http://www.em.doe.gov/PDFs/170016EM_FYP_Final_3-6-06.pdf |date=2007-07-05 }}." Retrieved 8 April 2007.</ref> Despite copious quantities of waste, in 2007, the DOE stated a goal of cleaning all presently contaminated sites successfully by 2025.<ref name="usemdoefyp" /> The [[Fernald, Ohio|Fernald]], [[Ohio]] site for example had "31 million pounds of uranium product", "2.5 billion pounds of waste", "2.75 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris", and a "223 acre portion of the underlying Great Miami Aquifer had uranium levels above drinking standards."<ref name="usemdoefyp" /> The United States has at least 108 sites designated as areas that are contaminated and unusable, sometimes many thousands of acres.<ref name="usemdoefyp" /><ref>American Scientist, January/February 2007.</ref> The DOE wishes to clean or mitigate many or all by 2025, using the recently developed method of [[geomelting]],{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} however the task can be difficult and it acknowledges that some may never be completely remediated. In just one of these 108 larger designations, [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] (ORNL), there were for example at least "167 known contaminant release sites" in one of the three subdivisions of the {{convert|37000|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} site.<ref name="usemdoefyp" /> Some of the U.S. sites were smaller in nature, however, cleanup problems were simpler to address, and the DOE has successfully completed cleanup, or at least closure, of several sites.<ref name="usemdoefyp" />

=== Medicine ===
Radioactive [[medical waste]] tends to contain [[beta particle]] and [[gamma ray]] emitters. It can be divided into two main classes. In diagnostic [[nuclear medicine]] a number of short-lived gamma emitters such as [[technetium-99m]] are used. Many of these can be disposed of by leaving it to decay for a short time before disposal as normal waste. Other isotopes used in medicine, with half-lives in parentheses, include:
* [[yttrium|Y-90]], used for treating [[lymphoma]] (2.7 days)
* [[radioiodine|I-131]], used for [[thyroid]] function tests and for treating [[thyroid cancer]] (8.0 days)
* [[strontium|Sr-89]], used for treating [[bone cancer]], [[intravenous injection]] (52 days)
* [[iridium|Ir-192]], used for [[brachytherapy]] (74 days)
* [[cobalt|Co-60]], used for brachytherapy and external radiotherapy (5.3 years)
* [[Cs-137]], used for brachytherapy and external radiotherapy (30 years)
* [[Tc-99]], product of the decay of technetium-99m (221,000 years)

=== Industry ===
Industrial source waste can contain alpha, [[beta decay|beta]], [[neutron emission|neutron]] or gamma emitters. Gamma emitters are used in [[radiography]] while neutron emitting sources are used in a range of applications, such as [[oil well]] logging.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Logging |url=http://www.logwell.com/tech/nuclear/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627070724/http://www.logwell.com/tech/nuclear/index.html |archive-date=2009-06-27 |access-date=2009-07-07 |website=logwell.com}}</ref>

=== Naturally occurring radioactive material ===
[[File:Uranium and thorium release from coal combustion.gif|thumb|upright=2.2|Annual release of [[uranium]] and [[thorium]] [[radioisotopes]] from coal combustion, predicted by [[ORNL]] in 1993 to cumulatively amount to 2.9 Mt over the 1937–2040 period, from the combustion of an estimated 637 Gt of coal worldwide.<ref name="ornl">{{cite journal |author=Gabbard |first=Alex |year=1993 |title=Coal Combustion |url=http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html |url-status=dead |journal=ORNL Review |language=en-us |location=Oak Ridge, Tennessee |publisher=Oak Ridge National Laboratory |volume=26 |issue=3–4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205103749/http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html |archive-date=February 5, 2007}}</ref>]]

Substances containing natural radioactivity are known as [[NORM]] (naturally occurring radioactive material). After human processing that exposes or concentrates this natural radioactivity (such as mining bringing coal to the surface or burning it to produce concentrated ash), it becomes technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/sources.html |title=TENORM Sources &#124; Radiation Protection &#124; US EPA |publisher=Epa.gov |date=2006-06-28 |access-date=2013-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520064746/http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/sources.html |archive-date=2013-05-20}}</ref> Much of this waste is [[alpha particle]]-emitting matter from the decay chains of [[uranium]] and thorium. The main source of radiation in the human body is [[potassium]]-40 ([[potassium-40|<sup>40</sup>K]]), typically 17 milligrams in the body at a time and 0.4 milligrams/day intake.<ref>Idaho State University. [http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm Radioactivity in Nature] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205001244/http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm |date=2015-02-05 }}</ref> Most rocks, especially [[granite]], have a low level of radioactivity due to the potassium-40, thorium and uranium contained.

Usually ranging from 1 [[millisievert]] (mSv) to 13&nbsp;mSv annually depending on location, average radiation exposure from natural radioisotopes is 2.0&nbsp;mSv per person a year worldwide.<ref name="UNSCEAR">United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. [http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2008/09-86753_Report_2008_GA_Report_corr2.pdf Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, UNSCEAR 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503203201/http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2008/09-86753_Report_2008_GA_Report_corr2.pdf |date=2012-05-03 }}</ref> This makes up the majority of typical total dosage (with mean annual exposure from other sources amounting to 0.6&nbsp;mSv from medical tests averaged over the whole populace, 0.4&nbsp;mSv from [[cosmic ray]]s, 0.005&nbsp;mSv from the legacy of past atmospheric nuclear testing, 0.005&nbsp;mSv occupational exposure, 0.002&nbsp;mSv from the [[Chernobyl disaster]], and 0.0002&nbsp;mSv from the nuclear fuel cycle).<ref name="UNSCEAR" />

TENORM is not regulated as restrictively as nuclear reactor waste, though there are no significant differences in the radiological risks of these materials.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tenorm.com/regs2.htm |title=Regulation of TENORM |publisher=Tenorm.com |access-date=2013-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723203944/http://www.tenorm.com/regs2.htm |archive-date=2013-07-23}}</ref>

==== Coal ====
[[Coal]] contains a small amount of radioactive uranium, barium, thorium, and potassium, but, in the case of pure coal, this is significantly less than the average concentration of those elements in the [[Earth's crust]]. The surrounding strata, if shale or mudstone, often contain slightly more than average and this may also be reflected in the ash content of 'dirty' coals.<ref name="ornl" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081202150006/http://www.uic.com.au/nip78.htm Cosmic origins of Uranium]. uic.com.au (November 2006)</ref> The more active ash minerals become concentrated in the [[fly ash]] precisely because they do not burn well.<ref name="ornl" /> The radioactivity of fly ash is about the same as black [[shale]] and is less than [[phosphate]] rocks, but is more of a concern because a small amount of the fly ash ends up in the atmosphere where it can be inhaled.<ref>U.S. Geological Survey, [https://geology.cr.usgs.gov/energy/factshts/163-97/FS-163-97.html Radioactive Elements in Coal and Fly Ash: Abundance, Forms, and Environmental Significance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124173511/http://geology.cr.usgs.gov/energy/factshts/163-97/FS-163-97.html |date=2005-11-24 }}, ''Fact Sheet'' FS-163-1997, October 1997. Retrieved September 2007.</ref> According to U.S. [[National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements]] (NCRP) reports, population exposure from 1000-MWe power plants amounts to 490 [[person-rem/year]] for coal power plants, 100 times as great as nuclear power plants (4.8 person-rem/year). The exposure from the complete nuclear fuel cycle from mining to waste disposal is 136 person-rem/year; the corresponding value for coal use from mining to waste disposal is "probably unknown".<ref name="ornl" />

==== Oil and gas ====
Residues from the [[oil and gas industry]] often contain radium and its decay products. The sulfate scale from an oil well can be radium rich, while the water, oil, and gas from a well often contain [[radon]]. The radon decays to form solid radioisotopes which form coatings on the inside of pipework. In an oil processing plant, the area of the plant where [[propane]] is processed is often one of the more contaminated areas of the plant as radon has a similar boiling point to propane.<ref>[http://www.enprotec-inc.com/Presentations/NORM.pdf Survey & Identification of NORM Contaminated Equipment] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220195742/http://www.enprotec-inc.com/Presentations/NORM.pdf |date=2006-02-20 }}. enprotec-inc.com.</ref>

Radioactive elements are an industrial problem in some oil wells where workers operating in direct contact with the crude oil and [[brine]] can be exposed to doses having negative health effects. Due to the relatively high concentration of these elements in the brine, its disposal is also a technological challenge. Since the 1980s, in the United States, the brine is however exempt from the dangerous waste regulations and can be disposed of regardless of radioactive or toxic substances content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Syrian Job: Uncovering the Oil Industry's Radioactive Secret |url=https://desmog.co.uk/2020/04/29/syrian-job-oil-industry-radioactive-secret |last=Nobel |first=Justin |date=29 April 2020 |publisher=DeSmog UK |language=en |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref>

==== Rare-earth mining ====
Due to natural occurrence of radioactive elements such as thorium and [[radium]] in [[Rare-earth element|rare-earth ore]], mining operations also result in production of waste and mineral deposits that are slightly radioactive.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/05/clean-energys-dirty-little-secret/307377/ |title=Clean Energy's Dirty Little Secret |last=Margonelli |first=Lisa |date=2009-05-01 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US |access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> 
{{See also|Rare-earth element#Environmental considerations}}

== Classification ==
Classification of radioactive waste varies by country. The IAEA, which publishes the Radioactive Waste Safety Standards (RADWASS), also plays a significant role.<ref name="iaea-glossary">[https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/IAEA-NSS-GLOweb.pdf IAEA Nuclear Safety and Security Glossary.] IAEA, 2022 (4{{nbsp}}MB)</ref> The proportion (by volume) of various types of waste generated in the UK are:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/~/media/shared/documents/policy/briefing%20notes/geological%20disposal%20radioactive%20waste%20policy%20briefing%20note.pdf |title=Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste |website=The Geological Society |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912173031/https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/~/media/shared/documents/policy/briefing%20notes/geological%20disposal%20radioactive%20waste%20policy%20briefing%20note.pdf |archive-date=September 12, 2020 |access-date=November 3, 2025}}</ref>

* 94% – low-level waste (LLW)
* ~6% – intermediate-level waste (ILW)
* <1% – high-level waste (HLW)

=== Mill tailings ===
{{Main article|Uranium tailings}}
{{See also|Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action}}
[[File:Fort-greely-low-level-waste.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Removal of very low-level waste]]
Uranium tailings are waste by-product materials left over from the rough processing of uranium-bearing [[ore]]. They are not significantly radioactive. Mill tailings are sometimes referred to as '''11(e)2 wastes''', from the section of the US [[Atomic Energy Act of 1946]] that defines them. Uranium mill tailings typically also contain [[Dangerous goods|chemically hazardous]] [[Heavy metal (chemistry)|heavy metal]] such as [[lead]] and [[arsenic]]. Vast mounds of uranium mill tailings are left at many old mining sites, especially in [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Utah]].

Although mill tailings are not very radioactive, they have long half-lives. Mill tailings often contain radium, thorium and trace amounts of uranium.<ref name="Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=April 3, 2017 |title=Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste |url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/radwaste.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113004118/https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/radwaste.html |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |access-date=December 3, 2017 |website=U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}</ref>

=== Low-level waste ===
{{main|Low-level waste}}
Low-level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the [[nuclear fuel cycle]]. Low-level wastes include paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters, and other materials which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. Materials that originate from any region of an active area are commonly designated as LLW as a precautionary measure even if there is only a remote possibility of being contaminated with radioactive materials. Such LLW typically exhibits no higher radioactivity than one would expect from the same material disposed of in a non-active area, such as a normal office block. Example LLW includes wiping rags, mops, medical tubes, laboratory animal carcasses, and more.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NRC: Low-Level Waste |url=https://www.nrc.gov/waste/low-level-waste.html |access-date=2018-08-17 |website=www.nrc.gov |publisher=U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission |language=en-us}}</ref> LLW makes up 94% of all radioactive waste volume in the UK. Most of it is disposed of in [[Cumbria]], first in landfill style trenches, and now using [[grout]]ed metal containers that are stacked in concrete vaults. A new site in the north of [[Scotland]] is the [[Dounreay]] site which is prepared to withstand a 4m tsunami.<ref name=":0" />[https://www.highland.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/23061/dounreay_and_vulcan_nrte_offsite_emergency_plan.pdf]

Some high-activity LLW requires shielding during handling and transport but most LLW is suitable for shallow land burial. To reduce its volume, it is often compacted or incinerated before disposal. Low-level waste is divided into four classes: ''class A'', ''class B'', ''class C'', and ''Greater Than Class C'' (''GTCC'').

=== Intermediate-level waste ===
[[File:Nuclear waste flask train at Bristol Temple Meads 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Spent fuel [[Nuclear flask|flasks]] are transported by railway in the United Kingdom. Each flask is constructed of {{convert|14|in|mm|abbr=on}} thick solid steel and weighs in excess of 50 tonnes.]]
[[File:Simulated intermediate level nuclear waste - Science Museum, London.jpg|thumb|Cross-section of an intermediate-level waste canister, showing (simulated) waste encapsulated in concrete]]
Intermediate-level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity compared to low-level waste. It generally requires shielding, but not cooling.<ref name=nei-20131126>{{cite news |url=http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featureiron-boxes-for-ilw-transport-and-storage/ |title=Iron boxes for ILW transport and storage |author=Janicki, Mark |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=26 November 2013 |access-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502202158/http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featureiron-boxes-for-ilw-transport-and-storage/ |archive-date=2 May 2014}}</ref> Intermediate-level wastes includes [[resin]]s, [[chemical sludge]] and metal [[nuclear fuel]] cladding, as well as contaminated materials from reactor decommissioning. It may be solidified in [[concrete]] or [[bitumen]] or mixed with silica sand and [[vitrified]] for disposal. As a general rule, short-lived waste (mainly non-fuel materials from reactors) is buried in shallow repositories, while long-lived waste (from fuel and fuel reprocessing) is deposited in geological repository. Regulations in the United States do not define this category of waste; the term is used in Europe and elsewhere. ILW makes up 6% of all radioactive waste volume in the UK.<ref name=":0" />

=== High-level waste ===
{{main|High-level waste}}
High-level waste (HLW) is produced by nuclear reactors and the reprocessing of nuclear fuel.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Pihlak |first1=A. |title=Leaching study of heavy and radioactive elements present in wastes discarded by a uranium extraction and processing facility |url=https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/20032295 |access-date=2021-08-05 |website=OSTI}}</ref> The exact definition of HLW differs internationally. After a nuclear fuel rod serves one fuel cycle and is removed from the core, it is considered HLW.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rogner |first1=H. |title=Nuclear Power and Stable Development |journal=Journal of International Affairs |date=2010 |volume=64 |page=149}}</ref> Spent fuel rods contain mostly uranium with [[fission products]] and [[transuranic element]]s generated in the [[reactor core]]. Spent fuel is highly radioactive and often hot. HLW accounts for over 95% of the total radioactivity produced in the process of nuclear [[electricity generation]] but it contributes to less than 1% of volume of all radioactive waste produced in the UK. Overall, the 60-year-long nuclear program in the UK up until 2019 produced 2150&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup> of HLW.<ref name=":0" />

The radioactive waste from spent fuel rods consists primarily of cesium-137 and strontium-90, but it may also include plutonium, which can be considered transuranic waste.<ref name="Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste" /> The half-lives of these radioactive elements can differ quite extremely. Some elements, such as cesium-137 and strontium-90 have half-lives of approximately 30 years. Meanwhile, plutonium has a half-life that can stretch to as long as 24,000 years.<ref name="Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste" />

The amount of HLW worldwide is increasing by about 12,000 [[tonne]]s per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities.aspx |title=Myths and Realities of Radioactive Waste |date=February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313120210/http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities.aspx |archive-date=2016-03-13 |access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> A 1000-[[megawatt]] nuclear power plant produces about 27 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel (unreprocessed) every year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/ |title=Radioactive Waste Management |publisher=World Nuclear Association |date=July 2015 |access-date=2015-08-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201064831/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/ |archive-date=2016-02-01}}</ref> For comparison, the amount of ash produced by coal power plants in the United States is estimated at 130,000,000 t per year<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Environmental Protection Agency |first=OLEM |date=2014-12-11 |title=Coal Ash Basics |url=https://www.epa.gov/coalash/coal-ash-basics |access-date=2020-03-02 |website=US EPA |language=en-us}}</ref> and fly ash is estimated to release 100 times more radiation than an equivalent nuclear power plant.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/ |title=Coal Ash Is More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste |last=Hvistendahl |first=Mara |website=Scientific American |language=en |access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref>

[[File:Spent nuclear fuel in the US.jpg|thumb|upright=2|The current locations across the United States where nuclear waste is stored]]
In 2010, it was estimated that about 250,000 t of nuclear HLW were stored globally.<ref>Geere, Duncan. (2010-09-20) [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/20/into-eternity-nuclear-waste-finland Where do you put 250,000 tonnes of nuclear waste? (Wired UK)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522232044/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-09/20/into-eternity-nuclear-waste-finland |date=2016-05-22 }}. Wired.co.uk. Retrieved on 2015-12-15.</ref> This does not include amounts that have escaped into the environment from accidents or tests. [[Japan]] is estimated to hold 17,000 t of HLW in storage in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/japan-s-17-000-tons-of-nuclear-waste-in-search-of-a-home |work=Bloomberg |first=Yuriy |last=Humber |title=Japan's 17,000 Tons of Nuclear Waste in Search of a Home |date=2015-07-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517154128/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/japan-s-17-000-tons-of-nuclear-waste-in-search-of-a-home |archive-date=2017-05-17}}</ref> As of 2019, the [[United States]] has over 90,000 t of HLW.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 August 2019 |title=What should we do with radioactive nuclear waste? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/01/what-should-we-do-with-radioactive-nuclear-waste |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |language=en-uk}}</ref> HLW have been shipped to other countries to be stored or reprocessed and, in some cases, shipped back as active fuel.

The ongoing controversy over [[High-level radioactive waste management|high-level radioactive waste disposal]] is a major constraint on nuclear power global expansion.<ref name=finlay10 /> Most scientists agree that the main proposed long-term solution is deep geological burial, either in a mine or a deep borehole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/ |title=Radioactive Waste Management &#124; Nuclear Waste Disposal |date=July 2015 |publisher=World Nuclear Association |access-date=2015-08-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201064831/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management/ |archive-date=2016-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/presidential-commission-seeks-volunteers-to-store-nuclear-waste/ |title=Presidential Commission Seeks Volunteers to Store U.S. Nuclear Waste |author=Biello, David |date=Jul 29, 2011 |work=Scientific American |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226154256/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/presidential-commission-seeks-volunteers-to-store-nuclear-waste/ |archive-date=2014-02-26}}</ref> As of 2019, no dedicated civilian high-level nuclear waste site is operational<ref name=finlay10>{{cite web |url=http://acuns.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/NuclearEnergyFuture.pdf |title=Nuclear Energy to 2030 and its Implications for Safety, Security and Nonproliferation: Overview |author=Findlay, Trevor |year=2010 |work=Nuclear energy futures project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307175133/http://acuns.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/NuclearEnergyFuture.pdf |archive-date=2014-03-07 |access-date=2015-08-10}}</ref> as small amounts of HLW did not justify the investment in the past. Finland is in the advanced stage of the construction of the [[Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository]], which is planned to open in 2025 at 400–450 m depth. France is in the planning phase for a 500 m deep Cigeo facility in Bure. Sweden is planning a site in [[Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant|Forsmark]]. Canada plans a 680 m deep facility near Lake Huron in Ontario. The Republic of Korea plans to open a site around 2028.<ref name=":0" /> The site in Sweden enjoys 80% support from local residents as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belgium |first=Central Office, NucNet a s b l, Brussels |date=23 January 2018 |title=Sweden / 'More Than 80%' Approve Of SKB's Spent Fuel Repository Plans |url=https://www.nucnet.org/news/more-than-80-approve-of-skb-s-spent-fuel-repository-plans-5-3-2020 |access-date=2020-05-08 |website=The Independent Global Nuclear News Agency}}</ref>

The [[Morris Operation]] in [[Grundy County, Illinois]], is currently the only ''de facto'' high-level radioactive waste storage site in the United States.

=== Transuranic waste ===
{{main|Transuranic waste}}
{{Globalize|section|USA|2name=the United States|date=November 2013}}
Transuranic waste (TRUW) as defined by U.S. regulations is, without regard to form or origin, waste that is contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranic [[radionuclide]]s with [[half-lives]] greater than 20 years and concentrations greater than 100&nbsp;[[Nanocurie|nCi]]/g (3.7&nbsp;[[MBq]]/kg), excluding high-level waste. Elements that have an atomic number greater than uranium are called transuranic ("beyond uranium"). Because of their long half-lives, TRUW is disposed of more cautiously than either low- or intermediate-level waste. In the United States, it arises mainly from nuclear weapons production, and consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris, and other items contaminated with small amounts of radioactive elements (mainly [[plutonium]]).

Under U.S. law, transuranic waste is further categorized into "contact-handled" (CH) and "remote-handled" (RH) on the basis of the radiation dose rate measured at the surface of the waste container. CH TRUW has a surface dose rate not greater than 200 [[mrem]] per hour (2&nbsp;mSv/h), whereas RH TRUW has a surface dose rate of 200&nbsp;mrem/h (2&nbsp;mSv/h) or greater. CH TRUW does not have the very high radioactivity of high-level waste, nor its high heat generation, but RH TRUW can be highly radioactive, with surface dose rates up to 1,000,000&nbsp;mrem/h (10,000&nbsp;mSv/h). The United States currently disposes of TRUW generated from military facilities at the [[Waste Isolation Pilot Plant]] (WIPP) in a deep salt formation in [[New Mexico]].<ref>[http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/whywipp.pdf Why Wipp?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517054021/http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/whywipp.pdf |date=2006-05-17 }}. wipp.energy.gov</ref>

== Prevention ==
A future way to reduce waste accumulation is to phase out current reactors in favor of [[Generation IV reactor]]s, which output less waste per power generated. [[Fast reactor]]s such as [[BN-800]] in Russia are also able to consume MOX fuel that is manufactured from recycled spent fuel from traditional reactors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.powermag.com/mox-nuclear-fuel-loaded-in-russian-reactor-more-to-come/ |title=MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded in Russian Reactor, More to Come |last=Larson |first=Aaron |date=2020-01-28 |website=POWER Magazine |language=en-US |access-date=2020-03-05}}</ref>

The UK's [[Nuclear Decommissioning Authority]] published a position paper in 2014 on the progress on approaches to the management of separated plutonium, which summarises the conclusions of the work that the NDA shared with the UK government.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nda.gov.uk/2014/01/progress-on-approaches-to-management-of-separated-plutonium/ |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140915154458/http://www.nda.gov.uk/2014/01/progress-on-approaches-to-management-of-separated-plutonium/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 15, 2014 |work=Nuclear Decommissioning Authority |title=Progress on approaches to management of separated plutonium |date=2014-01-20}}</ref>

{{anchor|management}}

== Management ==

[[File:Nuclear waste container 2010 nevada.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Modern medium- to high-level transport container for nuclear waste]]
{{See also|High-level radioactive waste management|Environmental effects of nuclear power}}

Of particular concern in nuclear waste management are two long-lived fission products, Tc-99 (half-life 220,000 years) and I-129 (half-life 15.7 million years), which dominate spent fuel radioactivity after a few thousand years. The most troublesome transuranic elements in spent fuel are Np-237 (half-life two million years) and Pu-239 (half-life 24,000 years).<ref>[[#Vandenbosch|Vandenbosch]], p. 21.</ref> Nuclear waste requires sophisticated treatment and management to successfully isolate it from interacting with the [[biosphere]]. This usually necessitates treatment, followed by a long-term management strategy involving storage, disposal or transformation of the waste into a non-toxic form.<ref>Ojovan, M. I. and Lee, W. E. (2014) ''An Introduction to Nuclear Waste Immobilisation'', Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, {{ISBN|9780080993928}}.</ref> Governments around the world are considering a range of waste management and disposal options, though there has been limited progress toward long-term waste management solutions.<ref>Brown, Paul (14 April 2004) [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/14/nuclear.greenpolitics 'Shoot it at the sun. Send it to Earth's core. What to do with nuclear waste?'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321084554/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/14/nuclear.greenpolitics |date=2017-03-21 }}, ''The Guardian''.</ref>

[[File:Onkalo 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The ''[[Onkalo, Finland|Onkalo]]'' is a planned deep geological repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel<ref>
{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4948378.stm |title=Finland buries its nuclear past |last=Black |first=Richard |date=2006-04-27 |website=[[BBC]] |language=en |access-date=2020-11-13}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/lede/finland-nuclear-waste-repository |title=The ominous underbelly of Finland's pioneering nuclear-waste repository |last=Gopalkrishnan |first=Asha |date=2017-10-01 |website=[[The Caravan]] |language=en |access-date=2020-11-13}}</ref> near the [[Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant]] in [[Eurajoki]], on the west coast of [[Finland]]. Picture of a pilot cave at final depth in Onkalo.]]
{{Anchor|dispose}}Several methods of disposal of radioactive waste have been investigated:<ref>[[World Nuclear Association]], [http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf04ap2.html "Storage and Disposal Options"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220012042/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf04ap2.html|date=2012-02-20}}, retrieved 2011-11-14.</ref>
* [[Deep geological repository]]
* [[Dry cask storage]]
* [[Deep borehole disposal]] – not implemented.
* Rock melting – not implemented.
* [[Ocean disposal of radioactive waste|Ocean disposal]] – used by the USSR, the United Kingdom,<ref>{{cite news |date=1997-07-01 |title=Ministers admit nuclear waste was dumped in sea |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ministers-admit-nuclear-waste-was-dumped-in-sea-1248343.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825210503/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ministers-admit-nuclear-waste-was-dumped-in-sea-1248343.html |archive-date=2017-08-25 |work=The Independent |location=London, England |language=en-uk}}</ref> Switzerland, the United States, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Russia, Germany, Italy and South Korea (1954–1993). This is no longer permitted by international agreements.
* Disposal in ice sheets – rejected in [[Antarctic Treaty]].
* Deep well injection – used by USSR and USA.
* [[Nuclear transmutation#Artificial transmutation of nuclear waste|Nuclear transmutation]], using [[neutron capture]] to convert the unstable atoms to those with shorter half-lives.
* [[Nuclear reprocessing]] such as the [[PUREX]] process allows for reuse of some radioactive materials.
* Disposal in outer space – not implemented as too expensive.

In the United States, waste management policy broke down with the ending of work on the incomplete [[Yucca Mountain Repository]].<ref name = "BRC"/> At present there are 70 nuclear power plant sites where [[spent fuel]] is stored. A Blue Ribbon Commission was appointed by U.S. President Obama to look into future options for this and future waste. A deep geological repository seems to be favored.<ref name="BRC">''[http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/04/f0/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future: Executive Summary]'', {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128182516/http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/04/f0/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf |date=2015-11-28 }}, January 2012.</ref>

[[Ducrete]], [[Saltcrete]], and [[Synroc]] are methods for immobilizing nuclear waste.

[[Maritime transport]] of radioactive waste on [[ships]] is regulated at sea by the [[International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board Ships|INF Code]].<ref name="Witherby">{{cite book | title=Regulatory primer for mates & masters: questions and answers covering current and new regulations | publisher=[[Witherby Publishing Group]] | publication-place=Livingston | date=2022 | isbn=978-1-914992-19-3 | page=24}}</ref>

=== Initial treatment ===

==== Vitrification ====
[[File:Sellafield Vitrification Plant, interior.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|The Waste Vitrification Plant at [[Sellafield]]]]
[[File:Vitrification2.jpg|thumb|Vitrification of waste into glass for long term storage.]]
Long-term storage of radioactive waste requires the stabilization of the waste into a form that will neither react nor degrade for extended periods. It is theorized that one way to do this might be through [[vitrification]].<ref>Ojovan, M. I. and Lee, W. E. (2005) ''An Introduction to Nuclear Waste Immobilisation'', Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, p. 315.</ref> Currently at [[Sellafield]], the high-level waste (PUREX first cycle [[raffinate]]) is mixed with [[sugar]] and then calcined. [[Calcination]] involves passing the waste through a heated, rotating tube. The purposes of calcination are to evaporate the water from the waste and de-nitrate the fission products to assist the stability of the glass produced.<ref name="council">{{cite book |author=National Research Council |title=Nuclear Wastes: Technologies for Separation and Transmutation |publisher=National Academy Press |year=1996 |location=Washington, D. C. |language=en-us}}</ref>

The 'calcine' generated is fed continuously into an induction heated furnace with fragmented [[glass]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Morrey |first1=E. V. |title=Laboratory-scale vitrification and leaching of Hanford high-level waste for the purpose of simulant and glass property models validation |date=February 1993 |osti=6510132 |last2=Elliott |first2=M. L. |last3=Tingey |first3=J. M.}}.</ref> The resulting glass is a new substance in which the waste products are bonded into the glass matrix when it solidifies. As a melt, this product is poured into [[stainless steel]] cylindrical containers ("cylinders") in a batch process. When cooled, the fluid solidifies ("vitrifies") into the glass. After being formed, the glass is highly resistant to water.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ojovan |first=M. I. |display-authors=etal |year=2006 |title=Corrosion of nuclear waste glasses in non-saturated conditions: Time-Temperature behaviour |url=http://isl.group.shef.ac.uk/papers/MIOCorrosionICG2004paper.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191553/http://isl.group.shef.ac.uk/papers/MIOCorrosionICG2004paper.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-26 |access-date=2008-06-30}}</ref>

After filling a cylinder, a seal is [[welded]] onto the cylinder head. The cylinder is then washed. After being inspected for external contamination, the steel cylinder is stored, usually in an underground repository. In this form, the waste products are expected to be immobilized for thousands of years.<ref>{{cite book |author=OECD Nuclear Energy Agency |title=The Economics of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle |publisher=OECD Nuclear Energy Agency |year=1994 |location=Paris, France}}</ref>

The glass inside a cylinder is usually a black glossy substance. All this work (in the United Kingdom) is done using [[hot cell]] systems. Sugar is added to control the [[ruthenium]] chemistry and to stop the formation of the volatile [[ruthenium tetroxide|RuO<sub>4</sub>]] containing [[Ru-106|radioactive ruthenium isotopes]]. In the West, the glass is normally a [[borosilicate glass]] (similar to [[Pyrex]]), while in the former [[Soviet Union]] it is normal to use a [[phosphate glass]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11661-010-0525-7 |title=Glassy Wasteforms for Nuclear Waste Immobilization |journal=Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=837 |year=2010 |last1=Ojovan |first1=Michael I. |last2=Lee |first2=William E. |bibcode=2011MMTA...42..837O |doi-access=free}}</ref> The amount of fission products in the glass must be limited because some ([[palladium]], the other Pt group metals, and [[tellurium]]) tend to form metallic phases which separate from the glass. Bulk vitrification uses electrodes to melt soil and wastes, which are then buried underground.<ref name="Waste">{{cite web |title=Waste Form Release Calculations for the 2005 Integrated Disposal Facility Performance Assessment |work=PNNL-15198 |publisher=Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |date=July 2005 |url=http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-15198.pdf |access-date=2006-11-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005165228/http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-15198.pdf |archive-date=2006-10-05}}</ref> In Germany, a vitrification plant is treating the waste from a small demonstration reprocessing plant which has since been closed.<ref name=council /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hensing |first1=I. |title=Economic Comparison of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options |last2=Schultz |first2=W. |publisher=Energiewirtschaftlichen Instituts |year=1995 |location=Cologne, Germany |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

==== Phosphate ceramics ====
Vitrification is not the only way to stabilize the waste into a form that will not react or degrade for extended periods. Immobilization via direct incorporation into a phosphate-based crystalline ceramic host is also used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bohre |first=Ashish |date=2017 |title=Vitreous and Crystalline Phosphate High Level Waste Matrices: Present Status and Future Challenges |journal=Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry |volume=50 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1016/j.jiec.2017.01.032}}</ref> The diverse chemistry of phosphate ceramics under various conditions demonstrates a versatile material that can withstand chemical, thermal, and radioactive degradation over time. The properties of phosphates, particularly ceramic phosphates, of stability over a wide pH range, low porosity, and minimization of secondary waste introduces possibilities for new waste immobilization techniques.

==== Ion exchange ====
It is common for medium active wastes in the nuclear industry to be treated with [[ion exchange]] or other means to concentrate the radioactivity into a small volume. The much less radioactive bulk (after treatment) is often then discharged. For instance, it is possible to use a [[ferric]] [[hydroxide]] [[Flocculation|floc]] to remove radioactive metals from aqueous mixtures.<ref>{{cite web |author=Brünglinghaus, Marion |url=http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/w/waste-processing.htm |title=Waste processing |publisher=Euronuclear.org |access-date=2013-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808034702/http://euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/w/waste-processing.htm |archive-date=2013-08-08}}</ref> After the radioisotopes are absorbed onto the ferric hydroxide, the resulting sludge can be placed in a metal drum before being mixed with cement to form solid waste.<!-- Dead links: [http://www.shef.ac.uk/isl/papers/NCCLeeds2003ExAbs.pdf] [http://www.shef.ac.uk/isl/papers/NCCCSS2004ExAbs.pdf] --><ref>Wilmarth, W. R. et al. (2004) [http://sti.srs.gov/fulltext/ms2003759/ms2003759.pdf Removal of Silicon from High Level Waste Streams via Ferric Flocculation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629085241/http://sti.srs.gov/fulltext/ms2003759/ms2003759.pdf|date=2006-06-29}}. srs.gov.</ref> In order to get better long-term performance (mechanical stability) from such forms, they may be made from a mixture of [[fly ash]], or [[blast furnace]] [[slag]], and [[portland cement]], instead of normal concrete (made with portland cement, gravel and sand).

==== Synroc ====
The Australian [[Synroc]] (synthetic rock) is a more sophisticated way to immobilize such waste, and this process may eventually come into commercial use for civil wastes (it is currently being developed for U.S. military wastes). Synroc was invented by Ted Ringwood, a [[geochemist]] at the [[Australian National University]].<ref>World Nuclear Association, [http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf58.html Synroc] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221142904/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf58.html|date=2008-12-21}}, ''Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper,'' 21. Retrieved January 2009.</ref> The Synroc contains [[pyrochlore]] and cryptomelane type minerals. The original form of Synroc (Synroc C) was designed for the liquid high-level waste (PUREX raffinate) from a [[light-water reactor]]. The main minerals in this Synroc are [[hollandite]] (BaAl<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>6</sub>O<sub>16</sub>), [[zirconolite]] (CaZrTi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>) and [[perovskite]] (CaTiO<sub>3</sub>). The zirconolite and perovskite are hosts for the [[actinides]]. The [[strontium]] and [[barium]] will be fixed in the perovskite. The [[caesium]] will be fixed in the hollandite. A Synroc waste treatment facility began construction in 2018 at [[ANSTO]].<ref>ANSTO, [https://www.ansto.gov.au/news/new-global-first-of-a-kind-ansto-synroc-facility ''New global first-of-a-kind ANSTO Synroc facility''], Retrieved March 2021</ref>

=== Long-term management ===
{{See also|Economics of nuclear power plants#Waste disposal costs}}
The time frame in question when dealing with radioactive waste ranges from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years,<ref>{{cite book |last=[[United States National Research Council]] |title=Technical Bases for Yucca Mountain Standards |publisher=National Academy Press |year=1995 |location=Washington, D.C.}} cited in {{cite web |date=January 2006 |title=The Status of Nuclear Waste Disposal |url=http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/2006/january/article1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516010935/http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/2006/january/article1.html |archive-date=2008-05-16 |access-date=2008-06-06 |publisher=The [[American Physical Society]]}}</ref> according to studies based on the effect of estimated radiation doses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada; Proposed Rule |date=2005-08-22 |publisher=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] |access-date=2008-06-06 |url=http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/yucca/70fr49013.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191551/http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/yucca/70fr49013.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-26}}</ref> Researchers suggest that forecasts of health detriment for such periods should be examined critically.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peterson |first1=Per |last2=Kastenberg |first2=William |last3=Corradini |first3=Michael |title=Nuclear Waste and the Distant Future |url=http://www.issues.org/22.4/peterson.html |url-status=dead |journal=Issues in Science and Technology |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |issue=Summer 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710055339/http://www.issues.org/22.4/peterson.html |archive-date=2010-07-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Issues relating to safety standards on the geological disposal of radioactive waste |date=2001-06-22 |publisher=[[International Atomic Energy Agency]] |access-date=2008-06-06 |url=http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1282_prn/t1282_part1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191615/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1282_prn/t1282_part1.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-26}}</ref> Practical studies only consider up to 100 years as far as effective planning<ref>{{cite web |title=IAEA Waste Management Database: Report 3 – L/ILW-LL |date=2000-03-28 |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |access-date=2008-06-06 |url=http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/rwmp-3/Report_3.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191629/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/rwmp-3/Report_3.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-26}}</ref> and cost evaluations<ref>{{cite web |title=Decommissioning costs of WWER-440 nuclear power plants |date=November 2002 |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |access-date=2008-06-06 |url=http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1322_web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191602/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1322_web.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-26}}</ref> are concerned. Long term behavior of radioactive wastes remains a subject for ongoing research projects in [[geoforecasting]].<ref>International Atomic Energy Agency, [http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1563_web.pdf ''Spent Fuel and High Level Waste: Chemical Durability and Performance under Simulated Repository Conditions''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216224300/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1563_web.pdf |date=2008-12-16 }}, IAEA-TECDOC-1563, October 2007.</ref>

==== Remediation ====
{{Main|Bioremediation of radioactive waste}}
[[Algae]] has shown selectivity for strontium in studies, where most plants used in [[bioremediation]] have not shown selectivity between calcium and strontium, often becoming saturated with calcium, which is present in greater quantities in nuclear waste. [[Strontium-90]] with a half-life around 30 years, is classified as high-level waste.<ref name=Potera>{{cite journal |last=Potera |first=Carol |title=Hazardous waste: Pond algae sequester strontium-90 |journal=Environ Health Perspect |date=2011 |volume=119 |issue=6 |pages=A244 |pmid=21628117 |doi=10.1289/ehp.119-a244 |pmc=3114833 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Researchers have looked at the bioaccumulation of strontium by ''[[Scenedesmus|Scenedesmus spinosus]]'' ([[algae]]) in simulated wastewater. The study claims a highly selective [[biosorption]] capacity for strontium of S. spinosus, suggesting that it may be appropriate for use of nuclear wastewater.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Mingxue |last2=Dong |first2=Faqin |last3=Kang |first3=Wu |last4=Sun |first4=Shiyong |last5=Wei |first5=Hongfu |last6=Zhang |first6=Wei |last7=Nie |first7=Xiaoqin |last8=Guo |first8=Yuting |last9=Huang |first9=Ting |last10=Liu |first10=Yuanyuan |date=2014 |title=Biosorption of Strontium from Simulated Nuclear Wastewater by Scenedesmus spinosus under Culture Conditions: Adsorption and Bioaccumulation Processes and Models |journal= International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=6099–6118 |doi=10.3390/ijerph110606099 |pmc=4078568 |pmid=24919131 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A study of the pond alga ''[[Closterium|Closterium moniliferum]]'' using non-radioactive strontium found that varying the ratio of [[barium]] to strontium in water improved strontium selectivity.<ref name=Potera/>

==== Above-ground disposal ====
[[Dry cask storage]] typically involves taking waste from a [[spent fuel pool]] and sealing it (along with an [[inert gas]]) in a [[steel]] cylinder, which is placed in a concrete cylinder which acts as a radiation shield. It is a relatively inexpensive method which can be done at a central facility or adjacent to the source reactor. The waste can be easily retrieved for reprocessing.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 7, 2009 |title=Fact Sheet on Dry Cask Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel |url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/dry-cask-storage.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805095811/http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/dry-cask-storage.html |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |access-date=2011-06-25 |publisher=U. S. [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission|NRC]]}}</ref>

==== Geologic disposal ====
[[File:Low Level Waste Disposal (44021366302).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Diagram of an underground low-level radioactive waste disposal site]]
[[File:WIPP DoE 2014-05-15 5 15 Image lrg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|On Feb. 14, 2014, radioactive materials at the [[Waste Isolation Pilot Plant]] leaked from a damaged storage drum due to the use of incorrect packing material. Analysis showed the lack of a "safety culture" at the plant since its successful operation for 15 years had bred complacency.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Cameron L. |last1=Tracy |first2=Megan K. |last2=Dustin |first3=Rodney C. |last3=Ewing |title=Policy: Reassess New Mexico's nuclear-waste repository |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=13 January 2016|volume=529 |issue=7585 |pages=149–151 |doi=10.1038/529149a |pmid=26762442 |bibcode=2016Natur.529..149T |s2cid=4403906 |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]

The process of selecting appropriate deep final repositories for high-level waste and spent fuel is now underway in several countries with the first expected to be commissioned sometime after 2010.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs references to reliable sources.|date=July 2020}} The basic concept is to locate a large, stable geologic formation and use mining technology to excavate a tunnel, or use large-bore [[tunnel boring machine]]s (similar to those used to drill the [[Channel Tunnel]] from England to France) to drill a shaft {{convert|500|to|1000|m|ft}} below the surface where rooms or vaults can be excavated for disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The goal is to permanently isolate nuclear waste from the human environment. Many people remain uncomfortable with the immediate [[stewardship cessation]] of this disposal system, suggesting perpetual management and monitoring would be more prudent.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs references to reliable sources.|date=July 2020}}

Because some radioactive species have half-lives longer than one million years, even very low container leakage and radionuclide migration rates must be taken into account.<ref>[[#Vandenbosch|Vandenbosch]], p. 10.</ref> Moreover, it may require more than one half-life until some nuclear materials lose enough radioactivity to cease being lethal to living things. A 1983 review of the Swedish radioactive waste disposal program by the National Academy of Sciences found that country's estimate of several hundred thousand years—perhaps up to one million years—being necessary for waste isolation "fully justified."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yates |first=Marshall |title=DOE waste management criticized: On-site storage urged |journal=Public Utilities Fortnightly |volume=124 |date=July 6, 1989 |pages=33}}</ref>

The proposed land-based subductive waste disposal method disposes of nuclear waste in a [[subduction]] zone accessed from land and therefore is not prohibited by international agreement. This method has been described as the most viable means of disposing of radioactive waste,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cppa.utah.edu/publications/environment/nuclear_waste_summary.pdf |title=Utah Nuclear Waste Summary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216224243/http://www.cppa.utah.edu/publications/environment/nuclear_waste_summary.pdf |archive-date=16 December 2008 |first1=Tricia |last1=Jack |first2=Jordan |last2=Robertson |website=Center for Public Policy & Administration, [[University of Utah]]}}</ref> and as the state-of-the-art as of 2001 in nuclear waste disposal technology.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec252001/1534.pdf |title=Radioactive waste: The problem and its management |last=Rao |first=K. R. |journal=[[Current Science]] |volume=81 |issue=12 |date=25 December 2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216224242/http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec252001/1534.pdf |archive-date=16 December 2008}}</ref>

Another approach termed Remix & Return<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scientiapress.com/findings/r%26r.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040605175857/http://www.scientiapress.com/findings/r%26r.htm |archive-date=5 June 2004 |title=Remix & Return: A Complete Low-Level Nuclear Waste Solution |website=scientiapress.com}}</ref> would blend high-level waste with [[uranium mine]] and mill tailings down to the level of the original radioactivity of the [[uraninite|uranium ore]], then replace it in inactive uranium mines. This approach has the merits of providing jobs for miners who would double as disposal staff, and of facilitating a cradle-to-grave cycle for radioactive materials, but would be inappropriate for spent reactor fuel in the absence of reprocessing, due to the presence of highly toxic radioactive elements such as plutonium within it.

[[Deep borehole disposal]] is the concept of disposing of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear reactors in extremely deep boreholes. Deep borehole disposal seeks to place the waste as much as {{convert|5|km|mi}} beneath the surface of the Earth and relies primarily on the immense natural geological barrier to confine the waste safely and permanently so that it should never pose a threat to the environment. The Earth's crust contains 120 trillion tons of thorium and 40 trillion tons of uranium (primarily at relatively trace concentrations of parts per million each adding up over the crust's 3 × 10<sup>19</sup> ton mass), among other natural radioisotopes.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sevior |first=M. |title=Considerations for nuclear power in Australia |journal=International Journal of Environmental Studies |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=859–872 |doi=10.1080/00207230601047255 |year=2006 |bibcode=2006IJEnS..63..859S |s2cid=96845138}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Thorium%20Resources%20in%20%20Rare%20Earth%20Elements.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20121218195159/https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mragheb/www/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Thorium%20Resources%20in%20%20Rare%20Earth%20Elements.pdf |archive-date=18 December 2012 |title=Thorium Resources In Rare Earth Elements |website=uiuc.edu}}</ref><ref>American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #V33A-1161. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007AGUFM.V33A1161P Mass and Composition of the Continental Crust].</ref> Since the fraction of nuclides decaying per unit of time is inversely proportional to an isotope's half-life, the relative radioactivity of the lesser amount of human-produced radioisotopes (thousands of tons instead of trillions of tons) would diminish once the isotopes with far shorter half-lives than the bulk of natural radioisotopes decayed.

In January 2013, [[Cumbria]] [[county council]] rejected UK central government proposals to start work on an underground storage dump for nuclear waste near to the [[Lake District National Park]]. "For any host community, there will be a substantial community benefits package and worth hundreds of millions of pounds" said Ed Davey, Energy Secretary, but nonetheless, the local elected body voted 7–3 against research continuing, after hearing evidence from independent geologists that "the fractured strata of the county was impossible to entrust with such dangerous material and a hazard lasting millennia."<ref>{{cite news |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |date=30 January 2013 |title=Cumbria rejects underground nuclear storage dump |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/30/cumbria-rejects-underground-nuclear-storage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022041542/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/30/cumbria-rejects-underground-nuclear-storage |archive-date=22 October 2013 |access-date=1 February 2013 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, England}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Macalister |first=Terry |date=31 January 2013 |title=Cumbria sticks it to the nuclear dump lobby – despite all the carrots on offer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/31/cumbria-nuclear-waste-dump-analysis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215082407/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/31/cumbria-nuclear-waste-dump-analysis |archive-date=15 February 2014 |access-date=1 February 2013 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, England}}</ref>

[[Horizontal drillhole disposal]] describes proposals to drill over one km vertically, and two km horizontally in the earth's crust, for the purpose of disposing of high-level waste forms such as spent nuclear fuel, Caesium-137, or Strontium-90. After the emplacement and the retrievability period,{{clarify|date=March 2020}} drillholes would be backfilled and sealed. A series of tests of the technology were carried out in November 2018 and then again publicly in January 2019 by a U.S. based private company.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2019/01/31/can-we-drill-a-hole-deep-enough-for-our-nuclear-waste/ |title=Can We Drill a Hole Deep Enough for Our Nuclear Waste? |last=Conca |first=James |date=January 31, 2019 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> The test demonstrated the emplacement of a test-canister in a horizontal drillhole and retrieval of the same canister. There was no actual high-level waste used in the test.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/11/2052 |title=Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste in Deep Horizontal Drillholes |date=May 29, 2019 |website=MDPI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224223044/https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/11/2052 |archive-date=February 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/4/833 |title=The State of the Science and Technology in Deep Borehole Disposal of Nuclear Waste |date=February 14, 2020 |website=MDPI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220060437/https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/4/833 |archive-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>

The [[European Commission]] [[Joint Research Centre]] report of 2021 (see above) concluded:<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2021 |title=Technical assessment of nuclear energy with respect to the 'do no significant harm' criteria of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 ('Taxonomy Regulation') |work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/26/JRC-report_March-2021-clean-Copy-printed.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327185645/https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/26/JRC-report_March-2021-clean-Copy-printed.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2021 |access-date=28 March 2021}} [https://ipfs.io/ipfs/Qmbca7fBXZRboiR1M5o4VBt7rw9ketKjoV8fKBqYVjDsR6 Alt URL]</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Management of radioactive waste and its safe and secure disposal is a necessary step in the lifecycle of all applications of nuclear science and technology (nuclear energy, research, industry, education, medical, and others). Radioactive waste is therefore generated in practically every country, the largest contribution coming from the nuclear energy lifecycle in countries operating nuclear power plants. Presently, there is broad scientific and technical consensus that disposal of high-level, long-lived radioactive waste in deep geologic formations is, at the state of today’s knowledge, considered as an appropriate and safe means of isolating it from the biosphere for very long time scales.}}

==== Ocean floor disposal ====
[[File:Fûts de déchets faiblement radioactifs en Altantique Nord-Est (Ifremer 00539-65072 - 9585).jpg|thumb|A drum of [[Low-level waste|low-level radioactive waste]] in the North-East Atlantic dumping zone (NEA zone), between 4,500 and 4,700 m deep.]]
From 1946 through 1993, thirteen countries used ocean disposal or ocean dumping as a method to dispose of nuclear/radioactive waste with an approximation of 200,000 tons sourcing mainly from the medical, research and nuclear industry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Calmet |first=D. P. |date=1989 |title=Ocean disposal of radioactive waste: Status report |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:21044010 |journal=International Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin |language=en |volume=31 |issue=4 |issn=0020-6067}}</ref>

[[Ocean floor disposal]] of radioactive waste has been suggested by the finding that deep waters in the North Atlantic Ocean do not present an exchange with shallow waters for about 140 years based on oxygen content data recorded over a period of 25 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoare |first=J. P. |date=1968 |title=Electrochemistry of Oxygen |publisher=Interscience Publishers}}</ref> They include burial beneath a stable [[abyssal plain]], burial in a [[subduction]] zone that would slowly carry the waste downward into the [[mantle (geology)|Earth's mantle]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Hafemeister |first=David W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LT4MSqv9QUIC&pg=PA187 |title=Physics of societal issues: calculations on national security, environment, and energy |publisher=Springer |year=2007 |isbn=978-0387689098 |location=Berlin, Germany |page=187 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424221725/https://books.google.com/books?id=LT4MSqv9QUIC&pg=PA187 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Shipman |first1=J. T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LvMLoaN0HQC&pg=PA279 |title=An Introduction to Physical Science |last2=Wison |first2=J. D. |last3=Todd |first3=A. |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-618-93596-3 |edition=10 |page=279 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and burial beneath a remote natural or human-made island. While these approaches all have merit and would facilitate an international solution to the problem of disposal of radioactive waste, they would require an amendment of the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea|Law of the Sea]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ilr/ona/pages/dumping2.htm |title=Dumping and Loss overview |work=Oceans in the Nuclear Age |access-date=March 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605190619/http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ilr/ona/pages/dumping2.htm |archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref>

[[List of sunken nuclear submarines|Nuclear submarines have been lost]] and these vessels reactors must also be counted in the amount of radioactive waste deposited at sea.

Article 1 (Definitions), 7., of the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, (the London Dumping Convention) states:

:""Sea" means all marine waters other than the internal waters of States, as well as the seabed and the subsoil thereof; it does not include sub-seabed repositories accessed only from land."

==== Transmutation ====
{{Main article|Nuclear transmutation}}
There have been proposals for reactors that consume nuclear waste and transmute it to other, less-harmful or shorter-lived, nuclear waste. In particular, the [[integral fast reactor]] was a proposed nuclear reactor with a nuclear fuel cycle that produced no transuranic waste and, in fact, could consume transuranic waste. It proceeded as far as large-scale tests but was eventually canceled by the U.S. Government. Another approach, considered safer but requiring more development, is to dedicate [[subcritical reactor]]s to the transmutation of the left-over transuranic elements.

An isotope that is found in nuclear waste and that represents a concern in terms of proliferation is Pu-239. The large stock of plutonium is a result of its production inside uranium-fueled reactors and of the reprocessing of weapons-grade plutonium during the weapons program. An option for getting rid of this plutonium is to use it as a fuel in a traditional light-water reactors (LWR). Several fuel types with differing plutonium destruction efficiencies are under study.

Transmutation was banned in the United States in April 1977 by U. S. President Carter due to the danger of plutonium proliferation,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080908002821/http://www.ohioneighbors.org/SONIC.aspx Review of the SONIC Proposal to Dump High-Level Nuclear Waste at Piketon]. Southern Ohio Neighbors Group.</ref> but President Reagan rescinded the ban in 1981.<ref>[http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA396.html National Policy Analysis #396: The Separations Technology and Transmutation Systems (STATS) Report: Implications for Nuclear Power Growth and Energy Sufficiency – February 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217012848/http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA396.html |date=2008-02-17 }}. Nationalcenter.org. Retrieved on 2015-12-15.</ref> Due to economic losses and risks, the construction of reprocessing plants during this time did not resume. Due to high energy demand, work on the method has continued in the [[European Union]] (EU). This has resulted in a practical nuclear research reactor called [[SCK•CEN|Myrrha]] in which transmutation is possible. Additionally, a new research program called ACTINET has been started in the EU to make transmutation possible on an industrial scale. According to U. S. President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) of 2007, the United States is actively promoting research on transmutation technologies needed to markedly reduce the problem of nuclear waste treatment.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080306234824/http://www.gnep.energy.gov/pdfs/GNEP_SOP.pdf Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Statement of Principles]. gnep.energy.gov (2007-09-16).</ref>

There have also been theoretical studies involving the use of [[fusion reactor]]s as so-called "actinide burners" where a fusion reactor [[plasma (physics)|plasma]] such as in a [[tokamak]], could be "doped" with a small amount of the "minor" transuranic atoms which would be transmuted (meaning fissioned in the actinide case) to lighter elements upon their successive bombardment by the very high energy neutrons produced by the fusion of [[deuterium]] and [[tritium]] in the reactor. A study at [[MIT]] found that only 2 or 3 fusion reactors with parameters similar to that of the [[International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor]] (ITER) could transmute the entire annual [[minor actinide]] production from all of the [[light-water reactor]]s presently operating in the United States fleet while simultaneously generating approximately 1 [[gigawatt]] of power from each reactor.<ref>{{cite web |author=Freidberg, Jeffrey P. |url=http://web.mit.edu/annualreports/pres01/13.07.html |title=Department of Nuclear Engineering: Reports to the President 2000–2001 |publisher=Web.mit.edu |access-date=2013-08-01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525072653/http://web.mit.edu/annualreports/pres01/13.07.html |archive-date=2013-05-25}}</ref>

2018 [[Nobel Prize for Physics]]-winner [[Gérard Mourou]] has proposed using [[chirped pulse amplification]] to generate high-energy and low-duration laser pulses either to accelerate [[deuterons]] into a [[tritium]] target causing fusion events yielding fast neutrons, or accelerating protons for [[Spallation Neutron Source|neutron spallation]], with either method intended for transmutation of nuclear waste.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/10/mourou-lecture.pdf |title=Nobel Lecture: Extreme Light Physics and Application |pages=130–132 |date=2018-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-nuclear-waste-storage-france/ |title=Nobel Prize Winner Could Have a Solution to Nuclear Waste |website=www.bloomberg.com |date=April 2, 2019 |access-date=November 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://edgy.app/lasers-nuclear-waste-problem |title=How Lasers Could Solve a Global Nuclear Waste Problem |work=EDGY_ Labs |date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>

==== Re-use ====
{{See also|Nuclear reprocessing|MOX fuel}}
Spent nuclear fuel contains abundant fertile uranium and traces of fissile materials.<ref name=":1" /> Methods such as the PUREX process can be used to remove useful actinides for the production of active nuclear fuel.

Another option is to find applications for the isotopes in nuclear waste so as to [[re-use]] them.<ref>Milton, R. (January 17, 1978) {{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20151222162343/http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1978/01/nuclear-by-products-a-resource-for-the-future Nuclear By-Products : A Resource for the Future]}}. heritage.org.</ref> <!-- (archived PDF document, with a few errors in it) -->Already, caesium-137, strontium-90 and a few other isotopes are extracted for certain industrial applications such as [[food irradiation]] and [[radioisotope thermoelectric generators]]. While re-use does not eliminate the need to manage radioisotopes, it can reduce the quantity of waste produced.

The Nuclear Assisted Hydrocarbon Production Method,<ref>{{cite web |title=酵素でプチ断食｜成功させる秘訣は代替ドリンクにあった！ |url=http://www.nuclearhydrocarbons.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021223503/http://www.nuclearhydrocarbons.com/ |archive-date=2013-10-21 |access-date=2013-08-01 |publisher=Nuclearhydrocarbons.com}}</ref> Canadian patent application 2,659,302, is a method for the temporary or permanent storage of nuclear waste materials comprising the placing of waste materials into one or more repositories or boreholes constructed into an [[unconventional oil]] formation. The thermal flux of the waste materials fractures the formation and alters the chemical and/or physical properties of hydrocarbon material within the subterranean formation to allow removal of the altered material. A mixture of hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and/or other formation fluids is produced from the formation. The radioactivity of high-level radioactive waste affords proliferation resistance to plutonium placed in the periphery of the repository or the deepest portion of a borehole.

[[Breeder reactor]]s can run on U-238 and transuranic elements, which comprise the majority of spent fuel radioactivity in the 1,000–100,000-year time span.

==== Space disposal ====
Space disposal is attractive because it removes nuclear waste from the planet. It has significant disadvantages, such as the potential for catastrophic failure of a [[launch vehicle]], which could spread radioactive material into the atmosphere and around the world. A high number of launches would be required because no individual rocket would be able to carry very much of the material relative to the total amount that needs to be disposed. This makes the proposal economically impractical and increases the risk of one or more launch failures.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0XndPyS8ZYC&pg=PA1 |title=Disposition of high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel: the continuing societal and technical challenges |author=National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Disposition of High-Level Radioactive Waste Through Geological Isolation |publisher=National Academies Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-309-07317-2 |page=122}}</ref> To further complicate matters, international agreements on the regulation of such a program would need to be established.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 2003 |title=Managing nuclear waste: Options considered |url=http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0017.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515020834/http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0017.shtml |archive-date=2009-05-15 |work=DOE Factsheets |publisher=[[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]]: Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, [[Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository|Yucca Mountain Project]]}}</ref> Costs and inadequate reliability of modern rocket launch systems for space disposal has been one of the motives for interest in [[non-rocket spacelaunch]] systems such as [[mass driver]]s, [[space elevator]]s, and other proposals.<ref name="Cherkashin">{{cite web |url=http://ecosun.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311175438/http://ecosun.org/ |archive-date=2008-03-11 |title=Wastes on the Sun? – System of disposal nuclear and high toxic wastes. Design. |first=Yuri |last=Cherkashin |date=2004 |access-date=2011-12-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== National management plans ===
{{See also|High-level radioactive waste management}}
[[File:Grüne protests against nuclear energy.jpg|thumb|Anti-nuclear protest near a nuclear waste disposal centre at [[Gorleben]] in northern Germany]]
Sweden and Finland are furthest along in committing to a particular disposal technology, while many others reprocess spent fuel or contract with France or Great Britain to do it, taking back the resulting plutonium and high-level waste. "An increasing backlog of plutonium from reprocessing is developing in many countries... It is doubtful that reprocessing makes economic sense in the present environment of cheap uranium."<ref>[[#Vandenbosch|Vandenbosch]], p. 247.</ref>

In many European countries (e.g., Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland) the risk or dose limit for a member of the public exposed to radiation from a future high-level nuclear waste facility is considerably more stringent than that suggested by the International Commission on Radiation Protection or proposed in the United States. European limits are often more stringent than the standard suggested in 1990 by the International Commission on Radiation Protection by a factor of 20, and more stringent by a factor of ten than the standard proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the [[Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository]] for the first 10,000 years after closure.<ref name="Vandenbosch">[[Radioactive waste#Vandenbosch|Vandenbosch]], p. 248.</ref>

The U.S. EPA's proposed standard for greater than 10,000 years is 250 times more permissive than the European limit.<ref name = Vandenbosch /> The U.S. EPA proposed a legal limit of a maximum of 3.5 [[millisievert]]s (350 [[millirem]]) each annually to local individuals after 10,000 years, which would be up to several percent of{{Vague|date=March 2014}} the exposure currently received by some populations in the highest natural background regions on Earth, though the United States Department of Energy (DOE) predicted that [[Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository#Opposition|received dose would be much below that limit]].<ref>U.S. Federal Register. 40 CFR Part 197. Environmental Protection Agency. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081101143410/http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/yucca/yucca_mtn_rule_fed_reg_version.pdf Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada; Final Rule]. .</ref> Over a timeframe of thousands of years, after the most active short half-life radioisotopes decayed, burying U.S. nuclear waste would increase the radioactivity in the top 2000 feet of rock and soil in the [[United States]] (10 million km<sup>2</sup>) by approximately 1 part in 10 million over the cumulative amount of [[Natural radioactivity|natural radioisotopes]] in such a volume, but the vicinity of the site would have a far higher concentration of artificial radioisotopes underground than such an average.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cohen, Bernard L. |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |volume=23 |pages=193–203 |year=1998 |url=http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc/Perspectives_on_HLW.htm |title=Perspectives on the High Level Waste Disposal Problem |issue=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204034450/http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~blc/Perspectives_on_HLW.htm |archive-date=2012-02-04 |doi=10.1179/isr.1998.23.3.193 |bibcode=1998ISRv...23..193C |access-date=2011-05-30|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Mongolia ====
After serious opposition about plans and negotiations between [[Mongolia]] with Japan and the United States to build nuclear-waste facilities in Mongolia, Mongolia stopped all negotiations in September 2011. These negotiations had started after U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy [[Daniel Poneman]] visited Mongolia in September 2010. Talks took place in Washington, D.C. between officials of Japan, the United States, and Mongolia in February 2011. After this the [[United Arab Emirates]] (UAE), which wanted to buy nuclear fuel from Mongolia, joined in the negotiations. The talks were kept secret and, although the [[Mainichi Shimbun|''Mainichi Daily News'']] reported on them in May, Mongolia officially denied the existence of these negotiations. Alarmed by this news, Mongolian citizens protested against the plans and demanded the government withdraw the plans and disclose information. The Mongolian President [[Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj]] issued a presidential order on September 13 banning all negotiations with foreign governments or international organizations on nuclear-waste storage plans in Mongolia.<ref>The Mainichi Daily News (15 October 2011), [http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111015p2a00m0na023000c.html Mongolia abandons nuclear waste storage plans, and informs Japan of decision], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018044814/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111015p2a00m0na023000c.html|date=2011-10-18}}.
</ref> The Mongolian government has accused the newspaper of distributing false claims around the world. After the presidential order, the Mongolian president fired the individual who was supposedly involved in these conversations.

=== Illegal dumping ===
{{see also|Toxic waste dumping by the 'Ndrangheta|Environmental issues in Afghanistan}}

Authorities in Italy are investigating a [['Ndrangheta]] mafia clan accused of trafficking and illegally dumping nuclear waste. According to a [[whistleblower]], a manager of the Italy state energy research agency [[ENEA (Italy)|Enea]] paid the clan to get rid of 600 drums of toxic and radioactive waste from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the United States, with [[Somalia]] as the destination, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians. Former employees of Enea are suspected of paying the criminals to take waste off their hands in the 1980s and 1990s. Shipments to Somalia continued into the 1990s, while the 'Ndrangheta clan also blew up shiploads of waste, including radioactive hospital waste, sending them to the sea bed off the [[Calabria]]n coast.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/09/italy.nuclearpower From cocaine to plutonium: mafia clan accused of trafficking nuclear waste], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228034815/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/09/italy.nuclearpower|date=2016-12-28}}, The Guardian, London, England, October 9, 2007.</ref> According to the environmental group [[Legambiente]], former members of the 'Ndrangheta have said that they were paid to sink ships with radioactive material for the last 20 years.<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090914/sc_afp/italycrimemafiaenvironment_20090914212821 Mafia sank boat with radioactive waste: official] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929040749/https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090914/sc_afp/italycrimemafiaenvironment_20090914212821 |date=2009-09-29 }}, AFP, September 14, 2009</ref>

In 2008, Afghan authorities accused [[Pakistan]] of illegally dumping nuclear waste in the southern parts of [[Afghanistan]] when the [[Taliban]] were in power between [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|1996 and 2001]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vennard |first=Martin |date=April 1, 2008 |title=Pakistan 'dumped nuclear waste' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7323920.stm |access-date=July 5, 2023 |website=BBC}}</ref> The Pakistani government denied the allegation.

== Accidents ==
{{Main article|Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents}}

A few incidents have occurred when radioactive material was disposed of improperly, shielding during transport was defective, or when it was simply abandoned or even stolen from a waste store.<ref>[http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull413/article1.pdf Strengthening the safety of radiation sources & the security of radioactive materials: timely action], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326181428/http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull413/article1.pdf|date=2009-03-26}}, by Abel J. González, IAEA Bulletin, 41/3/1999.</ref> In the Soviet Union, waste stored in [[Lake Karachay]] was blown over the area during a [[dust storm]] after the lake had partly dried out.{{sfn|Hecker|2000|pages=39−40}} In Italy, several radioactive waste deposits let material flow into river water, thus contaminating water for domestic use.<ref>Report RAI.it, [http://www.report.rai.it/R2_popup_articolofoglia/0,7246,243^1080736,00.html L'Eredità], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528130434/http://www.report.rai.it/R2_popup_articolofoglia/0,7246,243%5E1080736,00.html|date=2010-05-28}}, (in Italian), 2 November 2008.</ref> In France in the summer of 2008, numerous incidents happened:<ref>Reuters UK, [https://archive.today/20120716014429/http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUKL813938320080908 New incident at French nuclear plant]. Retrieved March 2009.</ref> in one, at the Areva plant in [[Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant|Tricastin]], it was reported that, during a draining operation, liquid containing untreated uranium overflowed out of a faulty tank and about 75&nbsp;kg of the radioactive material seeped into the ground and, from there, into two rivers nearby;<ref>{{cite news |date=25 July 2008 |title='It feels like a sci-fi film' – accidents tarnish nuclear dream |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jul/25/nuclear.industry.france |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902120429/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jul/25/nuclear.industry.france |archive-date=2 September 2013 |work=The Guardian |location=London, England}}</ref> in another case, over 100 staff were contaminated with low doses of radiation.<ref>Reuters UK, [http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL2465085020080724 Too many French nuclear workers contaminated] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402070111/http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL2465085020080724 |date=2009-04-02 }}. Retrieved March 2009.</ref> There are ongoing concerns around the deterioration of the nuclear waste site on the [[Enewetak Atoll]] of the [[Marshall Islands]] and a potential radioactive spill.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 November 2019 |title=How the U.S. betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/ |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en-us |publication-place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref>

Scavenging of abandoned radioactive material has been the cause of several other cases of [[Radioactive contamination|radiation exposure]], mostly in [[developing nation]]s, which may have less regulation of dangerous substances (and sometimes less general education about radioactivity and its hazards) and a market for scavenged goods and scrap metal. The scavengers and those who buy the material are almost always unaware that the material is radioactive and it is selected for its [[aesthetics]] or scrap value.<ref name="autogenerated1">International Atomic Energy Agency, [http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PubDetAR.asp?pubId=3684 ''The radiological accident in Goiânia''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120085823/http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PubDetAR.asp?pubId=3684 |date=2011-01-20 }}, 1988. Retrieved September 2007.</ref> Irresponsibility on the part of the radioactive material's owners, usually a hospital, university, or military, and the absence of regulation concerning radioactive waste, or a lack of enforcement of such regulations, have been significant factors in radiation exposures. For an example of an accident involving radioactive scrap originating from a hospital, see the [[Goiânia accident]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Transportation accidents involving spent nuclear fuel from power plants are unlikely to have serious consequences due to the strength of the [[spent nuclear fuel shipping cask]]s.<ref name="EPA Transport">{{cite web |date=30 November 2018 |title=Transportation of Radioactive Material |url=https://www.epa.gov/radtown/transportation-radioactive-material |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=United States Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref>

On 15 December 2011, top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura of the Japanese government admitted that nuclear substances were found in the waste of Japanese nuclear facilities. Although Japan did commit itself in 1977 to inspections in the safeguard agreement with the IAEA, the reports were kept secret for the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} Japan did start discussions with the IAEA about the large quantities of enriched uranium and plutonium that were discovered in nuclear waste cleared away by Japanese nuclear operators.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} At the press conference Fujimura said: "Based on investigations so far, most nuclear substances have been properly managed as waste, and from that perspective, there is no problem in safety management," but according to him, the matter was at that moment still being investigated.<ref>''The Mainichi Daily News'' (December 15, 2011), [http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111215p2g00m0dm145000c.html Gov't admits nuclear substances found in waste, unreported to IAEA], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215185645/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111215p2g00m0dm145000c.html|date=2011-12-15}}.</ref>

== Associated hazard warning signs ==
<gallery>
File:Radioactive.svg|The trefoil symbol used to indicate ionizing radiation
File:Logo iso radiation.svg|2007 ISO radioactivity danger symbol intended for IAEA Category 1, 2 and 3 sources defined as dangerous sources capable of death or serious injury<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2007/radiationsymbol.html |year=2007 |title=New Symbol Launched to Warn Public About Radiation Dangers |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217075115/http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/radiationsymbol.html |archive-date=2007-02-17}}</ref>
File:Dangclass7.svg|The dangerous goods transport classification sign for radioactive materials
</gallery>

== See also ==

{{Div col|small=yes}}
* [[Ducrete]]
* [[Environmental remediation]]
* [[Human Interference Task Force]]
* [[List of global issues]]
* [[Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents]]
* [[Material unaccounted for]]
* [[Mixed waste (radioactive/hazardous)]]
* [[Microbial corrosion]]
* [[Nuclear decommissioning]]
* [[Personal protective equipment]]
* [[Radiation protection]]
* [[Radioactive contamination]]
* [[Radioactive scrap metal]]
* [[Radioecology]]
* [[Toxic waste]]
* [[Waste management]]
* [[UraMin]]
* [[Long-term nuclear waste warning messages]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Cited sources==
* {{cite book |ref=Vandenbosch |author1=Vandenbosch, Robert |author2=Vandenbosch, Susanne E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Nuclear waste stalemate |isbn=978-0874809039 |place=Salt Lake City |publisher=University of Utah Press}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hecker |first1=Siegfried S. |title=The Plutonium Challenge-Environmental Issues |journal=Los Alamos Science |date=2000 |issue=26 |pages=36–47 |url=https://la-science.lanl.gov/lascience26.shtml |access-date=1 October 2023 |publisher=Los Alamos National Laboratory}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051214081133/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=science%2FNuclear+Waste Alsos Digital Library – Radioactive Waste] (annotated bibliography)
* [http://www.euridice.be/ Euridice European Interest Group in charge of Hades URL operation] (link)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081207165717/http://www.nirond.be/ Ondraf/Niras, the waste management authority in Belgium] (link)
* [http://www.earthhealing.info/CH.pdf Critical Hour: Three Mile Island, The Nuclear Legacy, And National Security] (PDF)
* [https://archive.today/20121205024617/http://www.epa.gov/radiation/yucca/index.html Environmental Protection Agency – Yucca Mountain] (documents)
* [http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/08/08/stang/ Grist.org – How to tell future generations about nuclear waste] (article)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515112707/http://www.iaea.org/inis/ws/subjects/nuclear_facilities.html International Atomic Energy Agency – Internet Directory of Nuclear Resources] (links)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070227210853/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-energy/issues/yucca-mountain/index.htm Nuclear Files.org – Yucca Mountain] (documents)
* [https://www.nrc.gov/waste.html Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Radioactive Waste] (documents)
* [https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/fuels-materials/active/03–054/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Spent Fuel Heat Generation Calculation] (guide)
* [http://www.ans.org/pubs/magazines/rs/ Radwaste Solutions] (magazine)
* [http://earthwatch.unep.net/radioactivewaste/index.php UNEP Earthwatch – Radioactive Waste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223210642/http://earthwatch.unep.net/radioactivewaste/index.php |date=2008-12-23 }} (documents and links)
* [http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf04.html World Nuclear Association – Radioactive Waste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611201409/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf04.html |date=2010-06-11 }} (briefing papers)
* [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-21-ft-nuclearwaste21-story.html Worries can't be buried as nuclear waste piles up, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2008]

{{Waste}}
{{Nuclear technology}}
{{Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents}}
{{Portal bar|Nuclear technology|Energy|Physics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Radioactive waste| ]]
[[Category:Radioactivity]]
[[Category:Environmental impact of nuclear power]]