General policies, plans & funding Low & intermediate waste disposal Transuranic waste disposal Spent fuel & high level waste interim storage Spent fuel & high level waste disposal Research Transportation Clean up

Argentina: A new law issued in November 1998 sets out responsibilities for the government; the Atomic Energy Commission; the Nuclear Regulatory Authority; and the waste producers, for the management of radioactive waste.

The Atomic Energy Commission will be responsible for applying the law and drawing up a national programme for radioactive waste management to be submitted to the congress for approval. Waste producers will make financial contributions to the programme and establish a fund for administration.

Canada: The Nuclear Safety and Control Act was passed in March 1997 but has not yet been proclaimed because the necessary regulations are still under review. The Act will replace the federal regulatory agency Atomic Energy Control Board, with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The Act and regulations, which are expected to come into force in 2000, will incorporate the recommendations of ICRP-60. The requirements for the decommissioning plans will be more explicit and financial assurances for decommissioning of all nuclear facilities will be required. Currently financial assurances are only required for uranium mining and milling facilities.

Finland: Following elections in March 1999, the new government has acknowledged the importance of the long term objectives, established in 1983, for the national nuclear waste management programme. This point was adopted by the new government whose objective is to provide proposals for the final disposal of spent fuel, including site selection, by the end of 2000.

Hungary: A central nuclear financial fund was established in 1998 for the funding of radioactive waste management and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (PURAM) was established to carry out these activities.

Japan: A plan for the eventual disposal of high level waste was decided in December 1998 by the nuclear power sub-committee which advises the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on energy issues. The key recommendations include:

• That the long-term stability of the organisation responsible for high level waste disposal is secured.
• That the roles of the major players are clarified. The government will take responsibility for basic concepts and approval of the waste agency's plans. The waste agency will be responsible for funds and operation of the facilities. The utilities would assume responsibility for disposing their own wastes by their involvement in the siting, construction and operation of disposal facilities.

Romania: In February 1998 a new atomic law for a waste management and decommissioning fund was established in order to finance the country's back-end waste management.

South Korea: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) proposed a new plan for radioactive waste management in October 1998. The scheme recommends that the government should complete site selection for a low level waste disposal facility by 2008 and a spent fuel repository by 2016.

Responsibility for radioactive waste management was transferred from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute to MOCIE and the power utility KEPCO following the failures of previous disposal plans.

• The first phase of the new plan involves the construction of a low level waste disposal facility for 100 000 drums, to be expanded to 800 000 drums. About 66 000 drums of low level waste are currently stored.
• The capacity for spent fuel would be 2000 tonnes, rising to 20 000. There is currently 3365 tonnes of spent fuel stored at the plant sites.

Switzerland: The government is currently preparing a revision to the Atomic Law of 1959. In preparation, consensus talks were organised last year involving industry, environmental groups and experts. These talks were intended to achieve agreed positions on two issues:

• Should Swiss spent fuel be reprocessed or conditioned for final disposal?
• Should Swiss nuclear waste repositories be permanently closed, or should they allow for long term retrievability?

The dialogue, chaired by a professor of ethics from the University of Zürich, ended inconclusively on both questions and it is expected that the government will present its conclusions from the consensus talks when it presents the revised Atomic Law for comment. It is likely that future decisions for the reprocessing of spent fuel will be subject to governmental authorisation. The situation of the proposed project for the storage of low and intermediate level waste is currently unclear. The Wellenberg site, intended for the disposal of intermediate level waste (ILW), will be affected by the retrievability issue.

Previously, operators of Swiss nuclear power plants have set aside provisions for future backend costs, basing their cost estimates on a normal 40 year operating life for the five, currently operating nuclear reactors. Utilities were free to use these funds for other investments or hold them in segregated funds. With market deregulation approaching in Europe, and foreign utilities buying shares in Swiss utilities that operate nuclear power plants, securing the funds for future backend costs has become a political issue. As a result, the government ordered a study to assess the provisions currently set aside by the utilities. Whilst the amount was judged reasonable, the auditors suggested methods to secure the funds under government control. With industry assistance, the government has now released a draft regulation for comment (Verordnung über den Entsorgungsfonds) that proposes the segregation of provisions for all anticipated backend costs after reactor shutdown, held in a government controlled fund. A similar fund already exists for decommissioning.

UK: The House of Lords sub committee of the Science and Technology Committee report on radioactive waste management was published in March 1999. It commented that the current UK government policy for the management of radioactive waste was fragmented and not accepted by some sections of the public. The Committee recommended phased disposal in a deep underground repository but any policy should have public acceptance. The recommendations of the committee include:

• That a new integrated approach is required. The Committee is clear that phased underground disposal is the right way forward.
• The government should develop its plans in consultation with the public and must explain the problems and the possible solutions.
• Parliament should approve any new arrangements and endorse them at regular intervals.
• A new organisation is needed to help government to develop its approach and to put it into practice.

The recommendations of the Committee included commissioning a new repository for LLW before Drigg is scheduled to close, and to commission a final repository for ILW and HLW within 50 years.

USA: The House of Representatives Commerce Committee voted 40 to 6 in favour of the 1999 Nuclear Waste Policy Act (HR45). This new nuclear waste legislation aims to establish an integrated management system for spent nuclear fuel. The act would see an interim storage facility for spent fuel opened in Nevada by 30 June 2003, continuing scientific study of the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent disposal site and the development of a transportation programme for the safe transfer of spent fuel from power plants to storage and disposal facilities. If approved, the legislation would allow US utilities to ship spent fuel and radioactive waste to Nevada, pending the formal approval for disposal at Yucca Mountain. The new act is virtually identical to proposed legislation introduced and widely supported across parties last year.

Australia: In March 1998, the government announced that Billa Kalina, an area about 800 km north of Adelaide, was the most suitable site to host the country's repository for low level waste. The precise location for the repository will be chosen following site investigations and public consultation. The repository will replace more than 50 temporary storage facilities, many of which are currently located at hospitals and universities.

Belgium: In January 1998, the government agreed that the most appropriate management option for low level waste should be final disposal, and therefore have chosen to disregard temporary storage options such as long-term, above-ground storage. This decision was based on a report submitted in 1997 by the Belgium national waste agency ONDRAF/NIRAS, where shallow land and geological disposal were recommended for future plans.

Switzerland: Wellenberg NAGRA (Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung von Radioaktiven Abfällen) has identified a site, considered suitable by industry and government, for the disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive waste. Four years ago, a cantonal vote was closely lost over the possible use of an underground facility at the Wellenberg site. In autumn 1999, industry will apply for permission to construct an exploratory tunnel at Wellenberg in order to confirm the feasibility of the site through underground exploration. Since the cantonal government does not see a need for a second vote shortly after the first proposal has been turned down by the public, it would take an intervention by the federal government, asking the canton to conduct a second vote based on the national interest in the project.

USA: On 13 May 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a certificate of
compliance with environmental regulations to Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), in New Mexico, the first operating deep geological disposal facility, thus clearing the way for the first nuclear waste underground repository in the world. The WIPP repository is located 2 150 feet below ground surface in an ancient bedded salt formation. It was designed and constructed in order to provide underground disposal for DOE's defence-generated transuranic waste (TRU) (see image below) which were generated as by-products from nuclear weapons production and decommissioning. The wastes comprise of materials such as contaminated clothing, tools, rags, sludges and filters.

Click for large view

Germany: Since May 1998, the world's largest dry interim storage sites, Gorleben and Arhaus, have remained idle due to the halting of spent fuel and high level waste transport in Germany. The sites are licensed for up to 8 000 t HM and are currently only 7% full. Additionally, the governments concept to terminate reprocessing in favour of direct disposal includes the mandatory interim storage of spent fuel at or near reactor sites in order to avoid all transports until later transfer to the conditioning and disposal site.

Russia: In January 1999, the region of Krasnoyarsk agreed to resume taking consignments of spent nuclear fuel from Ukraine, which were suspended following a decision in November 1998. In 1998, 300 tons of Ukrainian spent fuel were transported to the Krasnoyarsk mining and chemical works, which has Russia's only purpose-built facilities for spent fuel storage outside those at nuclear plant sites.

Sweden: In August 1998, the government approved the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, SKB, which operates the CLAB interim storage facility for spent fuel, to start construction of a second storage cavern. The second cavern will increase storage capacity from 5 000 to 8 000 tonnes of spent fuel. Construction started early 1999 and the new cavern should receive spent fuel by 2004. Once the extension is complete, CLAB will provide interim storage for spent fuel from all 12 of Sweden's power reactors to 2010.

Click for large view.

Canada: In March 1998 the Federal Seaborn Panel, which reviewed AECL's proposed
concept for deep geological disposal, submitted its findings to the government following the conclusion of public hearings held in 1997. In November 1998, the Canadian federal government, in answer to the Seaborn Panel report, announced that it will create a waste management organisation as a legal entity separate from both AECL and the utilities. However, the government disagreed with the panel's proposals for a delay of three years in any further investigation on the deep geological disposal option and instead favoured continued investigation of deep disposal, together with research for other options. The government outlines three main policy objectives for long-term spent fuel management:

• The establishment of a dedicated fund by producers and owners of spent fuel.
• A regular progress report to the government.
• Establishment of a federal review and approval mechanism, to provide oversight and access to funds.

Finland: In March 1999, the government decided general safety regulations for the final disposal of spent fuel. The proposed regulations were prepared by STUK, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. The safety regulations deal with both the operational and the post-closure phase of a final repository.

France: The CNE (National Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the 1991
Waste Act) issued a report in July 1998 on the reversibility of nuclear waste sites. The report makes four main proposals:

• Spent nuclear fuel, which has considerable potential residual value, should be stored at surface or sub-surface level, to allow easy access and keep future options open.
• Low and intermediate-level transuranic (TRU) contaminated waste, which have no further use and are almost certainly not susceptible to transmutation, should be placed in deep geological repositories.
• Vitrified wastes, such as those currently stored at the La Hague reprocessing plant, could continue to be stored on-site for up to 50 years, prior to final, deep, geological disposal.
• Calcified fission products, from the first stage of vitrification, might be suitable for intermediate storage with a view to possible separation and transmutation at a later date.

Sweden: In October 1998, the Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, SKB, submitted its latest three-year R&D programme (FUD-98) to the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, SKI. It calls for the government to make a clear decision about a long-term waste management policy for spent fuel (high level waste). SKB maintains that the best approach to HLW management is the combination of packaging and a final repository and continues to consider that deep geological disposal is the best option for Sweden. SKB is performing feasibility studies in six municipalities. The goal is to select two sites for more detailed studies in 2001. SKB's programme is one of the largest Swedish R&D programmes ever, with more than 20 other countries participating at various levels.

USA: In December 1998, the Department of Energy (DOE) published their Viability Assessment supporting the scientific suitability of Yucca Mountain, the proposed site for a national repository for spent nuclear fuel. The Energy Secretary, who submitted the report to the White House, said the DOE believed that work on the project should proceed with a view to a final decision in 2001. The Viability Assessment is one of a series of programme milestones prior to the expected opening of the repository in 2010.

• 2000: Completion of an Environmental Impact Statement, following a public debate in 1999.
• 2001: Presidential recommendation to Congress, based on DOE advice the same year.
• 2002: Filing a licence of application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In addition to the Viability Assessment, the repository has received a cost and funding analysis which conclude that the fee currently charged to utilities is adequate.

France: In December 1998, the government gave approval for the construction of two underground research laboratories: one in clay and the other in granite. The purpose is to establish site suitability for a deep geological repository for high level waste and long lived intermediate level waste. The site in clay will be located in the Meuse-Haute Marne region (the Prime Minister's decree for building and operating Bure Laboratory in the East of France was issued on 3 August 1999). The location for the repository in granite has yet to be determined. The French waste agency ANDRA will start new investigations in 1999 for a granite site. French regulations stipulate that actual radioactive waste disposal is not authorised in research laboratories.

With regard to the application of the 1991 French Waste Act, the government also confirmed activities in the three research directions:

• Research on transmutation will continue, especially on hybrid systems. Nevertheless, mastery of the fast-neutron technology will be maintained through the PHENIX research reactor.
• The government commissioned the Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, CEA) to undertake research on long-term waste storage in subsurface facilities, dealing with technical aspects and the selection of an appropriate site. A near-surface laboratory may be constructed by the CEA, in the Gard region in the south of France.
• The government decided to undertake the development of large scale research in laboratories on deep geological disposal.

Germany: Since May 1998, the transport of spent fuel and high level waste has been suspended following incidents of surface contamination of casks and wagons that exceeded allowed levels. In depth studies have identified the origin as well as necessary actions to ensure the future avoidance of such contaminations. The authorities have not yet reinstated the transport of spent fuel and high level waste.

UK: In January 1999, a survey conducted by NUKEM and commissioned by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, was run in answer to public concerns over transport safety. The survey dealt with compliance to regulations, potential effects of casks contamination levels and effectiveness of spent fuel casks checking. The survey concluded that transport of radioactive materials was safe and induced no health risk to the public or to anyone involved in the transport operations.

UK: The government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published a positive assessment of work carried out in Britain on the decommissioning of nuclear research facilities and radioactive waste management. The government commissioned consultants to assess the performance of the programme against objectives, and to recommend improved targets. The independent evaluation, covering both the DTI and the UKAEA, concluded that considerable progress had been made over the last few years towards managing the programme optimally, and recommended ways to maintain progress. UKAEA welcomed publication of the consultants' report, pointing out that the assessment recognised examples of good or best practice and significant savings achieved through the introduction of competition. The UKAEA said it accepted that further improvements were necessary, and an implementation plan had been agreed with the DTI. The study focused on the decommissioning and radioactive waste management programme, in which the DTI funds work related to liabilities from former UKAEA research programmes. Five sites: Culham, Dounreay; Harwell; Windscale; and Winfrith, are covered in the programme now called SAFER (Safe Environmental Remediation Programme). The work plan extends over at least 100 years, and the latest estimate of total liabilities is £7.4 billion. Expenditure on the programme last year amounted to £122.2 million, including £60.8 million at Dounreay and £22 million at Culham/Harwell.

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