Storage and Deposition of RAW

According to the Atom Code, all the activities in the course of treatment of radioactive waste have to be directed to its safe storage. It is clear from this reason that storing and storage of RAW represents a very significant activity.

Under the notion of storing of radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, we mean intermediary location of these materials in areas, objects or facilities enabling their insulation, inspection and, simultaneously, environment preservation. On the contrary, storage of RAW represents its permanent location in storage. Definition of RAW storage says that it is a space, object or facility on the surface or underground, serving for RAW storage and enabling its insulation, inspection and environment preservation. The notion permanent storage includes in itself an important condition of minimization of transfer of care and responsibility for imbedded material to the future generations.

Storing of low-active and middle-active RAW is commonly carried out at present time. Not only RAW from NPP, but also institutional RAW, is usually stored in location of its origin or in facilities specially designed for this purpose. During intermediate storing (up to several decades) waste radioactivity continuously decreases, which facilitates the later manipulation with it. In the course of the storing period also improvement in methods of RAW treatment and storage can come about, which allows to execute these activities on a higher level than in the time of the origin of this RAW.

After storing and treatment of RAW, it is time for stage of its storage. There exist various projects of permanent storages, which are divided into three main categories — surface storages, under surface storages and underground storages.

Surface storages serve for permanent storing of low and middle-active RAW during the period allowing to consider that record on locality and its utilization will be still available. This is important from the reason that surface storages are easily accessible and the locality itself should be eventually made free for unlimited utilization. Storage has always several safety barriers and a monitoring system. Surface storages with engineer barriers are more usual in the world and there is the trend to increase extent of engineer barriers in construction of new storages. The reason is continuous effort for increase of safety and protection of the public and environment preservation.

Undersurface storages represent objects on the border of direct reach of the biosphere. Abandoned and adapted mining places used for RAW storage along with some special built constructions (mine Richard in Czech Republic) belong to this group.

Utilization of underground storages is taken into account mainly for high-active RAW, but also for low and middle-active waste. Similar criteria as those for underground storages of SF and high-active RAW are valid for them, naturally, with regard to the fact that low and middle-active waste have significantly shorter time of dangerousness and they do not produce residual heat. As an example of underground storages for low and middle-active waste, facilities operated and designed in Germany (storages Asse, Morsleben and Konrad), in USA (facilities WIPP), in Sweden (storage Forsmark) and in Finland (storage Olkiluoto) can serve. Interesting design was executed in the case of Swedish storage Forsmark, which is constructed under the sea bottom.

To be complete, also other ways of RAW storage should be amended. In the past some countries stored low-active RAW in the sea. It was storage of RAW in selected localities of the Northern Atlantic Ocean during the years 1949 to 1982. Till 1983 moratorium on RAW storage in the sea is in power. Also other possibilities of storage of RAW and SF are being investigated, such as storage under the sea bottom, storage in sulfur and the like.

Institutional RAW (especially open and used emitters) is assorted in the place of its origin and, after stage of its storing in appropriate shell, it is stored mostly in surface storages (wit exception of some encapsulated emitters).