14.5.1 Overview

Contrary to spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste, there is no need to put LLW and ILW in interim storage for heat decay. This waste can be disposed of directly after it has been conditioned and packaged if a disposal facility is available. Some buffer storage is, however, normally built at the reactor site. The steps for management of LLW/ILW are shown in Fig. 14.11. The first step is normally performed at the power plant and results in a package that is clean on the outside and can be further handled in the subsequent steps. In some cases also, centralized treatment and conditioning facilities have been erected, e. g. for incineration or melting of low-level waste.

A central principle for the management of LLW and ILW is waste mini­mization in both activity and volume by appropriate design measures and operating and decommissioning practices. A key component is the selection and control of materials used in the nuclear power plant or during

maintenance. Bringing unnecessary material into the radiologically control­led zone should in particular be avoided as this might later be declared as radioactive waste. It is further recommended to segregate the waste pro­duced at the source to avoid cross-contamination of low-active material with material with higher activity. Other methods for waste minimization are decontamination of the waste for recycling to the extent possible and economically justified and compaction and/or incineration of compactable and combustible waste.