RADIOACTIVE-WASTE MANAGEMENT - THE INTERNATIONAL APPROACH

This paper gives an overview of actual developments in radioactive was te management. The trends in waste generation show that the specific a mounts of waste are decreasing. A big nuclear power plant generates th e comparably small waste package volume of about 237 m3 per year, incl uding all wastes from fuel production to decommissioning of the reacto r. The scientific and ethical issues of radioactive waste management a re well addressed in the recommendations of the International Commissi on on Radiological Protection and the ongoing development of internati onal consensus documents in the Radioactive Waste Safety Standards Pro gramme of the IAEA. Short-lived low and intermediate level waste is us ually disposed of in near-surface facilities. Deep geological faciliti es for all types of radioactive waste, in particular for long-lived lo w and intermediate level waste and high level waste, are being planned . Sites are under investigation and in the licensing process.