The Radioactive Waste Management Program of the Commission of the European Communities: Past, Present, and Future Trends

Abstract

The radioactive waste management program started in the mid-1970s is being carried out by the Commission of European Communities (CEC) Joint Research Centre and by research bodies within the European community under CEC coordination and partial financing. The program deals with the management of the radioactive waste resulting from uranium-plutonium fuel cycle.

During its first phase (1973–1979), various treatment and conditioning processes were investigated; high temperature incineration and acid digestion of alpha-bearing waste, immobilization of highly active waste in borosilicate glasses, inter alia, appeared promising. Geological disposal was recognized as a feasible option; transmutation of long-lived products did not appear to be an advantageous alternative to geological disposal, and the studies were discontinued.

The second phase (1980–1984) of the program is a followup to the first. The needs of the European nuclear industry and of the national radioactive waste agencies or operators recently created are, however, taken into account.

A new emphasis is being placed on the management of low and medium active waste, the characterization of waste forms, and the reliability and safety of the various options for geologic disposal. A multilaboratories approach is used for concerted studies on container materials, testing, and evaluation of waste products, migration of selected radionuclides, and on the Performance Assessment of Geologic Isolation Systems (PA GIS project).

The continuity of the R&D effort is ensured by a “Community plan of action on waste management,” (1980–1992). A third phase, 1984–1989, should demonstrate the availability and validity of the waste management techniques and be convincing about their safety.