Packages of the non-standard radioactive waste have been, in present conditions of the Slovak Republic, defined as packages intended to be dispose by the producer and originally not covered by “the limits and conditions” of the Mochovce near surface repository, particularly waste acceptance criteria concerning the form of waste. Wastes cemented directly (homogeneous) to standard concrete containers reinforced by metal fibres (FRCs) or conditioned into 2001 drums before (heterogeneous: drums are inserted into FRCs and the FRCs void spaces are filled by cement mortar) were originally the only acceptable radioactive waste form in Mochovce repository. However, there has been an intention to dispose another, so-called “non-standard” types of waste: large metal pieces of waste transported and placed directly into repository vaults (i.e. cut into dimensions of individual vault). Second types of non-standard waste have been: dewatered spent ion exchange resins and storage tanks bottom sludge in drums, inserted into FRC with subsequent backfilling by cement mortar. Third group of these is represented by incinerator ashes in drums inserted to FRC directly or after compaction, again with subsequent backfilling of FRCs void spaces. As an answer for this challenge, the ALARA approach has been applied for pre-disposal management optimization of large metal pieces of waste. Four examples of waste arising from the Slovak decommissioned plant A-1 have been evaluated for various options of its management. This step is predominant to achieve a decision concerning disposal of the latter kind of waste. Regarding the disposal of mentioned dewatered waste and incinerator ashes in FRC, a new model has been applied to the assessment of long-term behavior of source term in the repository safety analyses. The new approach is sensitive to the form of waste package on the contrary to the source term model applied heretofore.
Environmental Impact Assessment Act has been in force in the Slovak Republic since 1994. Evaluation of potential environmental impact of nuclear facilities/activities was enforced in the cases of newly sited constructions containing nuclear facilities much earlier: the civil construction legislation required the preparation of initial safety report with the same purposes. The cardinal change constituted by the EIA Act was the legal requirement of the public involvement in the assessment process, such as participation of municipalities, civil initiatives or public hearings. Another aspect was the most complex evaluation of impact, i.e. not only inside the nuclear safety framework but including, for instance, also non-nuclear, social, and economical aspects. All nuclear activities judged by the environmental impact assessment processes in the last eight years have been related to radioactive waste and spent fuel management facilities or activities and to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The particular cases are briefly described and the positive and negative implications from particular environmental impact assessment processes are discussed and generalized. Special attention is given to the use of EIA approaches in the strategy decision-making processes on various levels. There are the main difficulties and drawbacks in application of the EIA legal provisions in Slovakia at the present time.
This paper describes the results of a survey and study performed for the European Commission on “Regulations Governing Radioactive Waste Disposal in EU Countries”. Its main purposes were to provide a survey of the regulations governing the disposal of all forms of radioactive waste in all EU Members States and, based on this study, to consider the potential for harmonization in different regulatory areas. Three key parts of the study are presented and the results discussed: collection and assessment of national data, including its verification by national stakeholders, application of multiattribute analysis methodology to identify optimal waste classification scheme and a workshop of national authorities regulating disposal of radioactive waste. For five determined regulatory issues, the workshop carried out a “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats” (SWOT) analysis of the impacts of harmonization. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not represent the EC’s official position.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.