When people discuss what we do they think mostly about spent nuclear fuel, which is just a small part of all waste. Protective clothing, decommissioning waste, replaced reactor parts and residual products from the health service, research and industry are other examples of radioactive waste that require management and disposal. The level of radioactivity determines how the waste is handled.
Operational waste
Operational waste constitutes 85 per cent of all nuclear waste. Most is low and intermediate-level waste, which requires isolation for at least 500 years. Low-level waste needs no radiation shielding. It can thus be transported and stored in ordinary steel-plate containers. The intermediate-level waste, however, must be radiation-shielded and poured into concrete or steel containers at the nuclear power plants.
Decommissioning waste
Large quantities of scrap metal and concrete are generated when nuclear power plants are dismantled. Like operational waste, most of this waste is low and intermediate-level. Some decommissioning waste such as reactor rods and other core components are classified as long-lived and must be isolated for thousands of years.
Spent nuclear fuel
The smallest but most hazardous part of the total quantity of waste is spent nuclear fuel. Spent fuel must be radiation-shielded and cooled throughout handling, transportation and storage and isolated for at least 100,000 years. Several decimetres of steel or several metres of water protect against radiation. There is a national and international consensus that geological final disposal is the best solution.