THE SAFETY OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT: ACHIEVING

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INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTABLE SOLUTIONS

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International Atomic Energy Agency

2000

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Like telling fingerprints, the wastes we leave behind characterize our human civilization.

They show the ways in which we live and how we care for the world around us.

Over the past century, radioactive wastes have become an inevitable, detectable, and in some

ways controversial byproduct of using nuclear and radiation technologies. To modern societies’

credit, radioactive wastes from peaceful application of nuclear energy have been generally subject

to much stricter controls than those applied to other type of wastes. The guiding safety and

technical principles are unique -- rather than diluted and dispersed into the environment, highly

radioactive wastes are confined, contained, and isolated. The distinct approach stands behind the

establishment of a good safety record for the radioactive wastes generated from peaceful nuclear

applications.

Yet problems and challenges remain to be solved, mainly tied to uncertainties surrounding past

practices and future disposal plans.

For one, there is uncertainty raised by the handling of radioactive wastes generated by military

activities during the Cold War.

Reported cases have been serious, costly, and indicative of perhaps larger problems. They

undeniably cast a large shadow over all types of radioactive waste storage and disposal, and

regrettably distort views about the safety record of waste management from civilian operations.

For another, there is uncertainty surrounding the final disposal of the most highly radioactive

wastes, those requiring isolation for thousands of years into the future. Governments for various

reasons have been unable to reach definitive decisions on the final disposal of high-level waste --

though technological solutions are considered in hand and pilot facilities are showing the way

forward.

The situation has influenced public perceptions and attitudes about the continuing development of

nuclear energy.

Hopefully, at the international level, a new consensus is emerging on ways to move ahead.

Actions call for the more visible demonstration of solutions for radioactive waste disposal and the

strengthening of the international framework for ensuring safe management of all types of

radioactive waste. It is a framework more sensitive to the needs and requirements of the public,

policymakers, and all other interested parties (i.e., the so called “stakeholders” ) in the process of

deciding complex issues of radioactive waste management.

The IAEA today finds itself at the forefront of this changing and challenging environment.

Through various programmes, the Agency and its Member States are playing a catalytic role for

more effective international cooperative action. This article reviews recent developments shaping

this pivotal period for the safety of radioactive waste management and the future of nuclear

development.