Remediation Activities for the Safe Storage of Legacy Radioactive Wastes

Year
2016
Author(s)
B Bianchilli - NUCLECO SpA
A. Dodaro - ENEA
Abstract
Italy has a long tradition in the management of the radioactive waste, resulting from the former nuclear program, but special attention in these last years has been focused on the type and quality of the wastes resulting from industrial and biomedical activities. It is now acknowledged that the management of the radioactive wastes resulting from non- nuclear energy related activities may be more complicate and challenging than those from energy production, since typology, activity, radionuclides are widely varying. In particular, the industrial and medical sector are experiencing a rapid technology evolution, radionuclides with the included machinery and casing are changing and we have to take care of radioactive sources, liquids, containers, canisters, filters, lightning rods and so on. Furthermore, chemical and physical properties of medical wastes, and their short and long term interactions with the selected containment, have to be taken into careful consideration in designing the treatment strategy. ENEA, a state owned Agency devoted to R&D in the nuclear sector, owner of the conditioning and temporary storage facility for low and intermediate activity wastes near Rome, is responsible through its operative arm NUCLECO of the safe storage of about 7.000 mc of wastes. Wastes resulting from more than fifty years of activity are stored in this facility. Special attention is drawn to chemical and physical interaction of the wastes and the barriers adopted with the environment. The industrial treatment processes varied during the last decades and this poses challenges with the safe storage of the inventory even from an historical point of view (efficient filing and memory). The paper wants to highlight the experience and the lessons learned from the need to maintain in safe conditions more than 1200 drums of low and intermediate radioactive wastes resulting from activities not related to nuclear energy production, dealing with the inspection, economic considerations and the technical and industrial process. All the phases of the work will be described, mainly focusing with the operative constraint due to available space and working areas, general radioprotection criteria and license obligations of the storage facility.