Proposed UK Strategy for the
Management of Solid Radioactive
Waste from the Non-Nuclear
Industry
Katherine Mondon – representing the
Department of Energy and Climate Change
(DECC)
May 2009
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Presentation will cover:
•Definition of the non-nuclear industry
•Description and quantity of the wastes
•Disposal options for the wastes and associated risks
•Why a UK strategy is needed for these sectors
•Who the strategy is aimed at; what does it comprise
•Sustainability appraisal
•Conclusions and next steps
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The Non-Nuclear Industry
1)
Organisations that handle radioactivity for
specific purposes, and consequently produce
radioactive waste, eg hospitals – located around the UK
2)
Industries that create radioactive waste as a
result of their operations ie oil and gas industries hence mainly located in Scotland/North Sea.
All are registered and/or authorised under the
Radioactive Substances Act 1993
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Non-Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste
Examples:
•plastics, paper, glass, metal, soil
•oil and gas industries – sludges and scales
Majority of non-nuclear industry radioactive
waste is Very Low Level Radioactive Waste (VLLW)
and Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW)
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Quantities of Non-Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste
•Routine data collection: LLW only and in terms of radioactivity
•Data on physical quantities from surveys: cover no more than
about one third of industries holding RSA93 authorisations.
•Data for VLLW highly uncertain.
Estimates from surveys in 2005/6:
UK arisings of VLLW plus LLW - around 5,400 m3 per year,
Plus incinerator residues (VLLW) at 42,000 m3/year.
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2008 survey covered 20% of 877 RSA93 authorisation holders
Total VLLW and LLW for England/Wales:
unlikely to exceed 50,000 m3/year
Total quantity of M, C, I wastes across England:
272 million m3 /year
Therefore non-nuclear wastes unlikely to exceed
0.02% of volumes of M,C,I wastes
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Disposal options for non-nuclear industry wastes
•Incineration (dominates disposal of primary VLLW and LLW)
•Landfill (includes secondary VLLW as incinerator residues)
•Some LLW must go to Low Level Waste Repository near Drigg
Waste producers: must have RSA93 authorisations from the
Environment Agency to dispose of waste.
Disposal facilities taking low volume VLLW: no requirement
for RSA93 licence
Facilities taking LLW and high volume VLLW: must have RSA93
licence
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Risks from non-nuclear industry radioactive waste disposals
Health Protection Agency has contributed to the strategy
document.
Strategy includes a summary table of maximum radiation
doses:
•to workers from proximity to, and handling wastes
•to the public from living near to disposal facilities
All calculated doses are less than 20 microsieverts per year,
which equates to a risk of dying of a cancer of one in a million
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Disposal of solid LLW and VLLW, and potential exposure scenarios
Direct exposure
and inhalation air
Discharges to air
Dust from day to day
operations
Contamination in air
deposited on land
Exposure from
direct irradiation
from surface of
land
Ingestion of
crops/animals
Ash and air pollution
control residues (VLLW)
To landfill
Reuse/recycling
Combustible
LLW/VLLW to
incinerators
Exposure due to
reuse/recycling of
incinerator residues
Ingestion of
drinking water
Non
combustible
LLW/VLLW to
landfill
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Why does the non-nuclear industry need a waste strategy?
1. Industry has reported growing trend for fewer disposal
facilities
2. Network of facilities for LLW is fragile – eg most RSA93 licensed
incinerators operated by one company
3. The small volumes will not stimulate disposal market
4. Radioactive waste may deter waste facility operators
5. The diverse nature of the non-nuclear industry makes it
difficult for it to act collectively – but the industry is vital to
society
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Hence, Government made a commitment via its 2007 LLW
policy statement to prepare a non-nuclear industry waste
strategy
Summer 2007: Programme board set up to prepare strategy
Membership:
• NDA
• Regional Technical Advisory Bodies (West Midlands and
Yorkshire and Humberside)
• Environmental Regulators
• Waste producers
• Government departments and devolved administrations
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Proposed strategy is aimed at:
•Non-nuclear industry waste producers
•Environmental regulators
•Waste planning bodies
•NDA and its site licensed companies
Also relevant to:
•Members of the public
•Those operating conventional waste facilities.
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Information in strategy document covers :
•Descriptions of the non-nuclear industry
•Principles of radiation protection
•Regulation, definitions of waste categories and
disposal options
•Summary of 2008 survey of waste producers
•The assessment of risk from disposal from the nonnuclear industry
Strategy then sets out the roles of different
organisations in helping to maintain disposal network
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Proposed roles of the waste producers/regulators (i)
•Regarding RSA93 authorisations:
- Further application of the waste hierarchy
- For LLW disposals, explicit consideration of the principles of
proximity and waste transport.
•Regulators also have an educational role:
- Assisting waste producers understand their authorisations
- Assisting waste disposal facility operators’ understanding of
the nature of LLW and VLLW and their regulation
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Proposed role of the regulators (ii)
•EA databases on radioactive waste from the non-nuclear
industry: Can these be amended to include physical quantities on
a routine basis?
•Strategy urges regulators to ensure that they have the right
contacts within local authorities for RSA93 consultations
•Environmental permitting for conventional waste facilities:
description of waste on permits should not exclude low volume
VLLW
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Proposed coverage of non-nuclear industry waste within land
use planning
•Planning Policy Statement 10: WPAs should address and plan
for ALL relevant waste streams, including LLW
•Strategy sets out national waste management requirement for
radioactive waste, which should be taken into account by WPAs
•Responsibilities of waste planning authorities vs environmental
regulators are legally separate but inter-connected in practice
•Guidance is given to waste planning authorities on their
responsibilities within the strategy
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Proposed roles of WPAs (i)
Low volume VLLW:
Only waste producers have to hold RSA93 authorisations
But WPAs should be aware that any disposal facility taking
conventional waste may also be taking low volume VLLW
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Proposed role of WPAs (ii)
High volume VLLW and LLW: Waste producers require
RSA93 authorisations and disposal facilities must have
RSA93 licences.
•WPAs should be aware that existing and new disposal
sites for conventional waste may apply to take LLW or
high volume VLLW
•WPAs should make note in their Local Development
Frameworks that disposal requirements for such wastes
may arise from time to time
•Expectation is that the planning framework will be
supportive of non-nuclear industry waste disposal needs
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Connection between the non-nuclear industry waste strategy
and the NDA LLW nuclear strategy
NDA strategy may stimulate the supply of disposal facilities
But strategy sets out NDA disposal routes and which situations
are expected to benefit the non-nuclear industry:
1) LLWR near Drigg and its successor
2) New sites that the NDA’s SLCs may develop for:
•controlled burial of nuclear LLW
•landfill for nuclear high volume VLLW
•new RSA93 licensed incinerators
•new facilities for decontamination/recycling of waste
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Sustainability appraisal – current position
•Discussion of the role of individual disposal sites not covered
in proposed strategy – non-nuclear industry will nearly always
rely on facilities primarily intended for other large volume
wastes
• Annual risks from disposals of less than one in a million
Hence Board decided that requirements of SEA Directive did
not apply to the strategy
But scoping report for Sustainability Appraisal undertaken –
consultation in Jan/Feb 09. Table cross-references key issues
identified in the scoping report on SA to aspects in the waste
strategy.
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CONCLUSIONS
•Proposed strategy provides information on wastes, and guidance
on roles of various bodies to maintain disposal network
•Landfill and incineration are fit-for-purpose for most of the waste
•Non-nuclear industry is scattered around the UK and their
disposals should be undertaken with due consideration of
proximity and waste transport
•The planning frameworks should be supportive of non-nuclear
industry waste disposals that are in line with regulatory
requirements.
•Next steps – oil and gas still to be covered (consultation in
autumn 09?)
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