The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Last Updated: 24 August 2010

Lower Activity Waste (LAW) arises from a number of activities undertaken at NDA sites including:

• fuel fabrication and uranium enrichment
• nuclear power generation
• spent fuel reprocessing
• nuclear energy research and development and
• decommissioning.  
   
• UK Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry Strategy

Many of these processes also result in liquid and gaseous effluents that need to be managed. As a result the LAW Topic strategy comprises two strands:

• liquid and gaseous discharges and
• solid Low Level Waste (LLW)

Objective

Solid Low Level Waste
To provide capability and capacity for managing solid low level radioactive waste to support our decommissioning and operations and make facilities available to other low level waste producers.  

Liquid and Gaseous Discharges
To reduce the environmental impact of radioactive liquid and gaseous discharges in accordance with the:

 UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2009 (300Kb)

The waste hierarchy is an important factor in developing these strategies. It forms a framework in which waste producers work. In practice, waste management decisions will need to be underpinned by appropriate decision-making mechanisms to consider a broad range of criteria. In turn this will provide appropriate protection for people and the environment and obtain value for money.

Scope and Boundaries

The scope of the strategy for the management of solid LLW includes the segregation, quantification, characterisation, handling, treatment, packaging, transport and disposal of solid LLW.  This comprises a full life-cycle approach to waste management, including the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of any solid LLW management facilities. This topic therefore includes the operation of the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) and the strategic partnership between LLW Repository Ltd and NDA, and the use of supply chain facilities for the treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes.  

As noted in the UK solid LLW Policy (March 2007), the NDA is required to make LLW management and disposal facilities available to other nuclear and non-nuclear industry producers of radioactive waste under appropriate commercial agreements.  

For liquid and gaseous discharges the strategy covers the characterisation, treatment, sentencing and disposal of these wastes.  Again a full life-cycle approach is within scope of this topic strategy. Included in this topic strand, therefore, are: liquid waste treatment processes; gaseous waste treatment processes, and associated secondary waste management processes, operated by facility managers within the nuclear sector and by the wider supply chain where appropriate.  

Radioactive waste that has been demonstrated to be exempt from regulation under the Radioactive Substances Act is not include in the scope of this topic, because in practice such materials are managed as non-radioactive and hazardous wastes.

Interfaces

The Solid LLW strategy interfaces with a number of other topics including:

• Higher Activity Waste strategy and Non-Radioactive and hazardous waste strategy are related because of the potential for transfer between categories as a result of improved characterisation and treatment
• Revenue optimisation strategy is related because of the operation of the LLW Repository
• Decommissioning and Clean-Up strategy and Non NDA Liability Management strategy and Site end state strategy and Land quality management strategy are related because of the quantity of LLW to be managed

The Liquid and gaseous discharges strategy interfaces with a number of other topics including:

• Decommissioning and Clean-Up strategy is related because of the compliance with discharge authorisations
• Site End State strategy is related because of delivering the desired end state
• Land Quality Management strategy is related because of quantities of waste generated
• Asset management strategy is related due to maintaining appropriate levels of containment
• Spent Fuels strategies

There are important external interfaces with for this topic strategy:  

 Policy for the Long Term Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste in the United Kingdom 2007 (500Kb)

• UK Strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry

 UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2009 (500Kb)

Credible Options

Credible options and corresponding sub-options for the management of Solid LLW are as follows:

1.      Manage LLW using existing facilities

2.      Construct new facilities in the UK for treatment and disposal of LLW

2.1  Local facilities

2.2  Regional facilities

2.3  National facilities

3.      Use international facilities for treatment and disposal of LLW  

Our strategy for managing solid LLW has effectively been developed as the UK Nuclear Industry LLW Strategy.  The preferred option is a combination of the above, as demonstrated in the LLW Strategy Strategic Environmental Assessment.  The guiding principle in the strategy is to apply the waste hierarchy to provide continued capability and capacity for LLW management.  This underpins optimised use of the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) reflecting its role as a critical UK asset, with a view to avoiding the need to construct a successor facility.  

Development of a liquid and gaseous discharges topic strategy has been strongly guided by the requirement to implement the UK Radioactive Discharges Strategy.  However, for completeness we have considered this against a number of alternative options:

• Adopt and zero discharges strategy
• Do nothing / Dilute and disperse (i.e. increase discharges)
• Implement the UK Radioactive Discharges Strategy  

The proposed strategy is to implement the UK Radioactive Discharges Strategy.  

There are a number of factors that that will further influence the development of the topic strategy:

• input from consultation on the strategy
• the approach will focus on the best outcome to protect people and the environment
• we need to ensure that the way forward is flexible so as to incorporate mitigating actions that result from the NDA Strategy Strategic Environmental Assessment.

Current Position

The current topic strategy for solid LLW (i.e. the existing approach in place at NDA sites) is to ensure that LLW disposal capacity is maintained in the near term by maximising the operational life of LLWR and by implementation of the waste hierarchy in line with government Policy for the Long Term Management of Solid LLW.    

The current topic strategy for liquid and gaseous discharges encourages the operators of NDA sites to manage the materials as part of their integrated waste planning, taking full cognisance of good practice, with the aim of achieving the best overall outcome for people, the environment and the taxpayer.