Detailed guide: Our work with radioactive waste producers

Working with waste producers

We work with organisations across the UK that produce radioactive waste to help ensure that the waste being produced now is suitable for geological disposal. This includes working with them on:

• their plans for packaging higher-activity radioactive waste
• the interim storage of radioactive waste packages prior to geological disposal facility

This involves:

• reviewing the properties and performance of proposed packages, known as the Disposability Assessment process which can result in issuing Letters of Compliance (LoC) that signify compliance with our packaging standards and specifications providing guidance on a wide range of packaging issues
• periodic review to ensure that manufactured waste packages remain disposable
• providing training on RWM’s role as the public sector body for a geological disposal facility (GDF) and the support it provides to waste producers in the packaging of radioactive wastes through an e-learning course

We also work with waste producers to see if there are opportunities to improve the existing plans in the light of new technology or innovation.

We advise waste packaging organisations and nuclear site operators on:

• their plans for packaging higher-activity radioactive waste
• the interim storage of radioactive waste packages prior to dispatch to a geological disposal facility

This involves:

• reviewing the properties and performance of proposed packages through the Letter of Compliance (LoC) disposability assessment process
• providing guidance on a wide range of packaging issues
• periodic review to ensure that manufactured waste packages remain disposable

We summarise interactions with waste packaging organisations annually.

Management of Higher Activity Wastes (HAW)

In line with RWM’s remit as the HAW programme integrator, we undertake work to deliver technical innovation in the management of HAW in the UK.

This work allows Site Licence Companies (SLCs) to implement near-term solutions that

• progress site Lifetime Plans
• reduce risk across the waste lifecycle
• enable cost savings to both SLCs and the NDA

We work proactively with waste owners to realise opportunities for the optimisation of waste management solutions. The customer may be an individual SLC, a group of SLCs or the industry as a whole. The work undertaken under the HAW programme, together with the prioritised programme of disposability assessments, should aid SLCs with earlier packaging of wastes and has an overall objective of hazard reduction and lifecycle cost savings to the NDA estate and the UK taxpayer.

Who we’re working with:

The HAW programme team works with:

• the NDA
• the Site Licence Companies and
• other UK radioactive waste producers

Our Letter of Compliance process

Our Letter of Compliance (LoC) disposability assessment process aims to help nuclear sites to carry out their clean-up and hazard reduction mission.

We check that higher activity wastes will be packaged in a passive and disposable form so that any wastes packaged today should be compliant with future transport and disposability requirements.

We work with sites to review and update our disposability assessments on a periodic basis.

We provide packaging standards and guidance based on our concepts and safety cases for transport and geological disposal of these wastes.

Our disposability assessments may identify the need for further information, research and technology development. Where proposed packages are found to be compliant with packaging standards and associated safety and environmental assessments, a Letter of Compliance (LoC) is issued. This indicates, to the best of our knowledge, it would be possible to dispose of the packaged waste in a geological disposal facility.

How it works

The LoC disposability assessment process is in line with regulatory guidance for higher activity wastes and requires site licensees to justify waste packaging proposals with a radioactive waste management case.

Our disposability assessment reports are an important input for radioactive waste management cases, although receipt of a LoC does not provide a safety justification for waste packaging because the relevant regulators still need to satisfy themselves that a packaging proposal is adequate.

The LoC disposability assessment process is generally applied in stages corresponding to the key development stages of the waste retrieval and packaging project:

• pre-conceptual stage when the site is considering different options for retrievals and packaging
• conceptual stage when the packager is looking to define a preferred conditioning and packaging option
• Interim stage prior to placing “design and build” contracts
• final stage when the plant is constructed and prior to commencement of waste packaging operations
• periodic review to maintain the currency of the LoC and to ensure that it is up to date, typically performed on a 10 yearly cycle

A Waste Packaging Database provides detailed information to all SLCs (NDA and non-NDA) about:

• existing packaging submissions and assessments conducted within the RWM disposability assessment process, and additionally the types of package used
• previous disposability assessment (LoC) submissions for similar waste types or packaging processes or containers are a valuable source of information that could inform the development of future submissions
• successful and significant unsuccessful packaging operations, and additionally the types of package.

The information within the database will assist the SLCs to prepare for future ILW processing.

Waste Packaging Database Version 2

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Executive summaries

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Specifications

We produce a hierarchy of packaging specifications to satisfy the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.

The highest level document in the hierarchy is the generic waste package specification (GWPS) which defines the requirements for all waste packages destined for geological disposal. The GWPS forms the basis for the definition of the standards and specifications for waste packages containing specific categories of waste, which are published as generic specifications.

For specific designs of waste package, which are manufactured using standardised designs of waste container, we produce waste package specifications (WPS) which form part of the waste package specification and guidance documentation (WPSGD).