Introduction

The nuclear industry provides products that play a vital role in society. This is a unique industry that provides products both for the protection and destruction of society. They provide stable nuclides used in medicine (imaging and diagnostic) and nuclear explosives used by the military. It is one of the major energy sources for the production of electricity to meet the world's needs.

There are three types of nuclear wastes, based on their radionuclide characteristics:

• Uranium-contaminated waste

• Plutonium-contaminated waste

• Other radionuclide-contaminated waste

Of these types of wastes, uranium- and plutonium-contaminated wastes are potentially hazardous to human and animal health. Other nuclide wastes are low-level waste, having lower radioactivity. Although there are natural sources of radioactivity, the release of anthropogenic radionuclides into the environment is significant and a subject of intense public concern. Plutonium (Pu) contamination of soils, sediments, and/or water is an important consideration because this transuranic element can influence populations inhabiting the contaminated environment. A long half-life ( t _1/2 = 2.41 10 ⁴ years for ²³⁹Pu) and potential health effects of Pu have resulted in extensive field and laboratory studies to resolve its environmental behavior (Garland et al., 1981).

Waste Management

Radioactive waste management involves the treatment, storage, and disposal of liquid, airborne, and solid effluents from the nuclear industry's operations. Four methods are employed involving chemical transformations, namely:

• Limit generation

• Delay and decay

• Concentrate and contain

• Dilute and disperse

Limiting the generation of waste is the first and most important consideration in...