TABLE OF CONTENTS Waste disposal is the final step of waste management and ideally comprises placing radioactive waste in a dedicated disposal facility although discharging of effluents into the environment within permitted limits is also a disposal option. The first "disposal" of radioactive waste was carried out in 1944 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA when a site was selected for disposal of contaminated materials not intended for subsequent use. This disposal facility (capacity 6700 m 3) was a simple earthen trench located on the Oak Ridge site and filled with unconditioned waste. Similar approaches were adopted by other nuclear facilities and waste generators during the early stages of nuclear power's development in many countries. Concepts for radioactive waste disposal have however developed considerably since that time and great consideration is now given to the necessary retention times and retention capacities for different types of waste resulting in much improved repositories and planned disposal facilities.
All types of radioactive waste need to be carefully managed to keep the public safe, protect the environment and ensure security from accidental or deliberate intrusion. Disposal of radioactive wastes in a disposal facility is intended to isolate the waste both from human activity and from natural dynamic processes. As was mentioned in Chapter 12 it is important to distinguish between disposal (permanent and irretrievable removal of waste) and storage (temporary residence with waste retrievability). Unfortunately, the nuclear industry has got into the habit of talking about disposal in a repository. This...
