Characteristics,Conditioning and Acceptance Requirements for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste

Abstract

In the Federal Republic of Germany it is intended to dispose of all radioactive waste in deep geological formations. To provide the necessary data base for the disposal-related planning work, an extensive characterisation of this waste has been performed. Detailed information on the various compositions of primary waste, waste treatment and conditioning processes, waste forms, packagings and radionuclide inventories per waste package as well as on the respective waste arisings have been compiled. Waste acceptance requirements have been established for the planned Konrad repository and the Morsleben repository. For the conditioning of radioactive waste various strategies and techniques have been applied. According to the available interim storage capacities, the Konrad waste acceptance requirements and the waste type catalogue, the waste generators and the conditioners have started to select appropriate conditioning processes andlor to adjust existing methods to the requirements. Special emphasis was given to volume-reducing waste conditioning techniques.