NAME Reg. No.

NEUCLEAR
PRAHASIT 20BCY101
H 42 RADIATION
ARCHIT 20BCY101
KUMAR 56

TULIP
AGGARW
20BCY101
59
AND
AL
NITYA 20BCY101
NAND JHA 63
MEENAL 20BCY101
WASTE
GARG 71

HIMESH 20BEC1000
SACHIN
KOHAD
2 MANAGEMENT
GAUTAM 20BEC1001
RAJ 8
MANU 20BME100
RAGHAV 16 "All the waste in a year from a nuclear
NEEL 20BOE1004 power plant can be stored under a
VIPUL 4 desk." ~ Ronald Reagan
 NUCLEAR RADIATION

 Radiation is a well-understood process, with natural sources

accounting for most of the radiation we all receive each year.
 Contrary to public perception, nuclear power accidents have
caused very few fatalities and the use of nuclear energy does not
expose members of the public to significant radiation levels. In
two major nuclear accidents – Three Mile Island and Fukushima –
radiation caused no harm to the public.
 The socio-economic and psychological impacts of radiation fears
in the aftermath of nuclear accidents have caused considerable
suffering and deaths, much higher than the accidents
themselves. 
 Current radiation protection standards assume that any dose of
radiation, no matter how small, involves a risk to human health.
This deliberately highly conservative assumption, which runs
counter to scientific knowledge, is increasingly being questioned
by the scientific community. ​
 Radiation plays a key role in modern life, be it the use of nuclear medicine, space exploration or
electricity generation. Radiation constantly surrounds us as a result of naturally occurring
radioactive elements in e.g. the soil, the air and the human body. As a result of many decades of
research, the health impacts of radiation are very well-understood. In a 2016 report the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) noted:
“We know more about the sources and effects of exposure to [ionizing] radiation than to almost any
other hazardous agent, and the scientific community is constantly updating and analysing its
knowledge... The sources of radiation causing the greatest exposure of the general public are not
necessarily those that attract the most attention."
 At its most fundamental level, radioactivity is a question of energy, and the desire for unstable
elements to become stable. By releasing radiation, elements go from one energy state to another
which, eventually, will result in an element no longer being radioactive. There is a distinction to
be drawn between radioactivity on the one hand, and radioactive elements on the other.
Radioactivity is the process of releasing energy, either by particles (α, β) or high-energy photons
(γ, X-ray).
 A radioactive element is an element which can decay due to the aforementioned energy
imbalance, a process which might take less than a second, or billions of years. As these unstable
elements, known as radio-nuclides, decay, they often become a different element as well as
release energy, which is measured in electron volts (eV). Many radio-nuclides exist in nature, but
many are also created in different nuclear reactions, such as in stars or nuclear reactors a.
 Radiation particularly associated with nuclear medicine and the use of nuclear energy, along with
X-rays, is 'ionizing' radiation, which means that the radiation has sufficient energy to interact with
matter, especially the human body, and produce ions, i.e. it can eject an electron from an atom.
This interaction between ionizing radiation and living tissue can cause damage. 
 X-rays from a high-voltage discharge were discovered in 1895, and radioactivity from the decay of
particular isotopes was discovered in 1896. Many scientists then undertook study of these, and
especially their medical applications. This led to the identification of different kinds of radiation
from the decay of atomic nuclei, and understanding of the nature of the atom. Neutrons were
identified in 1932, and in 1939 atomic fission was discovered by irradiating uranium with
neutrons. This led on to harnessing the energy released by fission
 TYPES OF RADIATION
NUCLEAR RADIATION ARISES FROM HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF UNSTABLE ATOMS. THE PRINCIPAL KINDS OF IONIZING
RADIATION ARE:
Alpha particles
 Alpha (α) particles consist of two protons and two neutrons, and are positively
charged. They are often very energetic, but because of their large size they cannot
travel very far before they lose this energy. They are stopped by a sheet of paper
or skin and are only a potential health concern if they are ingested or inhaled. 
 The alpha particles’ large size, relatively speaking, and high energy are key to
understanding their health impacts. When inside the human body, alpha particles
can cause damage to the cells and to DNA as their size makes it more likely that it
will interact with matter. If the dose is too high for repairs to be made
satisfactorily, there is a potential increase in the risk of getting cancer later in life.
 Examples of alpha emitters: uranium-238, radon-222, plutonium-239.
Beta particles
 Beta (β) particles are electrons with high energy. Beta particles are 1/8000th the
size of an alpha particle, which means that it can travel further before being
stopped, but a sheet of aluminium foil is enough to stop beta particles. Equally, its
small size results in its ionising power being considerably smaller than that
of alpha particles (by about 10 times). This stems from the fact that the human
body (and all matter more generally) is mainly made up of ‘empty’ space. The
smaller the particle, the lower the risk of it colliding with parts of the atom which,
in turn, lowers the risk of damage. 
 Examples of beta emitters: caesium-137, strontium-90, hydrogen-3 (tritium).
Gamma rays
 These are high-energy electromagnetic waves much the same as X-rays. They are emitted
in many radioactive decays and may be very penetrating, so require more substantial
shielding. The energy of gamma rays depends on the particular source. Gamma rays are
the main hazard to people dealing with sealed radioactive materials used, for example,
in industrial gauges and radiotherapy machines. Radiation dose badges are worn by
workers in exposed situations to monitor exposure. All of us receive about 0.5-1 mSv per
year of gamma radiation from rocks, and in some places, much more. Gamma activity in
a substance (e.g. rock) can be measured with a scintillometer or Geiger counter.
X-rays
  These are also electromagnetic waves and ionizing, virtually identical to gamma rays,
but not nuclear in origin. They are produced in a vacuum tube where an electron beam
from a cathode is fired at target material comprising an anode, so are produced on
demand rather than by inexorable physical processes. (However the effect of this
radiation does not depend on its origin but on its energy. X-rays are produced with a wide
range of energy levels depending on their application.)
Cosmic radiation 
o These are consists of very energetic particles, mostly high-energy protons, which
bombard the Earth from outer space. They comprise about one-tenth of natural
background exposure at sea level, and more at high altitudes.

Neutrons
 These are uncharged particles mostly released by nuclear fission. Thus they are not
normally a problem outside nuclear plants. Fast neutrons can be very destructive to
human tissue. Neutrons are the only type of radiation which can make other, non-
radioactive materials, become radioactive.
 NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA

India has a largely indigenous nuclear power programme.

 The Indian government is committed to growing its nuclear
power capacity as part of its massive infrastructure
development programme.
 The government has set ambitious targets to grow nuclear
capacity.
 Because India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
due to its weapons programme, it was for 34 years largely
excluded from trade in nuclear plant and materials, which
hampered its development of civil nuclear energy until 2009.
 Due to earlier trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium,
India has uniquely been developing a nuclear fuel cycle to
exploit its reserves of thorium.
 Since 2010, a fundamental incompatibility between India’s
civil liability law and international conventions limits foreign
technology provision.
 Nuclear power for civil use is well established in India. Since building the two small boiling water
reactors at Tarapur in the 1960s, its civil nuclear strategy has been directed towards complete
independence in the nuclear fuel cycle, necessary because it is excluded from the 1970 Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) due to it acquiring nuclear weapons capability after 1970. As a
result, India's nuclear power program has proceeded largely without fuel or technological
assistance from other countries . The pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) design was
adopted in 1964, since it required less natural uranium than the BWRs, needed no enrichment,
and could be built with the country’s engineering capacity at that time – pressure tubes rather
than a heavy pressure vessel being involved.
 India's nuclear energy self-sufficiency extended from uranium exploration and mining through
fuel fabrication, heavy water production, reactor design and construction, to reprocessing and
waste management. It has a small fast breeder reactor and is building a much larger one. It is
also developing technology to utilize its abundant resources of thorium as a nuclear fuel.

 Kudankulam nuclear power plant, one of India's newest neuclear power plant.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

 Nuclear power is the only large-scale energy-producing

technology that takes full responsibility for all its waste
and fully costs this into the product.
 The amount of waste generated by nuclear power is
very small relative to other thermal electricity
generation technologies.
 Used nuclear fuel may be treated as a resource or
simply as waste.
 Nuclear waste is neither particularly hazardous nor
hard to manage relative to other toxic industrial waste.
 Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level
radioactive waste are technically proven; the
international consensus is that geological disposal is the
best option.
 For radioactive waste, this means isolating or diluting it such that the
rate or concentration of any radio-nuclides returned to the biosphere is
harmless. To achieve this, practically all radioactive waste is contained
and managed, with some clearly needing deep and permanent burial.
From nuclear power generation, unlike all other forms of thermal
electricity generation, all waste is regulated – none is allowed to cause
pollution.
 Nuclear power is characterized by the very large amount of energy
produced from a very small amount of fuel, and the amount of waste
produced during this process is also relatively small. However, much
of the waste produced is radioactive and therefore must be carefully
managed as hazardous material.
 All toxic waste needs be dealt with safely – not just radioactive waste
– and in countries with nuclear power, radioactive waste comprises a
very small proportion of total industrial hazardous waste generated.
 Radioactive waste is not unique to the nuclear fuel cycle. Radioactive
materials are used extensively in medicine, agriculture, research,
manufacturing, non-destructive testing, and minerals exploration.
Unlike other hazardous industrial materials, however, the level of
hazard of all radioactive waste – its radioactivity – diminishes with
time.
LOW AND VERY LOW LEVEL WASTE

Very low-level waste

 Exempt waste and very low-level waste (VLLW) contains radioactive materials
at a level which is not considered harmful to people or the surrounding
environment. It consists mainly of demolished material (such as concrete,
plaster, bricks, metal, valves, piping, etc.) produced during rehabilitation or
dismantling operations on nuclear industrial sites. Other industries, such as
food processing, chemical, steel, etc., also produce VLLW as a result of the
concentration of natural radioactivity present in certain minerals used in their
manufacturing processes (see also information page on Naturally-Occurring
Radioactive Materials. The waste is therefore disposed of with domestic refuse,
although countries such as France are currently developing specifically
designed VLLW disposal facilities.
Low-level waste
 Low-level waste (LLW) has a radioactive content not exceeding four giga-
becquerels per tonne (GBq/t) of alpha activity or 12 GBq/t beta-gamma
activity. LLW does not require shielding during handling and transport, and is
suitable for disposal in near surface facilities.
 LLW is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle.
It comprises paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters, etc., which contain small
amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. To reduce its volume, LLW is often
compacted or incinerated before disposal. LLW comprises some 90% of the
volume but only 1% of the radioactivity of all radioactive waste.
 INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL AND
HIGH-LEVEL WASTE
Intermediate-level waste
 Intermediate-level waste (ILW) is more radioactive than LLW, but the heat it generates (<2 kW/m 3) is
not sufficient to be taken into account in the design or selection of storage and disposal facilities. Due
to its higher levels of radioactivity, ILW requires some shielding.
 ILW typically comprises resins, chemical sludges, and metal fuel cladding, as well as contaminated
materials from reactor decommissioning. Smaller items and any non-solids may be solidified in
concrete or bitumen for disposal. It makes up some 7% of the volume and has 4% of the radioactivity of
all radioactive waste.
High-level waste
 High-level waste (HLW) is sufficiently radioactive for its decay heat (>2kW/m 3) to increase its
temperature, and the temperature of its surroundings, significantly. As a result, HLW requires cooling
and shielding.
 HLW arises from the 'burning' of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. HLW contains the fission products
and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core. HLW accounts HLW arises from the 'burning' of
uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. HLW contains the fission products and transuranic elements
generated in the reactor core. HLW accounts for just 3% of the volume, but 95% of the total
radioactivity of produced waste. There are two distinct kinds of HLW:
 Used fuel that has been designated as waste.
 Separated waste from reprocessing of used fuel.
 HLW has both long-lived and short-lived components, depending on the length of time it will take for
the radioactivity of particular radionuclides to decrease to levels that are considered non-hazardous
for people and the surrounding environment. If generally short-lived fission products can be separated
from long-lived actinides, this distinction becomes important in management and disposal of HLW.
 HLW is the focus of significant attention regarding nuclear power, and is managed accordingly.
WHERE AND WHEN IS WASTE
PRODUCED?
 Radioactive waste is produced at all stages of the nuclear
fuel cycle – the process of producing electricity from nuclear
materials. The fuel cycle involves the mining and milling of
uranium ore, its processing and fabrication into nuclear fuel,
its use in the reactor, its reprocessing (if conducted), the
treatment of the used fuel taken from the reactor, and
finally, disposal of the waste. Whilst waste is produced
during mining and milling and fuel fabrication, the majority
(in terms of radioactivity) comes from the actual 'burning' of
uranium to produce electricity. Where the used fuel is
reprocessed, the amount of waste is reduced materially.
 Mining through to fuel fabrication
 Electricity generation
 Reprocessing of used fuel
 Decommissioning nuclear plants
AN ARTICLE FROM ECONOMIC TIMES
(INDIA GENERATES AROUND 4 TONNES/GW NUCLEAR WASTE PER YEAR: JITENDRA SINGH)

In a written response to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State

for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said, "The amount of such waste
generated in India is around four tonnes per GW (1000 MW) for
one year electricity generation, which is similar to the amount of
waste generated internationally by other countries."
Nuclear waste is generated primarily from two kinds of facilities,
such as Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and Spent Fuel Processing
Facilities.
The current installed nuclear power capacity is around 4,780 MW
and is expected to reach 10,080 MW by 2019.
Singh, however, added that spent fuel is not considered as a
waste in India. The country has adopted close fuel cycle option,
which involves reprocessing and recycling of the spent fuel.
"The spent fuel, as such is not disposed. It is not considered a waste
in India. Spent fuel generated from NPPs is cooled for a minimum
period of 5 years before taking it up for reprocessing. During the
re-porcessing of spent fuel for recovering of valuable elements,
the very small quantity of radioactive fission products (waste) is
isolated. How do we manage our waste??
 TREATMENT AND CONDITIONING

 Treatment involves operations intended to change waste

streams’ characteristics to improve safety or economy.
Treatment techniques may involve compaction to reduce
volume, filtration or ion exchange to remove radionuclide
content, or precipitation to induce changes in composition.

 Conditioning is undertaken to change waste into a form

that is suitable for safe handling, transportation, storage,
and disposal. This step typically involves the
immobilisation of waste in containers. Liquid LLW and ILW
are typically solidified in cement, whilst HLW is
calcined/dried then vitrified in a glass matrix. Immobilised
waste will be placed in a container suitable for its
characteristics.
 STORAGE AND DISPOSAL

 Storage of waste may take place at any stage during

the management process. Storage involves maintaining
the waste in a manner such that it is retrievable, whilst
ensuring it is isolated from the external environment.
Waste may be stored to make the next stage of
management easier (for example, by allowing its
natural radioactivity to decay). Storage facilities are
commonly onsite at the power plant, but may be also
be separate from the facility where it was produced.

 Disposal of waste takes place when there is no further

foreseeable use for it, and in the case of HLW, when
radioactivity has decayed to relatively low levels after
about 40-50 years.
 INDIA’S NUCLEAR WASTE
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
 In consideration to the primary objective of protecting human health,
environment and future generations, the overall philosophy for safe
management of radioactive wastes in India, is based on the concept of  *Delay
and Delay   *Dilute and Disperse   *Concentrate and  Contain.

Effective management involves segregation, characterization, handling,

treatment, conditioning and monitoring prior to final disposal.
Proper disposal is essential to ensure protection of the health and safety of
the public and quality of the environment including air, soil, and water
supplies.

Radiological hazards associated with short lived wastes <30 years half life get
significantly reduced over a few hundred years by radioactive decay. The high
level wastes contain large concentration of both short and long lived
radionuclide’s, warranting high degree of isolation from the biosphere and
usually calls for final disposal into geological formation (repository)

A key idea was that long-term disposal would be best carried out by identifying
suitable sites at which the waste could be buried, a process called deep
geological disposal
LOW AND VERY LOW LEVEL WASTE
MANAGEMENT
 Low level waste is comparatively easy to dispose of. The level of
radioactivity and the half life of the radioactive isotopes in low
level waste are relatively small. Storing the waste for a period of
10 to 50 years will allow most of the radioactive isotopes in low
level waste to decay, at which point the waste can be disposed
of as normal refuse.

In Solid waste substantial amount of LIL wastes of diverse

nature, gets generated in different nuclear installations. 
Treatment and conditioning of solid wastes are practiced, to
reduce the waste volume in ways, compatible to minimizing the
mobility of the contained radioactive materials. A wide range of
treatment and conditioning processes are available today with
mature industrial operations involving several interrelated steps
and diverse technologies. A brief summary of the various
radioactive waste management practices followed in India has
been presented in next slide.
 HIGH-LEVEL WASTE
MANAGEMENT
 This concerns management and disposal of highly radioactive materials created during
production of nuclear power.  High level radioactive waste is generally material from the
core of the nuclear reactor or nuclear weapon. The waste includes uranium, plutonium, and
other highly radioactive elements made during fission. Most of the radioactive isotopes in
high level waste emit large amounts of radiation and have extremely long half-lives (some
longer than 100,000 years) creating long time periods before the waste will settle to safe
levels of radioactivity. The management of high level waste in the Indian context
encompasses the following three stages:  
 Immobilization of high level liquid waste into vitrified borosilicate glasses

 Engineered interim storage of the vitrified waste for passive cooling & surveillance over a
period of time, qualifying it for ultimate disposal.
 Ultimate storage/disposal of the vitrified waste in a deep geological repository.
 The technical issues in accomplishing this are daunting due to the extremely long periods
involved in managing them.
 Immobilization of high level liquid waste into vitrified borosilicate glasses.
 Engineered interim storage of vitrified waste for passive cooling &surveillance over a
period of time qualifying it for ultimate disposal.
 Ultimate storage disposal of vitrified waste a deep geological depository.
 The basic requirement for geological formation to be suitable for the location of the
radioactive waste disposal facility is remoteness from environment, absence of
circulating ground water and ability to contain radionuclides for geologically long
periods of time.
 TRANSPORT OF
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
 With the increase in the application of radiation sources in
various fields such as medicine, industry, agriculture, research
and training, the transport of radioactive material has increased
manifold which involves the movement of radioactive material
from the place of manufacture to the place of use, from one
place of use to another place of use and from the place of use to
the agency responsible for the safe disposal. In India, more than
a lakh of packages are being transported annually with activities
varying from the order of few kilo Becquerel to Peta Becquerel.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is the national
regulatory authority for enforcement of the regulations for safe
handling of radiation sources and transport of radioactive
materials.The transport of radioactive material in India is
governed by the AERB code on  Safe Transport of Radioactive
Material  which is based on IAEA regulations for ‘Safe Transport
of Radioactive Material’ SSR-6.
 CONCLUSION

 Radioactive waste disposal practices have changed substantially

over the last twenty years. Evolving environmental protection
considerations have provided the impetus to improve disposal
technologies, and, in some cases, clean up facilities that are no
longer in use. Designs for new disposal facilities and disposal
methods must meet environmental protection and pollution
prevention standards that are stricter than were foreseen at
the beginning of the atomic age.
 Disposal of radioactive waste is a complex issue, not only
because of the nature of the waste, but also because of the
stringent regulatory structure for dealing with radioactive
waste. India has achieved self-reliance in the management of
all type of radioactive waste.  Decades of safe and successful
operation of our waste management facility stand testimony to
international standards. An ongoing effort to upgrade
technology to minimize radioactive discharge is also on.
 THANK YOU
“Large nuclei can fission spontaneously, since the
so-called strong nuclear force holding each
nucleus together is not overwhelmingly stronger
than the repulsive force of charged protons”

Ask your Doubts…