Policymakers from several IAEA Member States explored radioactive waste issues during the Senior Regulators' Meeting on the penultimate day of the Agency's General Conference.
The participants introduced their countries' approach to the regulation, disposal and monitoring of disused radioactive sources and nuclear waste.
Nuclear stewardship issues were discussed in depth, such as, electronically tracking radioactive sources within and across national borders; sustaining the host country's long-term commitment to safety and security throughout the radioactive sources' lifecycle; planning and providing sufficient financing to fund waste disposal; and designating appropriate storage space for nuclear waste and disused sources.
Anita Nilsson, Director of the IAEA's Office of Nuclear Security, said the Agency remains concerned about radioactive sources that aren't secure, and that there needs to be an overarching strategy to deal with this issue.
Noting that the meeting focussed on end-of-lifecycle strategies for disused radioactive sources, Didier Louvat, Head of the IAEA's Waste and Environment Safety Section, welcomed this emphasis since this phase is a significant weak point in current practice worldwide.
He noted that countries with very small amounts of radioactive waste to dispose of have benefitted from sharing knowledge with nations that have mature nuclear power programs and are involved in most aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle.
For instance, Michail Demcenko, Acting Head of Lithuania's Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate, explained that countries such as Lithuania, which have nuclear power plants and are therefore involved in the whole nuclear fuel cycle, find it is easier to handle the issue of disused sources.
The meeting involved experts in the field of nuclear, radiation, transport and radioactive waste safety from developed and developing IAEA Member States.