Geological disposal, optimized materials and greater use of digital tools to enhance communication with stakeholders are among the innovations the nuclear industry is developing to address outstanding challenges in radioactive waste management. These were the conclusions of a webinar panel of global experts that discussed highlights from the recent IAEA International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management – Solutions for a Sustainable Future.
Almost all countries use nuclear technologies, whether to treat cancer, improve crop yields, inspect building structures or many other peaceful applications. Thirty-two countries use nuclear power, which generates 10% of the world’s electricity and more than a quarter of its low carbon electricity.
During the IAEA webinar on 16 February, experts said existing solutions and ongoing innovations showcased at November’s conference are helping to ensure safe and effective waste management, which is vital for nuclear technologies to mitigate climate change and advance sustainable development.
“Solutions for the sound processing and disposal of radioactive waste not only exist today, but are being implemented right now,” said Felicia Dragolici, a waste management expert at the IAEA. “But as in other industries, optimizations and innovations are a continuous process – and waste management is no exception.”
In fact, more waste has been disposed of than is currently in storage. Disposal facilities for low level waste and intermediate level waste are in operation all over the world. And there is tangible progress in developing deep geologic repositories (DGRs), with two approved for construction. Implementation of DGRs is no longer a major technical issue – over 40 years of in-depth science and engineering underpin the concepts – but societal acceptance remains the main challenge. The conference also highlighted new approaches to working with communities and the public, and how transparency contributes to trust in stakeholder relationships.
The world’s first DGR for spent fuel, under construction in Finland, is expected to start operations in the mid-2020s. At some 450 metres below ground level, spent fuel from Finland’s nuclear reactors will be isolated deep within ancient crystalline rock for hundreds of thousands of years.
“Onkalo, as it’s called, is a game changer for the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his opening remarks to the conference in Vienna on 1 November. “It is an example of the ground-breaking developments happening in waste management and a promising precursor to other innovative future solutions.”
Expanding the book of knowledge
During the five-day hybrid conference, which drew 886 participants from 92 countries, four broad themes emerged centred on existing and new approaches for pre-disposal and disposal solutions; the importance of continuous learning and new thinking around concepts such as integrated waste management; developments in multinational collaboration and stakeholder dialogue; and what this means for a sustainable workforce of the future and the skills younger generations will need to thrive in it.
Among future innovative solutions, speakers at the conference discussed digital twins and radiation field mapping – virtual representations which can optimise costs and productivity and improve safety without the need to access the site physically; recycling waste to remove radionuclide contamination and recycle the bulk metal; and blockchain technology, which creates distributed ledgers that enable secure, tamper-proof information exchange and record keeping.
Also discussed was the wider use of digital tools to integrate datasets and facilitate data collection and integration. These could include using smart sensors for repository monitoring and surveillance, or tools for identifying optimized materials and manufacturing processes for waste containers to avoid corrosion issues, and enhancing communication with stakeholders. Examples of optimized materials include advanced metal alloys, ceramics, composites and polymers, including materials to absorb and immobilize waste and produce durable waste forms.
“Throughout the conference there were many examples of scientists and technologists continuing to make advancements to address outstanding challenges and drive innovation,” Christina van Drunen, CNL’s Director of Science and Technology Strategy and Collaboration, said during the webinar. “Research and innovation expand the book of knowledge to ensure the safe management of all waste streams from their generation to disposal.”
The conference showcased new approaches such as integrated waste management, which Cherry Tweed, Chief Scientific Adviser of Nuclear Waste Services in the United Kingdom, described as “thinking about the waste right from the start of a project, not just at the end”. Integrated waste management also means “all the players working together on the solution – those who design the facility, those responsible for operations, and those who will handle the waste. By thinking about the waste earlier, we can think about it differently,” she said during the webinar.
The conference highlighted the progress being made towards embracing circular economy principles, whereby resources are kept in use for as long as possible, waste generation avoided, and the overall environmental footprint minimized. For example, in Sweden, large metal components from decommissioning are melted to minimize the volume of radioactively contaminated material to be disposed of, but also to facilitate recycling of clean metal back into the economy.
The conference stressed the need for open, transparent dialogue with all stakeholders given the societal, cultural, political, and economic factors at work at the national and regional level, Ewoud Verhoef, Deputy Director of the Centrale Organisatie Voor Radioactief Afval (COVRA) in the Netherlands, told the webinar.
A key stakeholder group identified were young people. Given the long timelines involved in radioactive waste management, they will be at the forefront of using robotics, information and communication technologies, advanced computing, and artificial intelligence modelling, simulation, machine-learning and digital twins.
Like their forebears, “the next generations will have to be the visionary leaders and also skilled collaborators, and the translators between communities and policymakers, and scientists and engineers,” said van Drunen. “They will be the bridge builders between these very different worlds.”
