Where the waste goes from a nuclear reactor

Where the waste goes Decommissioning creates many different kinds of waste that must be carefully separated and may require specially licensed landfills and repositories. This diagram shows the classes of waste created in decommissioning Greifswald nuclear power plant in Germany, along with the International Atomic Energy Agency's recommendations for how to dispose of the different kinds of waste CONVENTIONAL WASTE 1.233.600 tonnes To specialised storage 566.400 tonnes Restricted reuse 2.500 tonnes 28.400 tonnes 471.200 tonnes Dismantled buildings 26.000 tonnes Radioactive concrete 69.200 tonnes Dismantled plant parts Surface 511.100 tonnes Landfill VERY-LOW-LEVEL WASTE Rubble, soil, plumbing, toilets, sinks, metals Destination: specialised landfills Radioactivity: very limited Remains hazardous: 30 years Up to 30 metres 3750 tonnes LOW-LEVEL WASTE Scrap metal, paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters Destination: landfills licensed for low-level waste Geologic* >400 metres Radioactivity: limited. Maximum 4-12 giga-becquerels/tonne Remains hazardous: several decades High-level waste Spent fuel** and reprocessing waste Radioactivity: long-lived 30 - 100s metres 20.650 tonnes & high concentrations Remains hazardous: millions of years: LONG-LIVED LOW-LEVEL OR INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL WASTE Reactor vessel, fuel rod casings, graphite, liquids and sludges Radioactivity: long-lived Remains hazardous: thousands of years * Because no repository has yet been approved for high-level waste, much of the HLW and dangerous ILW is stored at the surface and safeguarded **Spent fuel is not considered decommissioning waste