A lot of preparatory work on nuclear waste is already done at the planning stage to ensure human safety, environmental protection and the suitability of the disposal site. Close cooperation with international specialists to find the best solutions for nuclear waste management is also essential.
What is nuclear waste?
Nuclear waste is radioactive waste resulting from the use of nuclear fuel.
Nuclear fuel is mainly used in places where nuclear energy is produced or used, e.g. nuclear power plants or nuclear-powered ships and submarines.
Radioactivity of nuclear waste
Waste from the nuclear power station have different levels of radioactivity:
- Most of the waste is of low radioactivity. The waste from the 90% plant is low radioactive, e.g. low contaminated items (tools, work clothes). These constitute ca Radioactivity of waste from the 1% plant.
- The waste from the 7% plant is intermediate level waste, e.g. spent filters and nuclear reactor steel parts. They represent ca Radioactivity at the 4% plant.
- Of the waste from the 3% nuclear power plant, high level waste - spent fuel and control rods - accounts for 95% of the total radioactivity of all waste from the plant.
Nuclear waste management
Safe management and storage of nuclear waste is important because radiation can persist in the environment for thousands of years.
Spent fuel will be removed from the nuclear reactor and cooled after 3-5 years. It is then placed in dry storage or in special pools for temporary storage. Part of the spent fuel can be reprocessed and reused. The most hazardous and long-lived waste will eventually be disposed of deep underground in geological repositories where it will remain isolated from the environment.
Will there be nuclear waste in Estonia?
There are no nuclear power plants in Estonia, but the former Paldiski nuclear site is our main source of nuclear waste, for which safe storage and future final disposal remains an important task. Estonia has also taken the first steps nuclear energy programme, to move towards the deployment of nuclear energy.