Radioactive Waste Management

• Radioactivity is referred to as the decay or nuclear disintegration of isotopes.

• Isotopes decay by emitting protons, neutrons or electromagnetic radiation to carry off energy
• The isotopes that decay in this manner are called radioisotopes and the energy emitted is called ionizing radiation.

FOUR BASIC TYPES OF RADIATION

1) Alpha Particles – hazards: ingestion and inhalation.
• The least penetrating but most energetic of all radiation types, easily stopped in a few centimeters of air, requires no
shielding.
2) Beta Particles – hazards: ingestion and inhalation.
• Charged electrons, more penetrating than alpha particles, requires some level of shielding
3) Gamma radiation – pose hazards, internal and external.
• Most penetrating of the radiation types, similar to X – rays but more energetic, requires some shielding.
4) Neutron radiation – hazard: external exposure
• High energy neutral particles, can travel long distances in air and other materials, present the greatest hazard.

RADIATION MEASUREMENTS / UNITS

1) Roentgen – exposure to gamma or X – ray radiation equal to a unit quantity of electrical charge produced in air. This
measure is purely physical quantity, has nothing to do with absorption or effect of the radiation.
2) Rem (roentgen equivalent man) – measure the biological injury that would result from the absorption of nuclear radiation.
3) Gray (Gy) – quantity of ionizing radiation that results I the absorption of 1 Joule/kg of absorbing material. Absorption may
be the same but the damage is different.
4) Sievert (Sv) – absorbed radiation dose that does the same amount of biological damage to tissue as 1 Gy of gamma
radiation or X – ray. (1 Sv = 100 rem)

SOURCES AND EFFECTS

1) Background radiation – due mostly to cosmic radiation from space, natural decay of RA materials (Radon 222, radium)
2) Voluntary radiation – diagnostic x – rays exposure from high – altitude flights.
3) Involuntary incidental radiation – nuclear powerplants, weapon facilities, industries
4) Accidents (Chernobyl, Ukraine and Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

SOME BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION

 75 rem – exposure is likely to cause nausea in 10% of people
 100 rem – exposure is likely to cause depilation in 10% of people
 200 rem – exposure can cause disabling sickness in 90% of people
 400 – 500 rem – median lethal exposure
 >600 rem – lethal in 3-5 days from intestinal damage
 >10,000 rem – lethal in 24 hours from central nervous system damage

LOCALIZED EFFECT
 Fetus : 10 – 20 rads – significant probability of malformation if irradiated early in pregnancy
 Gonads: 50 rads – brief functional sterility
 250 rads – sterilty for 1 – 2 years
 600 rads – permanent sterility
 Eye: 200 rads – change in optic lens
 600 rads – clinically significant cataract
 Skin: 300 rads – threshold erythema
 1000 rads – erythema
 5000 – 7000 rads – ulceration, slow healing
Stages of Damage are as follows:
1) Physical – 10 -17 to 10 -15 s, ionizations and excitations
2) Chemical – 10 -14 to 10 -13 s, creation of free radicals and excited molecules yielding biologically harmful products and
damaging chain reactions
3) Biomolecular – s to hrs – damage to proteins, nucleic acids, etc.
4) Biological – hrs to decade – cell death or prevention or delay in cell division; permanent modification which can be passed
to daughter cells.
LEVEL OF BIOLOGICAL DAMAGE
1
 Radioactive Waste Management

a) Molecular – damage to enzymes, DNA, etc. and interference to biological pathways.

b) Subcellular – damage to cell membranes, nucleus, chromosomes etc.
c) Cellular – inhibition of cell division, cell death, transformation to malignant state
d) Tissue, organ – disruption to central nervous system, bone marrow, intestinal tract; induction of cancer
e) Whole animal – death
f) Populations – changes in genetic characteristics of individual members

CATEGORIES OF RADIATION EFFECTS

1) Acute Somatic effects – include skin burns, vomiting (intestinal cells), hair loss, temporary sterility or sub-fertility in men
(sperm cells), and blood changes (bone marrow cells, depression of white cell count0
2) Chronic somatic effects – include development of eye cataracts and cancers. (DNA changes within cells). Cancer is the most
notable long – term somatic effect. (non – heritable effects)
3) Genetic effects – those expressed in the future generations (heritable effects)
4) Bystander effect

SUSCEPTIBLE TISSUES
1) Blood Cells (bone marrow) – immature cells
2) Gonads – rapidly dividing cells
3) Eye lens – no cell replacement
4) Nerve tissue – no cell division of tissues

EXPOSURE LIMITS
• Whole body – 5 rems/year ; Eye – 15 rem ; Skin or Extremities – 50 rem (shallow dose)

RADIATION PROTECTION METHODS

1) Time of exposure – needs monitoring
Use of PDM (pocket dosimeter), film badge, TLD (thermoluminescent dosimeter); these are commonly used in occupational
exposure
2) Distance from the source: radiation levels decrease proportionally with the square of the distance
3) Amount of shielding present – shielding is used to absorb or scatter the radiation before it reaches the receptor.

TREATMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES

1) Sorting – separation from other wastes
2) Compaction – volume reduction
3) Decontamination – co – precipitation of contaminated liquids, metallic wastes soaked in a chemical bath, elimination of
surface contamination in metals by sanding, etc.
4) Reuse or Recycling – recycling of spent fuels in nuclear power plants
5) Thermal treatment – melting, evaporation, incineration, other thermal methods.

IMPORTANT MEASUREMENTS
1) MPC – maximum permissible concentration
a) Air – MPC is based on 40 hours work/wk
b) Water – MPC is based on a normal consumption of 2 liters in a day (drinking water)
2) MPBB – maximum permissible body burden – amount of isotope maintained in the body which will result in the
bloodstream and deposit in the body.
3) ICRP – International Commission on Radiation Protection

DISPOSAL OF RA WASTES
1) High Level Wastes (HLW) – curies/L ; requires long term storage
2) Low Level Wastes (LLW) – microcuries/L ; can be handled by direct contact and be disposed to a secure landfill
3) Intermediate Level Wastes – millicuries/L ; requires long term storage

Radiation protection guideline:

ALARA – as low as reasonably allowable/acceptable