Radioactive waste - Nuclear Waste
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Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are sometimes the products of a nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission. However, other industries not directly connected to the nuclear industry can produce large quantities of radioactive waste. For instance, over the past 20 years it is estimated that just the oil-producing endeavors of the US have accumulated 8 million tons of radioactive wastes.[1] The majority of radioactive waste is "low-level waste", meaning it has low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume. This type of waste often consists of used protective clothing, which is only slightly contaminated but still dangerous in case of radioactive contamination of a human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection.

In the United States alone, the Department of Energy states that there are "millions of gallons of radioactive waste" as well as "thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel and material" and also "huge quantities of contaminated soil and water". Despite these copious quantities of waste, the DOE has a goal of cleaning all presently contaminated sites successfully by 2025. The Fernald, Ohio site for example had "31 million pounds of uranium product", "2.5 billion pounds of waste", "2.75 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris", and a "223 acre portion of the underlying Great Miami Aquifer had uranium levels above drinking standards". The United States currently has at least 108 sites it currently designates as areas that are contaminated and unusable, sometimes many thousands of acres[3][2] The DOE wishes to try and clean or mitigate many or all by 2025, however the task can be difficult and it acknowledges that some will never be completely remediated, and just in one of these 108 larger designations, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, there were for example at least "167 known contaminant release sites" in one of the three subdivisions of the 37,000-acre (150 km²) site. Some of the U.S. sites were smaller in nature, however, and cleanup issues were simpler to address, and the DOE has successfully completed cleanup, or at least closure, of several sites.

The issue of disposal methods for nuclear waste was one of the most pressing current problems the international nuclear industry faced when trying to establish a long term energy production plan, yet there was hope it could be safely solved. In the U.S., the DOE acknowledged much progress in addressing the waste problems of the industry, and successful remediation of some contaminated sites, yet also major uncertainties and sometimes complications and setbacks in handling the issue properly, cost effectively, and in the projected time frame.[2] In other countries with lower ability or will to maintain environmental integrity the issue would be more problematic.

• Belgian Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials - Agency concerned with radioactive waste and its management in Belgium. Provides information about radioactivity, collaborative activities and information center.
• Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) - Committee of the National Academy of Sciences concerned with safe management of radioactive wastes including spent fuel, high-level, transuranic, low-level, and mixed waste and naturally occurring radioactive materials. Includes scientific and technical analyses, policy advice on processing, management and disposal.
• California Radioactive Materials Management Forum - Association of users of radioactive materials and generators of low-level radioactive waste in Arizona, California, North Dakota and South Dakota, which primary interest is the safe management and disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
• Center for Nuclear and Toxic Waste Management - Group of experts of the University of California concerned with the issues surrounding nuclear and toxic waste management. Includes reports on technical and sociopolitical aspects of nuclear and toxic waste management.
• Congressional Research Service Reports - Reports collection on current spent fuel storage from the National Council for Science and Environment.
• Expertise on Nuclear Waste Management - Information from the organization responsible for radioactive waste management in Finland. Includes news and technical information. [English, Finnish, Swedish]
• Grimsel Test Site - Deep underground rock laboratory in the Swiss Alps operated by a consortium of countries and companies investigating long-term chemical and nuclear waste disposal. Describes planned and ongoing research projects in radionuclide transport, rock characterization, fiber optic monitoring, groundwater modeling, gas migration, and other areas.
• La Hague Reprocessing Plant - Recycles irradiated materials and conditions nuclear waste into suitable final form. Includes technical information about plant operations, environment impact, regulation and safety.
• Low-Level Radioactive Waste Fact Sheets - A series of fact sheets on various aspects of low level waste handling, storage and disposal produced by the Ohio State University.
• National Consensus Conference on Radioactive Waste - Report on an effort to elicit citizen views on radioactive waste management. Includes information on the project, background on waste, conclusions, and responses to it.
• NEA - Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) - Information resource prepared by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Defines high level waste, explains necessity for disposal and options available, addresses costs and safety issues.
• NEA - Transmutation of Radioactive Waste - Program of the NEA Data Bank of the OECD. Includes a general introduction to transmutation of radioactive waste, information on Transmutation with nuclear, accelerator-based transmutation, and chemical aspects of transmutation.
• Nuclear and Risk Technologies Center - Information resource from the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) about waste management. Includes documents related to research and analyses on Yucca Mountain, waste isolation pilot plant, and legacy waste management.
• Nuclear High Level Waste Disposal Project - Data on a number of experimental projects in hydrofracture for radioactive waste disposal from the Internet Community of Geological Engineers. Includes background information on nuclear fuel and waste management.
• Nuclear Waste Project Office - Information from the State of Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office (NWPO) about the Yucca Mountain and Nevada test sites. Includes news, policy, legal, nuclear waste transportation and technical issues.
• Nuclear Waste Scientific Program - Assist the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other international organizations in solving the problem of the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Includes information radioactive waste management.
• Office of Spent Nuclear Fuels (SNF) - Supports the Hanford site cleanup mission by safely moving spent nuclear fuel away from the Columbia River. Includes photos, press releases, program description, goals, methods and progress.
• Pahrump Nuclear Waste Advisory Committee - Committee established in the unincorporated town of Pahrump, Nevada, to advise the town on nuclear waste issues. Introduces the members and their areas of expertise, and gives information about the work of the committee.
• Private Fuel Storage - Consortium of electric power companies that have partnered with the Goshute Indians to build and operate a safe, clean, temporary storage facility on the tribe's reservation in Skull Valley, Utah, USA. Includes project information, news, resources, FAQ and contact information.
• Radioactive Waste Repository Authority - Ensures the safe disposal of existing and future radioactive waste in the Czech Republic. Includes information on research, development and activities.
• RadWaste.org - Comprehensive technical guide to radioactive waste technology and management. Includes categorized directory with links.
• South Carolina Radioactive Waste Disposal Program - Information about the State-owned low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Barnwell County. Provides customer access information. Includes numerous technical documents on history, policies and practices.
• Svensk Kärnbränslehantering (SKB) - Information about Swedish waste management technology and the search for a disposal site for spent nuclear fuel. Includes background on the company formed to handle the waste. [Swedish, English]
• Transportation Resource Exchange Center - Provides documents, databases, and links to the people, organizations, and programs that are involved in the transport of radioactive materials.
• U.S. DOE - Central Internet Database (CID) - Data and reports from the US Department of Energy (DOE) on spent fuel and radioactive waste inventories, waste management and sites cleanup. Includes interactive site profile reports.
• U.S. DOE - National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program - Fact sheets from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on spent fuel issues and background. Includes program mission, lessons learned, progress, spent fuel data and contact information.
• U.S. DOE - Nuclear Waste Storage - Illustrated document prepared by the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Describes the various types of waste, the storage technology and the methods used.
• U.S. DOE - Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) - Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assigned to develop and manage a federal system for disposing of spent nuclear fuel from commercial and military nuclear activities. Includes comprehensive technical information on the projects and on the repository sites.
• U.S. NRC - Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses - Federal research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to resolve technical and regulatory issues related to geologic high level nuclear waste repository. Includes brochures and technical information about geophysics, corrosion, mining, risk assessment and geochemistry.
• U.S. NRC - Radioactive Waste - Information from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about types of regulated waste and activities, responsibilities and related information.
• U.S. NRC - Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel - Information from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about storage options and regulations. Includes regulatory initiatives reports and regulatory guides.
• U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board - Independent agency of the U.S. Government with purpose of providing independent scientific and technical oversight of the U.S. program for management and disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
• Waste Management in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle - Briefing paper by the Uranium Information Center, Australia on nuclear waste management as a part of the fuel cycle. Includes a list of waste disposal practices worldwide.