Significant amounts of liquid and solid radioactive waste have been
generated in Russia during the production of nuclear weapons, and there
is an urgent need to find suitable ways to manage these wastes in a way
that protects both the current population and future generations. This
book contains contributions from pure and applied scientists and other
representatives from Europe, North America, and Russia, who are, or have
been, actively involved in the field of radioactive waste management and
disposal. First-hand experience of specific problems associated with
defence-related wastes in the USA and the Russian Federation is
presented, and current plans are described for the disposal of solid
wastes arising from civilian nuclear power production programmes in
other countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany and the
UK.
The book provides a good insight into ongoing research at local and
national level within Russia, devoted to the safe disposal of
defence-related radioactive waste. It also demonstrates how existing
expertise and technology from civilian nuclear waste management
programmes can be applied to solving the problems created by nuclear
defence programmes.
Contributions address methods of immobilisation, site selection
methodology, site characterisation techniques and data interpretation,
the key elements of safety/performance assessments of planned deep
(geological) repositories for radioactive waste, and radionuclide
transport modelling. Concerns associated with certain specific nuclear
waste disposal concepts and repository sites are also presented.
