WASTE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY

Transcription

1 IAEA-TECDOC-264 RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY A TECHNICAL DOCUMENT ISSUED

2 RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY IAEA, VIENNA, 1982 Printed by the IAEA in Austria April 1982

3 PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ALL OF THE MISSING PAGES IN THIS DOCUMENT WERE ORIGINALLY BLANK

4 The IAEA does not maintain stocks of reports in this series. However, microfiche copies

5 Terminology used FOREWORD

6 SOURCES OF VARIOUS DEFINITIONS Source ISO-921 Nuclear Energy Glossary (1975) ICRP Publication

7 IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 78, Operation and Control of Ion-Exchange Processes for Treatment of Radioactive Wastes (1967) IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 82, Treatment of Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Concentrates (1968) IAEA Technical Reports Series

8 RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY absorbed dose: The quotient of de by dm, where de is the mean energy imparted

9 adsorption: Adhesion

10 arenaceous: Applied to rocks that have been derived from sand or that contain sand; sandstones. argillaceous: Applied to all rocks and substances composed of clay or having a notable proportion of clay in their composition. argillaceous rocks:

11 bedded salt: A salt formation in which the salt is roughly horizontal, laterally extensive

12 calcareous: calcine: Containing calcium carbonate.

13 Generated during reprocessing when spent fuel assemblies are disassembled and the fuel is dissolved. (See hulls and spacers.) clastic: Consisting of fragments of rocks or of organic structures that have been moved individually from their places

14 Government

15 cost-benefit analysis: effects (benefits) A systematic examination of the positive

16 decontamination: Removal or reduction of radioactive contamination. decontamination factor:

17 dip: The angle at which a stratum or any planar feature is inclined from the horizontal. direct maintenance: Maintenance

18 dose equivalent commitment (or effective dose equivalent commitment): For any specified decision, practice or operation,

19 embankment: A raised structure usually constructed as an earth dam to retain liquid and solid wastes. The embankment may be built using tailings, other materials, or a combination of both. embedding: A process of putting solid or liquid waste into a matrix to form a heterogeneous waste form. emplacement: disposal. Placing the waste in its location for storage or emplacement density: Amount of waste emplaced per unit area or volume of a storage or disposal site (e.g. canisters per hectare). endogenous: Originating

20 point) to system failure events. The event tree is the diagrammatic illustration of the alternative consequences or outcomes of specified initiating events. (See fault-tree analysis.) exchange capacity: The total number of equivalents of exchangeable ions contained in a unit weight of soil or minerals or other materials. The quantity found will sometimes vary with the methods of analysis employed. The equilibrium constant is the mass action constant for the equilibrium achieved when

21 fail-safe: Refers to a principle of design by which, in the event of any failure in a system, the system assumes a safe condition. far-field: Rock formations outside of the repository, including

22 flocculation:

23 geohydrology

24 hazard: A natural or man-made cause of a potential deleterious effect,

25 human environment: Those portions

26 in-situ leaching:

27 in human exposures

28 in an agricultural sense. Occasionally the term soil is found in reference to all forms of unconsolidated or semi-consolidated earth materials. An identifiable unit or stratum

29 migration:

30 natural background radiation: N

31 off-gas treatment: The removal of radioactive components or chemical pollutants from gases prior

32 package, waste: See waste package. PCM: Plutonium contaminated material. pelagic organisms: Marine organisms which either float

33 primary waste: As-generated form

34 radiation protection or radiological protection: (i) All measures associated with the limitation of the harmful effects of ionizing radiation on people, such as limitation of external exposure to such radiation, limitation of bodily incorporation of radionuclides as well as the prophylactic limitation of bodily injury resulting from either

35 radwaste: See radioactive waste. reactor internals: Internal reactor components. These frequently require periodic renewal and subsequent disposal. Reference Man: A hypothetical person with the anatomical and physiological characteristics defined

36 responsible organization: responsibility The organization having overall

37 safeguards, IAEA: framework A system of technical measures within the

38 phenomena relevant

39 protective covering is of the order of a few metres thick. Some Member States consider 'shallow-ground disposal 1 to be

40 refer to reactions taking place largely within the pores of solids,

41 basically

42 tailings: These

43 principal transuranic radionuclides of concern in radioactive waste management are tabulated below with their half-lives and decay modes. nuclide neptunium-237 plutonium-238 plutonium-239 plutonium-240 plutonium-242 americium-241 americium-243 curium-245 curium-246 half-life (years) principal decay modes alpha alpha, alpha, alpha, alpha alpha alpha alpha alpha, spontaneous spontaneous spontaneous spontaneous fission fission fission fission treatment of waste: Operations intended to benefit safety or economy by changing the characteristics of the waste. Three basic treatment concepts are:

44 validation:

45 waste retention system: Storage system for liquid and/or solid wastes. This includes systems