Strategic Guidance on the Management of LLW and ILW / LLW ...

LLW Repository LtdNational Waste ProgrammeNWP/REP/011Issue 2.1 – Jan 2013Page 52 of 58Whilst it is accepted that waste management decisions are made by weighing up a varietyof factors including the characteristics of the waste, cost, schedule, ALARP, technology /waste route availability, and other health / safety factors, it should be noted that wastemanagement decisions should be directed by application of the waste managementhierarchy, illustrated in Figure 16, as far as practicable.Figure 16 – Waste Management HierarchyAVOIDMINIMISERE-USEIncreasingenvironmentaldetriment.RECYCLEVOLUME REDUCTIONDISPOSALFor pond furniture waste, as there are no opportunities to avoid generation of the wasteas the waste is extant, the focus for waste management practitioners should be onmaximising opportunities for minimising the volume of waste to be managed as LLW orILW through the use of treatment technologies such as metal melting or surfacedecontamination. Reducing the radiological classification of the waste provides greateropportunity for re-use and re-cycle, and greater opportunities for diversion away fromdisposal at LLWR or the future GDF, as well as providing a range of waste managementsolutions which are available in the nearer term than disposal facilities for higher activitywastes. This enables waste management practitioners to achieve earlier solutions for finaldisposal and discharge of liabilities. Only where re-use, recycle and down-classification ofwaste through treatment have been assessed and discounted as not being BAT shoulddisposal be considered as a viable waste management option.It should be considered that the application of waste treatment technologies often result inthe generation of secondary wastes. The type, volume, radiological classification andease of disposal of any such secondary wastes should be assessed in the wastemanagement optioneering process. In particular, careful consideration should be given tothe feasibility of generation of orphan wastes (either as secondary waste or as primarywaste). The management of orphan waste can be complex and costly for SLCs, and assuch the potential for the generation of orphan wastes through the application of anygiven technology should be assessed during the waste management optioneeringprocess. All practicable steps should be taken so as to minimise the generation of orphanwastes.A company owned by UK Nuclear Waste Management LtdNOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED