Waste Management in a National Research Laboratory

Abstract

Because of its experience in handling radioactive materials including waste generated on-site PSI was charged with managing the treatment and interim storage of the radioactive waste from medicine, industry and research in Switzerland. Combustible operational waste from the Swiss nuclear power plants is conditioned on a contract base and stored temporarily at the sites of the power plants. Because of the decommissioning of old facilities provoked by the change in the research priorities at PSI, temporarily an additional amount of waste is released on-site to be treated. PSI possesses the facilities and the organisational structure to fulfil the tasks it is charged with. In the near future the major part of the conditioning procedures, except the conditioning of some of the waste containing α-emitters, will be performed by ZWILAG. PSI will stay responsible for the management, organisation and interim storage of all radioactive waste, except for nuclear power plant waste, as before.