National Programme for Radioactive Waste Management

The National Programme for Radioactive Waste Management is a national sectoral programme of Estonia for the period until 2050. It provides that matters related to radioactive waste management will be organised more precisely on the basis of the programme and the aim of the plan is to offer decision-makers and waste handlers specific solutions for the systematic management of radioactive waste and to reduce their amounts in the Republic of Estonia. The plan also offers enough information for the wider public about the radioactive waste generated and to be generated, as well as their management. Radioactive waste management uses both the non-hazardous waste management practices (first two) and also specific procedures: concentration and isolation (used if the amounts of waste are large and activity average or great); dilution and separation (used for the low activity concentrations and small quantities); delay and radioactive decay. During radioactive waste management it is very important to ensure the minimisation of the amounts of waste to be handled. To this end, it is necessary: to keep the amount of generated waste as low as it is possible when taking various factors into account; to keep the spread of radioactive contamination under control during radiation activities in order to reduce the possibility that as a result of contamination, the amount of radioactive waste that needs to be managed would increase; to optimise the opportunities for processing and recycling of components; and to implement management technologies to minimise the amounts of waste.