IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

High School

Topic B - Nuclear Waste Disposal

Introduction to the Committee The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is a secondary organ of the

United Nations. This international agency aims at promoting the peaceful,

secure and safe management of nuclear energy and nuclear material around the

world. The creation of this agency came in 1957 after United States President

Dwight Eisenhower proposed it to the General Assembly in 1953.

Figure 1-Logo IAEA

The IAEA is constituted of a 35-member Board of Governors and a General

Conference constituted of all member states. The agency essentially monitors

the peaceful usage of nuclear science and technology in aim of being an active

organ in maintaining international security and contributing to the economic,

social and environmental development agenda of the world.

Introduction to the Topic

In the year 600 A.D, the global

population was estimated to be

roughly half a billion. In 1800 A.D,

one thousand and two hundred years

later, the population only doubled to a

billion. Following relatively recent

advancements in medicine and general

wellbeing, the population skyrocketed

to 7 billion in the 21st century, within

a 200 year period. Alongside the

industrial revolution in the late 1700s,

the exponential growth of human

existence has led to a drastic increase

of air, marine, and terrestrial

pollution. As the population increases,

pollution tends to increase as well, and severely harms 100 million individuals

every year.

To sum up this observation, traditional energy production sources have been

causing a great threat to the environment as a whole. In response to this

alarming issue, new sources of energy production had to be introduced to the

world. As an attempted result, the electricity era welcomed the most

controversial method of energy production, nuclear power plants. A nuclear

power plant, by definition, is a facility that uses atomic fusion, in which heat is

produced using a nuclear reactor. Similar to all conventional thermal power

stations, the resulting heat is used to generate steam, which then drives a steam

turbine that produces electricity. On June 26 1954, the world’s ever first nuclear

power plant came into existence. It is located in Obninsk, Russia, and dubbed

by the name of APS-1. As of July 2015, thirty nations across the globe operate

438 nuclear reactors, along with 67 ones planned in fifteen countries. Nuclear

power plants provided 10.9% of the world’s electricity production, according to

the most recent statistics.

Despite being relatively more environment-friendly than fossil fuel burning,

nuclear power poses a tragic threat in the event of a reactor failure, or failing to

maintain its radioactive waste. Nuclear power is the only electricity production

technology that takes full responsibility for its wastes and hazards. It is of

crucial importance to monitor nuclear

power plants to avoid fatal

malfunctions, and to regulate their

wastes to avoid radioactive contamination.

Ever since the discovery of nuclear atomic power, there have been around 25

disastrous accidents and incidents in various parts of the globe. To begin with,

the first deliberate disaster, killing around 200,000 individuals, happened during

the end of World War II in 1945, when the United States released two nuclear

bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nuclear waste and contamination linger in

the two Japanese cities till this day, causing massive biological complications

and malformations among hundreds of thousands of local civilians. Moving on

to irresponsible contamination incidents, in the Ural mountains of Eastern

Russia exists Lake Karachay, better known as the most polluted spot on the

planet. The lake was used as a dumping zone for the Soviet Union’s nuclear

Percentage Ranks of Nuclear Energy

facilities. Cancer and birth defects escalated in the nearby inhabited districts.

Moreover, an exposure to the lake of less than an hour is enough to kill an adult

human being. Also in the same region, the Techa River suffers from

contamination for the same reasons. The nuclear facility behind the

contamination of these two natural elements, Mayak, malfunctioned on

September 29 1957, and resulted in the world’s third biggest nuclear tragedy,

known as the Kyshtym disaster. The majority of nuclear contamination events

evolve around military equipment testing. Some major examples are the United

State’s Hanford Site, Operation Plumbbob, and Operation Fishbowl. Russia’s

include the Totsyoke nuclear exercise. There were also two incidents involving

the explosion of nuclear military submarines; the Soviet Union’s K-19 and K84.

Last but not least, the two most notable nuclear pollution crises were 1986’s

Chernobyl disaster and 2011’s (also most recent) Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

Since nuclear accidents totally annihilate the ability to control radioactive

contamination, the only solution is to prevent the erroneous situations in the

first place. Concerning the nuclear waste that coagulates over time in perfectly

functional nuclear power plants, there have been several approaches to handling

them in the safest and most beneficial ways.

History of the Topic:

Two of the most recalled accident-induced radioactive contaminations are the

Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters.

Major Disasters: Chernobyl Fallout

On April 26, 1986, a massive

system failure occurred at Unit

4 of the nuclear energy facility

at Chernobyl, the former

USSR.

The operating engineers were

conducting an experiment to

test whether the turbines would

produce enough power to keep the cooling pumps active in the event of a power

loss, until the backup diesel generators were powered on.

To avoid any interference with the power of the Unit, the safety systems were

intentionally turned off. To implement the experiment, the reactor was powered

down to 25% of its capacity. This process did not sequence according to plan

and the power level of the reactor dropped to less than 1%. The power,

therefore, had to be slowly turned up. However, 30 seconds after the first test

run, there was an unanticipated power surge. The reactor's emergency shutdown

system, which should have seized an atomic chain reaction, malfunctioned.

The reactor's radioactive components scattered and there was a massively

violent explosion. The reactor building’s 1000-tonne sealing cap was

completely blown off. At extreme temperatures higher than 2000°C, the

metallic rods melted instantly. The reactor was covered with graphite, which

caught fire. The graphite flamed up for nine consecutive days, emitting deadly

and destructive amounts of radioactive material into the vast surrounding

environment. The disaster emitted more radiation than the intended release of

the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. Chernobyl and a nearby city, Pripyat, remain

abandoned human habitats up to this day.

The Fukushima Daiichi Disaster

The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was prompted by the

Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, on March 11 2011. The earthquake

broke down AC power to the plant and the tsunami flooded sectors of the plant

area. The tsunami washed out critical reactor equipment, which caused the

persistent failure of onsite DC and AC electricity, which then resulted in the

loss of reactor control, cooling, and monitoring systems in multiple units. Three

reactors, Units 1, 2 and 3, underwent serious core destruction. In addition three

reactor buildings were destroyed by hydrogen explosions, and extensive

emissions of radioactive waste contaminated the environment in Fukushima and

many neighboring areas. The catastrophe provoked widespread evacuations of

local inhabitants and national panic among the Japanese citizens, drastic

economic decline, and the consequent halting of all other nuclear power plants

in Japan.

Nuclear Waste Disposal: Used Fuel Management

Until governments of nuclear-

powered countries establish an

agreement on the techniques

and whereabouts of nuclear

waste disposal, all

commercially used up nuclear

fuel is safely and securely

stored in reactor areas, in

metallic-lined concrete pools

filled with water, or in vacuum

steel containers. This temporary storage technique is one of many approaches to

resolve nuclear waste.

Federal governments have committed on their legal obligations to handle used

nuclear fuel from power reactors since 1998. The industry of nuclear energy is

determined to work, in collaboration with international federal governments,

along with their state leaders and administrating, on establishing protocols that

ensures the safety, sustainability, and efficiency of nuclear power plants.

Used Nuclear Fuel Storage

Utilized atomic fuel comprises of little uranium pellets stacked inside

compound fuel rods. All of the utilized atomic fuel generated by the atomic

power industry in the last 50 years, if stacked together, would spread out a

territory the size of a football field, and to a depth of approximately 10 meters.

The Nuclear Energy Institution (NEI) encourages the enhancement of a unified

facility for the impermanent stockpiling of utilized atomic wastes, in a willing

and determined nation. Meanwhile, significant advancements may be

constructed to ensure the temporality of the storage approach.

Transportation

The IAEA gives the facilities of nuclear energy the full responsibility to

displace utilized nuclear waste from nuclear power plant sites to impermanent

storage areas and repositories. Transportation will be implemented using road

and rail. The radioactive waste will be stored in sealed massive containers that

qualify for strict security and safety requirements.

Nuclear Disposal

Nuclear resources may be used more than once to generate energy. No matter

how many times it is used, it is of utmost importance to dispose its high-level

radioactive remains permanent geological repositories.

The key to achieving a sustainable management program is the establishment of

facilities that specialize in mechanisms of underground disposal. The industry

of nuclear energy highly encourages the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of

building permanent repositories in various secluded areas on the globe.

Recycling Used Nuclear Fuel

An alternative to the disposal of radioactive wastes in underground repositories

is the recycling of the used nuclear resources. The industry is conducting

extensive development, research, and demonstrations of enhanced fuel recycling

technologies. However, recycling cannot completely substitute underground

disposal, and thus the presence of repositories is vital in all cases. Fortunately,

recycling may potentially decrease the toxicity, heat, volume and pollution of

byproducts deposited in repositories.

Low-Level Radioactive Waste

Low-level waste usually refers to the byproducts of radioactive sources used in

the medical industry, specifically in radiology. There have been numerous

nuclear-related accidents in medical facilities that have killed dozens of

patients. Two examples are 1996’s San Juan Dios radiotherapy accident, and

1990’s clinic of Zaragoza. Therefore, it is crucial for these medical institutions

to take full precautions in handling nuclear material and monitoring their

equipment.

International Actions

The following resolutions were established by the IAEA concerning the agenda

“Measures to Strengthen International Co-operation in Nuclear Radiation and

Waste Safety”:

GC(44)/RES/16

GC(44)/RES/15

GC(44)/RES/14

GC(44)/RES/13

GC(44)/RES/12

GC(44)/RES/11

GC(45)/RES/10

GC(46)/RES/9

GC(47)/RES/7

The resolutions mainly revolve around the following internationally agreed

upon initiatives:

• Assessment of disposal programmes within the guidelines of an

integrated international nuclear waste disposal infrastructure

• Establishment of near surface and geological management facilities,

including deep holes of storage for disused and sealed radioactive

material

• Dissemination and preservation of enhancement, operational and post-

operational research on nuclear waste disposal

• Enhancement of near-surface storage repositories

• Implementation of training in the field of waste management

technological mechanisms and improving intercommunications between

experts in nuclear waste disposal via the use of Networks, DISPONET

and URF

• Assessing institutional, socio-political, scientific, and technical issues

using the aid of stakeholder involvement to boost investment confidence

• Investing the use of regional and internationally shared waste

management facilities (multi-national solutions).

Other international efforts include:

• Initiating a “Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident” in

1986

• “International Conference on Issues and Trends in Radioactive Waste

Management”- Vienna (2002)

• “International Conference on Safe Decommissioning for Nuclear Activities:

Assuring the Safe Termination of Practices involving Radioactive

Materials” - Berlin (2002)

• “The Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS)” - United States (2011)

Recommendations:

• Delegates are expected to fully acknowledge the direct threat that nuclear

wastes pose on the international community.

• Countries that are not involved in nuclear activities can collaboratively and

voluntarily conduct research on nuclear waste management, and address

proposals to the IAEA council.

• Countries that are not involved in nuclear activities may also offer resources,

if available, to the directly involved states.

• Delegates are also expected to determine the best technique of handling

wastes, in terms of finance, efficacy, and safety.

• It is crucial to strengthen a coordinated response to emergency nuclear-

related disasters.

• The agenda is always open to financial funds.

Questions to Consider:

1) Is your country involved with nuclear power production? If not, are there

any future plans?

2) Is your country financially capable of contributing funds to international

research facilities on nuclear waste management?

3) In return for financial rewards, is your country willing to donate

resources, most importantly secluded land, for the implementation of

nuclear waste repositories?

4) How would you enhance research about the topic in your country?

5) Would it be possible to restrict military testing of nuclear equipment?

6) How would you ensure international cooperation in the event of a

misfortunate nuclear accident?

References

1) "Atoms for Peace."Atoms for Peace. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

<https://www.iaea.org/about>.

2) "Timeline: Nuclear Plant Accidents - BBC News."BBC News. Web. 29

Jan. 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-13047267>.

3) "Nuclear Quotes."BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/nuclear.html>.

4) "What Happened in Chernobyl?"Greenpeace International. Web. 29 Jan.

2016.

<http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/nomorec

hernobyls/what-happened-in-chernobyl/>.

5) "International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."IAEA Safety Standards:

Radioactive Waste Management. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. <http://www-

ns.iaea.org/standards/documents/topics.asp?sub=170>.

6) "Nuclear Energy."Nuclear Power Plant Definition. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

<http://nuclear-energy.net/definitions/nuclear-power-plant.html>.

7) "Nuclear Power Plants, World-wide."Nuclear Power Plants, World-wide.

Web. 29 Jan. 2016.

<https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/n/nuclear-power-plant-

world-wide.htm>.

8) "World Nuclear Association."Radioactive Waste Management. Web. 29

Jan. 2016. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/nuclear-fuel-

cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-waste-management/>.