Abstract

In recent years, nuclear energy has attracted considerable social and political attention. One advantage of new nuclear power plants is that they can generate energy with a low climate impact, as they do not use fossil fuels. The generation of nuclear energy does, however, produce radioactive waste. This waste must be managed and stored safely so that it cannot harm public health or the environment in either the short or long term.

In the nuclear energy field, work is being done on new types of nuclear reactors. Some advanced reactors use novel coolants - such as gas, liquid metal, or molten salt - to transport the heat they generate. Reactors that use these materials operate differently from the water-cooled reactor currently in use in the Netherlands (the Borssele nuclear power plant in Zeeland). Most of the advanced reactors are not yet ready to be built, as their designs are not yet technically finalized or approved by the regulatory bodies.

Because some advanced reactors work in a different way, they will produce different radioactive waste streams than current reactors do. To be ready for this, the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) has described the properties of radioactive waste from four types of advanced reactors that use water, gas, liquid metal or molten salt as coolants. Where possible, estimates have been made of the amounts of radioactive waste they would produce. As with current reactors, the use of advanced reactors will result in radioactive waste that will need to be stored safely for a long time (final disposal).

The greater the design differences are between advanced reactors and a traditional design such as Borssele, the greater the difference in the waste they produce The differences relate to the radioactive substances present and to the properties of the waste materials. These properties affect how the waste must be treated and stored. The type and amount of radioactive waste will ultimately depend on the specific reactor design. This also applies to technological developments for reprocessing and waste treatment.

It is expected to take years before advanced reactors can be built in the Netherlands. If such reactors are eventually developed, the government and COVRA (the company responsible for radioactive waste storage in the Netherlands) will need to take these differences into account.