SAFE MANAGEMENT OF NON-NUCLEAR RADIOACTIVE WASTE A NEW NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF NON-NUCLEAR RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN SWEDEN

摘要

The Swedish Government in May 2002 set up a non-standing committee for non-nuclear radioactive waste.The objective was to elaborate proposals for a national system for the management of all types of non-nuclear radioactive wastes with special consideration of inter alia the polluter pays principle and the responsibility of the producers.The committee had to deliver its proposals to the Government by 1~st December 2003. rnFunds for future costs for the management and final storage of waste from nuclear power is collected in a state-governed funding system.The power sector pays a flat fee per kilowatt-hour nuclear power.For non-nuclear radioactive waste,however,there are no means today to secure the funding.If a company goes bankrupt and leaves radioactive waste behind it might be up to the taxpayers to pay for its safe management.This is because the holder of the waste is responsible for its disposal.The costs appear at the time of disposal and it is usually the last owner/holder of a radioactive product that has to pay. Sometimes the costs come as a surprise and the owner might not have the money available.Thus the waste might be kept longer than warranted or end up as orphan waste. rnTo solve this dilemma and other weaknesses in the Swedish system the committee proposes a funding system paralleling the system for nuclear waste.The cost for the waste should be paid up front,i.e.when a customer buys a product using a radioactive source the cost for the future waste management should be included in the price.In this way the consumer will not have to pay for this the day he disposes of the product by returning it to the original producer or leaving it to some waste treatment organization.It should be the responsibility of the producer(manufacturer,importer)to guarantee the funding for the handling of waste by making advance payments to the state fund. rnThe committee divides non-nuclear radioactive waste into three main categories:waste from products, waste from industrial activities and other wastes. rnWaste from products includes household products as well as products used in research,industry and hospitals etc.For this category it is easy to identify a producer who imports or manufactures the product and puts it on the Swedish market.Such activities need a license from the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority(SSI)according to the Swedish Radiation Protection Ordinance. rnWaste from industrial activities includes TENORM and biofuel ashes from combustion plants.Most of these processes are anyway licensed under the Environmental Code and funding for the management of the radioactive waste emanating from such practices can be settled in the licensing procedure along with specific conditions on the generation and handling of the waste. rnOther Waste includes waste with no known owner,e.g.orphan sources and radioactive waste discovered in scrap metal.This category is a minor contributor of waste compared to the other two main groups and the necessary surplus of the funding system may well cover the costs also for the management of this waste.