This publication provides a global overview of the status of spent fuel and radioactive waste management programmes, inventories, current practices, technologies and trends. It presents information on national arrangements for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, and on current waste and spent fuel inventories and their future estimates. Achievements, challenges and trends in the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste are also addressed. This second edition has been developed with a basis of national profiles submitted by Member States, complemented with openly available Joint Convention National Reports. The data reported are fully dependent on the input from the States and by the assumptions made to transform these data into the waste classes defined in IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSG-1, Classification of Radioactive Waste.

• SUMMARY
• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. Background
  • 1.2. Objective
  • 1.3. Scope
  • 1.4. Structure
• 2. International Legal Instruments and supporting materials
  • 2.1. Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
  • 2.2. Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste
  • 2.3. International supporting materials
• 3. Sources of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste
  • 3.1. Radioactive waste classification
  • 3.2. Spent fuel and radioactive waste from nuclear power, research and other reactors
    • 3.2.1. Radioactive waste
    • 3.2.2. Spent fuel
  • 3.3. Waste from nuclear fuel cycle facilities
  • 3.4. Radioactive waste from research, medical and industrial use
  • 3.5. Radioactive waste from military and defence programmes
  • 3.6. Other potential sources of radioactive waste
• 4. Frameworks for the Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste
  • 4.1. National policies
  • 4.2. National strategies
  • 4.3. Legal framework
  • 4.4. Allocation of roles and responsibilities
  • 4.5. Waste management organizations
  • 4.6. Funding arrangements
  • 4.7. Planning and integration
  • 4.8. Minimization in the management of radioactive waste
  • 4.9. Stakeholder involvement
• 5. Summary of current strategies, practices and technologies
  • 5.1. Spent fuel and high level waste
    • 5.1.1. The ‘open cycle’ and ‘closed cycle’
    • 5.1.2. Transport of spent fuel and high level waste
    • 5.1.3. Storage
    • 5.1.4. Disposal
    • 5.1.5. Spent fuel from non-power reactors
  • 5.2. Intermediate level waste
    • 5.2.1. Processing
    • 5.2.2. Storage
    • 5.2.3. Disposal
  • 5.3. Low level waste
    • 5.3.1. Processing
    • 5.3.2. Storage
    • 5.3.3. Disposal
  • 5.4. Very low level waste
    • 5.4.1. Processing
    • 5.4.2. Storage
    • 5.4.3. Disposal
  • 5.5. Uranium mining and milling waste, NORM waste
  • 5.6. Disused sealed radioactive sources management
    • 5.6.1. Storage and conditioning
    • 5.6.2. Return to supplier, reuse and recycle
    • 5.6.3. Disposal
• 6. Inventories
  • 6.1. Data sources
    • 6.1.1. National Profiles
    • 6.1.2. Joint Convention National Reports
    • 6.1.3. Euratom Waste Directive National Reports
  • 6.2. Description of data aggregation
    • 6.2.1. Conversion to IAEA waste classification
    • 6.2.2. Constraints in determining global inventory
    • 6.2.3. Conversion to disposal volumes
  • 6.3. Current inventories of spent fuel
    • 6.3.1. Nuclear power plant spent fuel
    • 6.3.2. Spent fuel from research and other reactors
    • 6.3.3. Planned management of spent fuel
  • 6.4. Current inventories of radioactive waste
    • 6.4.1. Solid radioactive waste
    • 6.4.2. Liquid radioactive waste
  • 6.5. Future forecasts
• 7. Analysis and achievements
  • 7.1. Comparison of inventories in 2013 and 2016
  • 7.2. Management of spent fuel and high level waste
  • 7.3. Management of intermediate level waste
  • 7.4. Management of low level waste
  • 7.5. Management of very low level waste
  • 7.6. Management of radioactive waste from decommissioning
  • 7.7. Management of disused sealed radioactive sources
  • 7.8. Specific waste management issues
    • 7.8.1. Management of waste from nuclear accidents
    • 7.8.2. Management of areas affected by past activities and waste from past activities
    • 7.8.3. Research and development in spent fuel and radioactive waste management
• 8. Trends
  • 8.1. General trends
    • 8.1.1. Policy and strategy
    • 8.1.2. Facilities
    • 8.1.3. Technology/innovation
    • 8.1.4. Governance
    • 8.1.5. Funding and financing aspects
    • 8.1.6. Regulatory framework
    • 8.1.7. Knowledge system sustainability
  • 8.2. Review of previously identified challenges
    • 8.2.1. Public acceptance of spent fuel and radioactive waste management remains a challenge in most countries
    • 8.2.2. Funding for waste management and decommissioning activities still remains a challenge in a number of countries
    • 8.2.3. Safe retrieval and handling of spent fuel after a long period of storage
    • 8.2.4. Decommissioning planning
    • 8.2.5. Management of disused sealed radioactive sources
    • 8.2.6. Management of legacy sites and waste
• 9. Conclusions
• REFERENCES
• CONTENTS OF THE ANNEXES
• ABBREVIATIONS
• CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW