Radioactive waste

Switzerland has radioactive waste. Two-thirds of this waste originates from nuclear power plants, while medicine, industry and research account for one-third of the total. The waste is broken down into three categories: high-level radioactive waste (HLW), long-lived intermediate-level radioactive waste (LL-ILW) and short-lived low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (L/ILW).

Low-, intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste

HLW consists of spent fuel assemblies from nuclear power plants and vitrified (glassy) residues from the reprocessing of the fuel assemblies. This waste produces a large amount of heat due to radioactive decay.

LL-ILW comprises waste from reprocessing (e.g. cladding tubes and endpieces of fuel assemblies) and intermediate-level operational radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and research facilities.

L/ILW consists mainly of operational waste from nuclear power plants and research institutions together with waste from medical and industrial applications. Additional L/ILW is also produced when nuclear power plants and research institutions are decommissioned.

Waste management concept

Long periods of time will pass before the radioactivity of the waste has abated. As the beneficiary generation, we are already under an obligation to seek out and implement sustainable solutions for the management of this waste. The Swiss Nuclear Energy Act, NEA (Kernenergiegesetz, KEG) stipulates that all radioactive waste must be moved into deep geological repositories. According to the current time schedule, storage will not start before 2035. But even now, there is already a need for radioactive waste to be treated, placed in interim storage and transported.

According to the legislation, safe handling of the waste until the long-term management stage is the responsibility of the parties that produce the waste. As an independent supervisory authority, ENSI verifies whether the parties obliged to carry out waste management comply with the statutory regulations, and whether they take account of the latest international developments in science and technology. ENSI awards and coordinates research mandates in connection with regulatory safety research for the purpose of determining and expanding the current level of scientific and technical knowledge, so that this knowledge can be made available for supervisory tasks.

News

15 May 2017

Workshop on aspects of biosphere modelling within the context of deep geological repositories

During a joint project-workshop, members of the international BIOPROTA Forum and members of the IAEA MODARIA II Working Group 6 discussed methods for biosphere modelling within the context of deep geological repositories. The workshop took place from 10 – 12 May 2017 at the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) in Brugg.

12 May 2017

Research and Experience Report: new calculation method for independent assessment of transport and storage containers

In future, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, ENSI, will be able to calculate the amount of heat dissipated from transport and storage containers by means of a new independent calculation tool. This has emerged from ENSI’s 2016 Research and Experience Report.

5 December 2016

ENSI Board names Felix Altorfer as Director of the Waste Management Division

Felix Altorfer, Director of the Staff of the Directorate, will be switching to the Waste Management Division and taking over as its Director at the beginning of 2017. This decision was made by the ENSI Board in today’s meeting.

25 August 2016

Registration requirement for radioactive material to be transported via France

All companies transporting radioactive material to or via France are required to register by autumn of this year. The French regulatory authority, ASN, has issued a notice to this effect, which came into force in summer 2016.

14 June 2016

US delegation interested in Swiss methods for waste management

On Monday morning, members of the US Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (US NWTRB) visited the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) in Brugg. During their visit, they were particularly interested in the Swiss procedure as part of the Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories (SGT).

2 March 2016

Expert Group on Nuclear Waste Disposal: Fritz Schlunegger re-enters the EGT as ordinary member

Once again the Expert Group on Nuclear Waste Disposal EGT is complete. The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI was able to win Fritz Schlunegger as the successor to Annette Johnson. Fritz Schlunegger has already been a member of the EGT.

2 February 2016

Japan shows interest in deep repository research in Switzerland

Yesterday Japanese disposal experts visited the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). They hope to benefit from Swiss experience in handling nuclear waste. Keita Yamamoto, from the Japanese Radioactive Waste Management Funding and Research Center, RWMC, stated during the visit that their “visit to Switzerland is aimed at a detailed analysis of Swiss deep repository […]

28 May 2015

Participation in the Swiss Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories is internationally recognised as exemplary

International experts at the IAEA conference in Vienna have singled out Switzerland’s approach to the search for a location for a deep geological repository as exemplary.

16 March 2015

ENSI reports to the IAEA on radioactive waste and spent fuel elements

The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) today submitted the fifth Swiss National Report in connection with the international Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (the “Joint Convention”) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).