Speaker
Description
The drive to operate high power particle accelerators sustainably is becoming increasingly urgent. At the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, current operations typically generate 100–200 tonnes of radioactive waste annually, but with a projected ~36,000 tonnes over the facility’s remaining lifecycle. Because radioactive waste severely constrains reuse and recycling, it represents a significant barrier to realising the circular economy.
To address this challenge, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has implemented a new “Optimised Waste Management Model”. Working closely with regulators and new UK Government policies has allowed a first of a kind licensing approach for the UK utilising a transparent data driven approach for the demonstration of compliance. This new approach enables a shift from prescriptive, limit-based regulation to a more flexible, goal orientated model focused on continuing demonstration of better outcomes.
The new approach relies on prompt characterisation of each waste item to determine its optimal management pathway. A structured hierarchy of treatment options, combined with justified decay and interim storage where appropriate, ensures that each item achieves the best endpoint. Comprehensive tracking and simulation from generation through treatment to final disposition provides high resolution data, which feeds into macroscopic simulation forecasts to inform management approach and provide regulatory assurance.
It will take several years for STFC to fully transition our historical waste to this new model, but early results show substantial improvements in radioactive waste outcomes. The model has already enabled significantly higher short-term reuse and recycling rates, with long-term sustainable recycling expected to exceed 80%. Overall, the approach is projected to avoid the disposal of more than 28,000 tonnes of radioactive waste over the facility’s lifetime, while simultaneously reducing future financial and operational risks.