The main source of SRW production is the scheduled replacement of equipment, the maintenance/repairs of rooms and equipment, etc. The SRW composition is very diverse.
These are different metals, cables, thermal insulation, contaminated protective clothes, elastron, paper, etc.
In terms of SRW treatment it is divided into compactable, incinerable and metallic, and in terms of the contamination level - into 3 groups: low-level - up to 30 millirem/h medium-level - from 30 to 1,000 millirem/h high-level - above 1,000 millirem /h The high-level SRW includes reactor com-ponents. In the total volume of operational SRW their share is no more than 4 %.
The total amount of SRW annually generated at a four power unit NPP is approximately ~ 1200 t, about 90 % of it is low-level waste.
At the normal operation of a NPP with four RBMK-1000 reactors ~1200 m3 of SRW is produced.
In order to reduce the SRW volume, when the measures on lifecycle extension are taken, a program for solid waste conditioning has been developed and implemented, which enables the reduction of waste volume from 1200 to 300 m3.
The SRW category also includes bitumen compounds, which are produced at the LRW solidification, at the stage of its initial treatment.
By now Leningrad NPP has accumulated 23518 m3 of them.
Within the framework of TAСIS-94 program the LRW cementing unit has been built.
Its operation will enable an efficient and safe conditioning of LRW into more stable SRW.
After the LRW cementing unit is put into operation in 2008 the total volume of waste will be reduced 4 times thanks to the conversion of LRW into SRW. After that a bituminization
unit will be installed.
At present the state regulatory body of Russia is considering the possibility of introducing the "very low-level waste” category (similar to France). If the RW specific activity is below 1.0×105 Bq/kg for artificial and 5.0×105 Bq/kg for natural radionuclides, it can be included into this category and under certain conditions this waste can be exempt from the regulatory control. Further handling can be restricted by the nuclear industry sites.