Radioactive waste, left as a legacy from past nuclear activities, is still stored at their respective production sites (sites of nuclear power plants and experimental nuclear fuel cycle research facilities). To these must be added the waste generated by research, medical and industrial activities, currently stored in temporary depots with authorized national operators.
Numerous activities are currently underway or planned to increase the level of safety in the management of this waste, which concern both conditioning operations, since 70% of the waste is still in the state in which it was produced, and the construction of new and adequate temporary storage depots, awaiting their transfer to the National Repository.
In this context, ISIN has repeatedly formulated and reiterated in various forums what are the critical issues and fundamental objectives to be pursued in the management of radioactive waste, in particular in the long term, trying to raise awareness among the competent administrations to undertake adequate actions to achieve quickly to create a national repository that will allow the radioactive waste still held in the various plants as well as the waste generated by the reprocessing of irradiated fuel abroad destined to return to Italy to be hosted in conditions of maximum safety.
ISIN annually updates the "National Inventory of Radioactive Waste". The Inventory, which also includes spent fuel and decommissioned sources, is drawn up with data relating to volumes, masses, physical, chemical and radiological characteristics, characteristics of containers and waste storage conditions and is prepared on the basis of data that is annually the various operators, who have primary responsibility for the safe detention and management of the waste itself, transmit to the Inspectorate's IT system called STRIMS (System for the Traceability of Radioactive Waste, Radioactive Materials and Sources of Ionizing Radiation).
Based on the data as of 31 December 2022 provided by the operators, the total radioactive waste present in nuclear installations, including that generated by activities of medical and industrial origin, is approximately 31 thousand m3. The waste generated by dismantling is predominantly of low or very low activity; those that will return to Italy in the next few years, deriving from the reprocessing operations in England and France of the irradiated fuel, amount respectively to approximately 36 m3 of high activity and approximately 48 m3 of medium activity.
It must also be considered that waste deriving from medical and industrial applications will continue to be produced, for which an annual production of approximately 300 m3 is estimated.
On the subject of radioactive waste management safety, ISIN takes care of the preparation of the national reports required by the Joint Convention on the safety of radioactive waste management and on the safety of irradiated fuel management, ratified by Italy with Law 16 December 2005, n. . 282, participating on behalf of Italy in the periodic review conferences provided for by the Convention itself. ISIN prepares the national periodic report on the implementation of Directive 2011/70/EURATOM establishing a community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.