A Comparative Analysis of Managing Radioactive Waste in the Canadian Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries

Abstract

Management of radioactive waste in nuclear industries in Canada is tightly regulated. The regulated nuclear industries include nuclear power generation, uranium mining and milling, nuclear medicine, radiation research and education and industrial users of nuclear material (e.g. radiography, thickness gauges, etc).

In contrast, management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) waste is not regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), with the exception of transport above specified concentrations. Although these are radioactive materials that have always been present in various concentrations in the environment and in the tissues of every living animal, including humans, the hazards of similar quantities of NORM radionuclides are identical to those of the same or other radionuclides from regulated industries. The concentration of NORM in most natural substances is so low that the associated risk is generally regarded as negligible, however higher concentrations may arise as the result of industrial operations such as:

• oil and gas production
• mineral extraction and processing (e.g. phosphate fertilizer production)
• metal recycling
• thermal electric power generation
• water treatment facilities

Health Canada has published the Canadian Guidelines for the Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM). This paper presents a comparative analysis of the requirements for management of radioactive waste in the regulated nuclear industries and of the guidelines for management of NORM waste.