Feb. 2004

NEWSLETTERR ADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

No. 12
Issued by
National Nuclear Energy
Agency (BATAN)
Jakarta, Indonesia

and the radioactive waste management facilities on the site.
On the fourth day, a sub-meeting on the Interim Report of
the Task Group on TENORM (Technologically Enhanced
Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) was held to exchange
technical information and experiences.
T h e F N C A 2 0 0 3 Wo r k s h o p
o n R a d i o a c t i v e Wa s t e M a n a g e m e n t

Relevant issues on the practical application of the conceptof exclusion, exemption, and clearance on NORM/TENORM
management were discussed. The following points were agreed
upon:

December 15-19,2003, Jakarta, Indonesia! NORM/TENORM management is a common concern among

FNCA countries! Dose criteria or concentration levels are needed to manage

NORM/TENORM safely based on the concepts by ICRP and
IAEA

The National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN)
and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT), and in cooperation with the Japan Atomic
Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF) hosted the FNCA 2003 Workshop
on Radioactive Waste Management from December 15 to 19,
2003, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Participants from the nine countries
under the FNCA framework, i.e. Australia, China, Indonesia,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam
got together for five days to exchange opinions throughpresentations and discussion. The backgrounds of those
representatives are policy making, regulation, and R&D on
radioactive waste management. Total 40 persons (foreign andlocal) attended the Workshop.

! Further discussion on the safe management of

NORM/TENORM is needed.
Finally at Session 6 "Three Year Work Plan on Radioactive
Waste Management" under FNCA framework, the discussion
issues were as follows:! Schedule and venue of the next workshop! Items to be discussed in the next and future years! Report issues and brochure! Statement for the promotion of the Joint Convention! Poster/Mini Exhibition! Updated web site and the consolidated report

On the First Session of the first day, each country presented
their current status and progress of radioactive waste
management activities. On the first and second day, posters on
management of radioactive waste from hospitals were presented
by Indonesia and Japan delegations. Other poster presentations
were also made from Australia and Japan to introduce industrial
level technologies in relation to radioactive waste management.

Views expressed by the Workshop participants on future
topical issues and activities in fiscal year 2004 and after are as
follows:! Regulatory aspects including clearance, exemption and

NORM/TENORM! Waste treatment and characterization! Siting procedure, investigation and safety assessment

At the Second Session on the second day, a round tablediscussion was made on the "Joint Convention on Safety of
Spent Fuel and Safety of Radioactive Waste Management"
under the discussion topic "Correspondence to International
Trend".

! Security issues! Participants of this Workshop proposed Malaysia as thecandidate venue for holding the FNCA 2004 Workshop on
Radioactive Waste Management.

At the Third and Fourth Sessions on the second day, submeetings were held on "Disposal of LILW including waste
acceptance criteria" and "Management of waste arising fromdecommissioning of small to medium scale nuclear facilities"
respectively.

Dr. Asmedi Suripto
Director
Center for Development of Radioactive Waste
Management,
National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN)

On the third day, technical visit to Serpong Site of BATAN
was made, where the participants visited the research reactor
1NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

No.12 Feb. 2004

waste can be disposed of in trenches since the level ofradioactivity is low. But spent sealed sources were
excluded in this procedure.

Radioactive Wastes from Medical
Facilities and ResearchLaboratories in Japan

3) MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology), through its Subcommittee on Safety
Regulation for Radiation, issued "Basic Policy on AdoptingInternational Exemption Levels in Laws and Regulations"(August 2003).

Prof. Toshiso Kosako
Associate Professor
Research Center for Nuclear Science andTechnology
The University of Tokyo- It presents basic policy on adopting the international
concept of an exemption level in domestic laws andregulations, and suggests the promotion of considerationof a domestic law on burial disposal.

Mr. Tetsuo Kitada
Director
Site Planning Division
Radioactive Waste Management and Nuclear
Facility
Decommissioning Technology Center (RANDEC)

4) MEXT established a "Special Committee on the Business of
Disposing of RW from Radioisotopes and ResearchInstitutes, etc." (February 2002), and through the special
committee has been discussing promotion of the shallow
land disposal business.

Collection, Treatment and Storage
JRIA (Japan Radioisotope Association) was established in
1951 with the aims of import and distribution of radioisotope aswell as the promotion of safe handling of radioisotope. JRIA takeover the responsibility for collection, treatment and storage ofRadioactive Waste (RW) generated from the hospital andresearch laboratory in Japan. Number of RW generator/Users isabout 1,000 in industry and research fields, and about 1,200 in a
medical field.

- It is currently considering the nature of an implementing
body to carry out the business.
5) Together with JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy ResearchInstitute), JNC (Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute)and JRIA (Japan Radioisotope Association), which aremajor producers of RW from Radioisotopes and Research
institutes, etc., established RANDEC (Radioactive Waste
Management and Nuclear Facility Decommissioning
Technology Center) in December 2000, to promote activity
toward realization of an actual disposal business.

RW from facilities using radioisotopes, research reactors
and from other facilities using nuclear source / fuel materials forresearch or industrial use, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "RWfrom Radioisotope and Research institutes, etc."), is currently
treated for storage and kept at the facility, but is not finallydisposed. At the end of FY2002, the total volume was 235,000
equivalent to 200-liter drums.

- Cooperation agreements have been concluded between
RANDEC and the three named organizations, and, with
their full support and cooperation, RANDEC is working
toward realization of disposal business, including
investigations of site planning and public relations.

Efforts toward a Disposal of "RW from Radioisotope andResearch Institutes, etc."
1) The Atomic Energy Commission, through its Special
Committee on Nuclear Back-End Policy, issued "Basic
Policy on Treatment and Disposal of RW from Radioisotope
and Research Institutes, etc" (May 1998).
- It identifies the necessity of establishing laws andregulations on disposal, the waste-procedure's
responsibilities and roles in treatment and disposal,
nature of an implementing body and a schedule for
implementation.

Storage of treated wastes

2) The nuclear safety commission, through its special
committee on comprehensive nuclear safety, issued "Basic
Policy on Safety Regulation of Shallow Land Disposal ofRadioactive Solid Waste from Facilities using
Radioisotopes, etc." (October 2003).
- It says that, in principle, similar safety-regulation
concepts as for the shallow land disposal of low-level RW
from nuclear power plants can be applied. And mostBird's-eye view of disposal facility (planning)2NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

No.12 Feb. 2004

2003 International Symposiumon Radiation Safety
Management held in Korea

Siting Activity in Thailand

Mr. Sutat Thiangtrongjit

Dr. Myung-Jae Song

HeadRadioactive Waste Management
Program,
Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP)

Project Leader of Korea in FNCA-RWM
General Manager, R&D Office
Nuclear Environment Technology
Institute (NETEC)
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.
(KHNP)

Mr. Nikom Prasertchiewchan

The biennial International Symposium on Radiation Safety
Management (ISRSM) has been operated since 1997, and the
4th ISRSM was held on November 5 - 7, 2003 in Daejeon,
Republic of Korea. The symposium was jointly organized by the
Nuclear Environment Technology Institute (NETEC) which is a
special division of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.
(KHNP) and Korean Association for Radiation Protection(KARP). And it was also jointly sponsored by the OECD Nuclear
Energy Agency and Korean Radiation Waste Society in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA).

Nuclear Chemist
Radioactive Waste Management
Program,
Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP)In the past, Office of Atomic Energy For Peace byRadioactive Waste Management Division in cooperation with thegeology department of Chulalongkorn University and theDepartment of Mineral Resources jointed the feasibility study on
the underground disposal site for low level waste repository inThailand. The 50 areas of interest in the central part and theKorat Plateau were then picked up for consideration. Later on, 5
areas were selected as the candidate sites for further
investigation. Those were 2 areas in west central plain, Ratchburi
Province at about 180 kms far from Bangkok and 3 areas in the
Korat Plateau.

The objective of the ISRSM is to promote the exchange of
information on the newly implemented, developed sciences andtechnologies for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste(LILW) management and radiation protection and spent fuelmanagement.

The result of the study revealed that all areas possess
promising geology and hydrogeology. After thoroughly
investigation regarding the technical performance and economic
criteria, the areas in Ratchburi Province were selected as themost suitable candidate sites for near surface disposal in
Thailand. The selected areas are now occupied by local people.
Currently, Radioactive Waste Management Program is now
considering to set up a corporation with other related
departments for investigating the new potential areas forradioactive waste disposal. The new proposal will be submitted
to the office for financial support and the project is expected tostart in year 2005.
After drifting for more than 15 years, arguments pros andcons on the construction of radioactive waste repository has
been actively progressed during 2003 and public perception on
the necessity of the repository has been gradually improved. For
NETEC as the main organization responsible for the selection of
repository site and as the organizer of 2003 ISRSM, this
symposium was very significant in that respect.
The Symposium consisted of seven sessions, such as
Radiation Protection Technology, Radioactive Waste Treatment
with High Temperature Melting Technology, Low-andIntermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Treatment Technology,
Decontamination and Decommissioning Technology,
Radioactive Waste Disposal, Spent Fuel Management, andRadiation Management Experiences at Nuclear Plants.

Site
Investigation

3

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Also, exhibition session was included and totally fivecompanies participated in this session.

No.12 Feb. 2004

related to the radioactive waste management, as well as
promoting an academic development and public understanding
in this field. KRS has already organized or sponsoredsuccessfully several international symposiums and seminars onradioactive waste management including the
ISRWM(International Symposium on Radioactive Waste
Management) 2003 held at Grand Intercontinental Hotel Seoul
on November 2-3, 2003.

More than 60 papers have been presented from many
countries including IAEA, Australia, England, France, Germany,
Japan, Korea, Russia, and the USA. Every author addressed his
expertise and precious experiences and had a chance toexchange the information of various fields in radiation safety
management.
Hitachi Ltd. and RWMC (Radioactive Waste Management
Funding and Reserach Center) of Japan presented advanced
radioactive waste treatment system and basic strategies forradioactive waste disposal in Japan, respectively. It was
regarded as a good example of close cooperation between
neighboring countries in the field of radiation safety
management.
In addition, many papers addressed the topics related to
the radioactive waste treatment with high temperature melting
technology reflecting the international interests in the vitrification
technology for LILW. Recently, the KHNP/NETEC started designphase of a prototype vitrification plant for LILW and it is planned
to be commercially operated at Ulchin nuclear power plant in
Korea from 2007.

Dr. Myung-Jae Song was promoted to be
President of NETEC/KHNP

Consequently, the 2003 ISRSM was recognized to be very
successful and all participants have contributed to theharmonization of various fields of radiation safety management
and enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the symposium.

Last December, Dr. Myung-Jae Song who is currently
the Korean Project Leader of FNCA-RWM was promoted tobe "President" of Nuclear Environment Technology Institute(NETEC) of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd (KHNP).
Before his promotion, he dedicated as Director of R&D
Office of NETEC/KHNP for the past few years. He earned adoctorate in public health from University of Michigan and iswell-known for a worldwide expert in the field of radiation
protection.

Establishment of the Korean Radioactive Waste
Society(KRS) in Korea
The Korean Radioactive Waste Society(KRS) wasestablished on June 20, 2003 with over 300 members
representing wide spectrum of radioactive waste management
specialists in this country. In its 1st meeting held at Nuclear
Environment Technology Institute of Korea Hydro & Nuclear
Power Co. Ltd.(KHNP-NETEC) located in Daejeon, Professor
Kun-Jae Lee at Korea Advanced Institute of Science andTechnology(KAISTS) was elected as president of the society.
Dr. Myung-Jae Song (President of KHNP-NETEC) and Dr. HyunSoo Park (Senior Vice-President of Korea Atomic Energy
Research Institute) were unanimously nominated as VicePresidents.

Site Selection for a Near
Surface Radioactive Waste
Disposal in the Philippines
Phase II
Ms. Eulinia M. Valdezco
Chief, Nuclear Regulations, Licensing
and Safeguards Division
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute(PNRI)In recent years, radioactive waste management in Korea
has been received national attention, and the siting for final
disposal of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste has
become one of the most difficult national projects. Under thesecircumstances, the establishment of KRS was welcomed not
only by the Korean nuclear industry but also by the government.
The role of KRS is expected to be an unique group of radioactive
waste management specialists in Korea who could provide
balanced view and expertise on the safety and technology issues

The development of a repository in the Philippines ischaracterized by several stages. During the first stage, anumber of potential sites were identified throughout the country
using a set of pre-determined criteria. This was done largely bydesk studies and supported and evaluated by a small number ofreconnaissance field visits. The identified sites were thenranked according to their geological, hydrological,
h y d r o g e o l o g i c a l a n d t e r r a i n a c c e s s s u i t a b i l i t y.
4NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Based on these information, the Phase II of the siting
project was initiated. About 10 sites were identified for further
field investigations to confirm and validate the results of previous
studies. Due to the large sizes of the previously identified sites, it
was noted that several sites may contain a number of areas that
may warrant further investigation. At this point, a set of more
stringent criteria based on geology, hydrology and accessibility
was defined to select a more specific potential site with aworkable area reduced to 100 hectares. Surface investigation
will be conducted detailing the geographic distribution of eachsite including their aerial extent, information on their
homogeneity, depth, thickness, tectonic and hydrogeologicalsettings. These information will be compiled and analyzed todetermine preferred areas for further study. A ranking scheme
will be established to rate the suitability of each site fordetailed subsurface investigation. The aim of this exercise is todetermine the 3 most suitable sites that will be subjected forsubsurface investigation and analysis.

No.12 Feb. 2004

Neutron-deficient radioisotopes, produced in Australian
18
13
11
15
Hospitals for PET-imaging include F, N, C and O. The
201
67
123
ANSTO 30 MeV cyclotron produces Tl, Ga and I for
diagnostic SPECT imaging.
To understand the legislative requirements for the control ofradioactive materials, including wastes, in Australian hospitals it
must be considered that Australia is a constitutional monarchy
with six independent States. Each of the State Governments hasconstitutional responsibility for the operation and control of public
hospitals within that State. For instance, in the State of New
South Wales (NSW) the control of radioactive substances within
this State's Hospital system is covered by the following acts:! Radiation Control Act 1990
! "Protection of the Environment Operations Act" - 1997.
The NSW EPA is the appropriate regulatory authority for the
purposes of this Act.
The control of radioactive materials in other Australian Statesis legislatively covered under their respective Departments ofHealth (under State Radiation Control Acts).

The last step of phase II is to conduct further field
investigations involving deep auger exploration, soil sampling
and in-site permeability testing on the 3 sites. The techniques forinvestigation will be expanded for more detailed studies. Soilsamples will be collected and analyzed for index soil properties.

From the perspective of national management of radioactive
3
wastes there are comparatively small volumes ~160 m ofcombined solid wastes from sources such as universities andlaboratory waste from hospitals in Australia. The main
mechanism of waste management in Australian Hospitals is:

The data and information that will be generated from thisphase will be assessed according to a site selection criteria andother relevant factors that will permit the selection of the most
preferred site for the location of the proposed repository.

! sewerage systems for liquids through approved trade waste
permits,! incineration and storage of solids on-site, in a shielded andRadioactive Wastes from
Hospitals in Australia

restricted area, pending the operation of a National Waste
Repository,! discharge to atmosphere for gases or aerosols.

Mr. Lubi Dimitrovski
FNCA RWM Project Leader of Australia
Head
Waste Operations & Technology Development
Nuclear Technology
Australian Nuclear Science & Technology
Organisation (ANSTO)The Radiation Protection and Control legislation applies only
to radioactive substances that are radioactive ores, radioactive
substances with specific activity of more than 35kBq/kg and that
contain one or more prescribed radionuclides. For the transportof radioactive hospital wastes the activity in each package mustbe less than the transport limit and the maximum exposure rate at
any point on the surface of each package must be less than 5µSv/h.

Australia's population of 20 million people is well served in
the area of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. There
are approximately 180 nuclear medicine centres (government
plus private clinics) in the country, which conduct approximately
450,000 patient studies per year. To meet the demands for
medical radioisotopes in nuclear medicine, Australia is serviced
by one nuclear research reactor and seven compact cyclotrons,
four of which are located at Government Hospitals.

Most of the radionuclides used in diagnostic imaging andtherapy in Australian Hospitals involve short half-lives (<20 days)99
and do not constitute a long term waste storage problem eg Mo /99m
131 51
90
64
201
67
111
103
32
153
Tc, I, Cr, Y, Cu, Tl, Ga, In, Pd, P, Sm.
Hospital wastes containing the above isotopes maybe treatedas non-active waste-forms after a suitable decay period.

Approximately 85% of all diagnostic imaging in Australia is
99m
99m
conducted using Tc-based compounds. Tc is supplied in the
99
99m
99
form of Mo / Tc generators. Using fission-produced Mo,
ANSTO manufactures approximately 130 generators per week
to meet the diagnostic needs in Australia, South East Asia and131
New Zealand. Isotopes produced for radiotherapy include I
90capsules and Y-microspheres.

60

Longer lived radioisotopes such as Co from old teletherapy
137
57
226
153
sources Cs, Co, Ra sources and Gd transmission
sources, used for calibrating SPECT cameras, have to be stored
on-site for the long-term, pending the operation of a National
Radioactive Waste Repository.
5NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

No.12 Feb. 2004

Repository within Australia, radioactive wastes accumulated
since the 1940's in public hospitals shall be considered forprocessing and safely managed in the national interest. Prior tothis eventuality it is considered that appropriate legislation at both
the Federal and State levels of government would have to beenacted.

Cardboard box with red bag as theinner liner in a Perspex shield box.
Suitable for storage Phosphorus-32
waste (strong beta emitter) in thelaboratory
Cardboard box with red bag as theinner liner in a Perspex shield box.
Suitable for storage Phosphorus-32
waste (strong beta emitter) in thelaboratory

A
B
C
Different types of packages suitable for transporting radioactive waste
as "excepted" packages. A: Metal drum (not suitable for incineration), B:
red plastic bag, C: cardboard boxes with red bags as the inner liner
Labelling details of the radioactive
waste package (note that thelabelling is hand -written only)

Option for Treatment ofContaminated DEHPA Waste
Dr. Syed Abdul Malik Syed Zain
Manager
Radioactive Waste Management Centre
Technical Services Division
Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology

Diethylhexyl phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in kerosene has beenused as a solvent to extract rare earth elements in the monazite
cracking process. Since monazite contains naturally occurring
radioactive materials, the process results in the transfer of thesematerials into the solvent phase. Obviously, the NORM
contaminated DEHPA apart from its nature being chemicallycorrosive, needs to be addressed properly as it poses a disposal
problem. It is estimated that the amount of U and Th contained in
the solvent to be approximately 1,400 ppm and 100 ppm
respectively. The solvent generated is presently stored at MINT
and its volume is approximately 30 cubic meters. Four options forconverting this contaminated DEHPA waste into a more stableform as been suggested as follows;A
B
C
Different types of packages suitable for transporting radioactive waste
as "excepted" packages. A: Metal drum (not suitable for incineration), B:
red plastic bag, C: cardboard boxes with red bags as the inner liner
Labelling details of the radioactive
waste package (note that thelabelling is hand -written only)i. extraction of U & Th into aqueous phase, followed by
precipitation,ii. converting the waste into a ceramic material,
Hospitals with on-site cyclotrons generate small volumes ofsolid waste from radio-activation of metal foils, target seals andmetal target-cell assemblies. Typical isotopes arising from
56
57
58
55
cyclotron component activation include Co, Co, Co, Fe,
53
54
Mn, Mn etc.

iii. incinerate the waste, andiv. immobilize the waste into cement.
A study to extract U & Th into the aqueous phase is an attempt
to recover and hence re-use DEHPA. At the same time it alsoenables one to precipitate U & Th and subsequently immobilize
the precipitate into cement. The process involves mixing DEHPA
with sodium carbonate solution and heating at an elevatedtemperature (~50 C). The mixture forms three layers (see Picture1.) where kerosene with the least dense material, appears at the
top layer, while the sodium-DEHPA and the aqueous layers
located at the middle and bottom layers respectively. Most of theradioactivity is found to be in the bottom layer. To remove further
U & Th from the solvent, the upper two layers are repeatedly
extracted with similar sodium carbonate solution till the level of U
left in those layers of about 1-2 ppm.
Finally, U & Th in the aqueous phase is precipitated to formhydroxides at pH 10-12.
The second option involves converting DEHPA into ceramic. A
process to do this has been established and a patent is pending.
The advantage of this process is that it does not generate any
secondary waste. There is also a need to look at the possibility of

Liquid effluent waste, arising from clinical and laboratory
practice within a hospital should be delayed prior to release to themetropolitan sewage. For instance, a number of public hospitals
utilise 131I in thyroid ablation therapy in which a patient isprescribed 6GBq of 131I. Patient liquid metabolites, plus washing's
associated with showers and laundering of bed linen, maybe
contaminated with 131I (8.02d T1/2 ). This effluent should bedelayed prior to release to the metropolitan receiving system.
Generally hospitals discharge liquid wastes into the sewer
systems as industrial trade waste. Hospitals discharging tosewer are required to apply for and obtain approval to discharge
in the form an industrial waste permit, which contains radioactive
discharge limits. The maximum activity, which may be disposedof via sinks or toilets into the sewers in any week, is 20 x theAnnual Limit on Intake by ingestion for prescribed radionuclides.
With the construction and operation of a National Waste
6

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
using the ceramic for certain applications, otherwise the material
can be transformed into a more stable ceramic waste form.

especially radiation sources from hospitals. The new policy of
government of Indonesia for spent radiation sources is wheneverpossible spent sealed sources should be returned to the supplier,and this policy gives positive effect to the recent radiation
sources coming to Indonesia from the supplier but not for the oldsources in the hospitals.

The third option to treat DEHPA waste is through incineration.
Although the option is simple and produces a favorable glassy
solid at high temperature ~1000 C, but the corrosive nature of theprocess may cause difficulty to carry out such work. Further study
on scrubbing system is required to overcome attack on theincineration components.

CDRWM-BATAN with the Nuclear Energy Control Board(BAPETEN) and the Ministry of Public Health of Indonesia iscontinuesly collecting the data of the radiation sources and spentradiation sources in the hospitals arround the country. The datais always updated periodically, so it is expected that most of thesources are under control. This action is also to minimize the lostof the radiation sources.

The last and also a viable option for DEHPA waste is toimmobilize them into an ordinary Portland cement. The study is
being carried out by groups of researcher at ANSTO and MINT.
Initial results indicate the process is feasible and economic. In
this process (see Picture 2 and 3) DEHPA is mixed with anadditive prior to adding cement at a suitable proportion. Although
the process is simple, nevertheless the drawback is that it
generates larger volume of waste in the end.

BAPETEN as the regulatory body is informed by thehospital when a sealed source is taken out of use, and becomesa spent source in storage. By the permission of BAPETEN, thehospitals could store the spent source in their temporary storage
before returning to the supplier or transporting to CDRWMBATAN.

MINT is currently evaluating all of the above options from thevarious considerations such as in terms of cost, feasibility,
secondary waste generation, re-usability, practicability, volumeof secondary waste generated etc.

In CDRWM-BATAN, spent sealed sources is segregatedand collected separately because of their potentially highradiological hazard. Spent sealed sources generally are notremoved from their associated shielding or source holders
unless adequate precautions are taken to avoid exposure toradiation and contamination. Peripheral components of large
irradiation equipment (i.e. those not directly associated with thesource) are removed, monitored and disposed of appropriately.
Sealed sources are not subjected to compaction, shredding or
incineration.

Picture 1. The three layers formed in
extraction using sodium carbonate
solution

Picture 2. Original DEHPA waste
prior to immobilization

No.12 Feb. 2004

1

Picture 3. DEHPA waste after
immobilisation

2

Figure 1. Boxes of Ra-226 needles in the Ministry of Public Health's
storage before transferred to CDRWM-BATAN.

Management of Spent Radiation
Sources from Hospitalin Indonesia

Figure 2. Containers of Co-60 and Cs-137 in the Ministry of Public
Health's storage before transferred to CDRWM-BATAN.
Figure 3. Ra-226 needles
from the Ministry of Public
Health in the BATAN's interim
storage.

Dr. Djarot S. Wisnubroto
Head for Radwaste Treatment Division
Center for Development of Radioactive Waste
Management,
National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN)

3

CDRWM has a strategy to handle the radium by applying
simple but effective methods of increasing the security of spentsealed sources. A potentially suitable method of securing spentsources is to contain the spent sources or source holders in aThis paper describes the effort of Center for Development ofRadioactive Waste Management (CDRWM)-BATAN to develop
and implement activities in the management of radioactive waste
7NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
suitable size concrete metal drum (200 L). A convenient way toembed the source in concrete would be to place it in the center ofthe 200 L drum that filled with concrete. When immobilizing
spent sealed sources the need for security and possible longterm retrievability of the drum is always considered. At the end of
2003, all of the Ra-226 needles in the Ministry of Public Health to
CDRWM, and the needles will be conditioned on March 2004.
However still there about 120 needles of Ra-226 and about 18
other sources (Cs-137 and Co-60) in some hospitals that have tob e t r a n s f e r r e d t o C D RW M i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e .

No.12 Feb. 2004

As the understanding between the two facilities in BATAN(the Bandung Nuclear Research and Development Center(BNRDC) and the CDRWM), the accumulated, transportablewastes at BNRDC were finally removed and transported to
Serpong for processing and ultimate storage. The wastes havebeen accumulating for quite many years from different activities
such as reactor operation, radioisotope production, etc.
The whole wastes have been processed using the following
methods:- Direct immobilization for wet resin- Compaction for the compactable solid

Recent Activities of CDRWM-BATAN on Radioactive
Waste Management- Conditioning for non compactable solid wastes- Precipitation for liquid wastes, followed by immobilization.

Center for Development of Radioactive Waste Management(CDRWM) -BATAN conducted several activities during 2003.
These are including:

However, there is still a lot of radioactive waste still
remaining at BNRDC. These wastes are the result of the
upgrading of the TRIGA Mark II reactor. These include thegraphite reflector and other solid wastes whose volume are somuch and their process not yet determined.

a. Conditioning of Spent Radiation Sources.
Every year CDRWM conducted the conditioning of SRS
coming from hospitals and industry, and at 2003, the conditioning
was done at October with total of 123 SRS (this numbers include
the SRS from the previous years).

e. Transport of Ra-226 SRS
The agreement between BATAN and the Ministry of Public
Health has provided basis to the removal and transport of 199
Ra-226 needles from the storage of the Ministry and 56 needles
from the Cipto Mangunkusumo Government Hospital in
November 2003. However there are still 129 needles left
throughout Indonesia which will be planned to be removed by
2004. It is programmed that all the Ra-226 needles already in
CDRWM storage will be conditioned in March 2004.

b. Construction of the new Interim Storage building
It is predicted by the increasing of the coming radioactive
waste, the present interim storage building (IS No.1) with the sizeof 1420m2 (80 m x 18 m) will be full for the next 5 years. At 2001,
BATAN decided to build the new interim storage building (IS No.
2) to anticipate that situation. At the end of December 2003, theconstruction has already completed, and is going to be handed
over to CDRWM this year. The capacity of IS No. 2 is the sameas IS No.1.

Introduction of New RWM Project Leaderc. Decommissioning program for the yellowcake production
installation of a fertilizer company at East Java

Philippines

A fertilizer company in East Java has the uranium byproduct recovery installation. This installation was designed to
extract U3O8 from phosphate rock through phosphoric acid
purification by producing the yellowcake. By the market
problems, the management of the plant finally decided to stop its
operation and left the facility inactive for years. At the year of
2001, National Nuclear Control Board (BAPETEN)
recommended the plant management to decommission the
installation.

Ms. Editha A. Marcelo
Senior Science ResearchSpecialist,
Radiation Protection Services,
Philippines Nuclear ResearchInstitute (PNRI)

d. Treatment of the Bandung Facility waste

National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN)
Jl. Kuningan Barat Mampang Prapatan, Jakarta 12710, Indonesia
Phone : +62-21-5251109 Fax : +62-21-5251110 http://www.batan.go.id

Center for Development of Radioactive Waste Management (CDRWM-BATAN)
Kawasan PUSPIPTEK Serpong, Tangerang 15310, Indonesia
Phone : +62-21-7563142 Fax : +62-21-7560927
e-mail: p2plr@batan.go.id http://www.batan.go.id/p2plr/
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