Planning for a Solid Waste Management Quality Assurance Program in Egypt

Transcription

1 Planning for a Solid Waste Management Quality Assurance Program in Egypt R. O. Abdel Rahman*, A. M. El-Kamash, F. A. Shehata and M. R. El-Sourougy Hot Laboratory Center, Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, P.O , Inshas, Cairo, Egypt Summary Over the past 40 years, a considerable amount of solid radioactive waste has been generated in Egypt from a variety of nuclear technology applications in research, medicine, and industry. The Hot Laboratory and Waste Management Center at Inshas, Cairo, has started to build an integrated waste management system to ensure the safe management of this radioactive waste. During the establishment of this system, a range of technological options have been identified and evaluated in order to select and justify the most appropriate option for each waste type, taking into account the basic waste management principles, regulatory requirements, available resources, and other technical and non-technical factors. Unfortunately, some of the generated wastes were not under a Quality Assurance Program that provides maintenance of traceability to production or conditioning records. So, these wastes are considered unacceptable to be placed in the disposal facility and need to be characterized and brought to an acceptable condition prior to disposal. This must be done in accordance with comprehensive plans and documented procedures to guarantee the safe handling, storage, and disposal. In this work, the existing Egyptian solid waste management system will be presented with a special reference to a management plan to be applied through this system. This will include a description of the organizational structure, functional responsibilities, organizational interfaces, personnel training, documentation, and corrective action. Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Words: radioactive; waste management; quality assurance; QA; organizational structure Introduction Quality assurance (QA) is a process that is intended to provide the necessary confidence that adequate measures are being taken to *Correspondence to: R. O. Abdel Rahman, Hot Laboratory Center, Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, P.O. Box 13759, Inshas, Cairo, Egypt. alaarehab@yahoo.com ensure that a facility or process is built and operated in a way that fulfills its intended function [1]. The importance of the application of quality requirements differs between different processes and products. In radioactive waste management, the waste management systems may not achieve their objectives of protecting human health and the environment because of inadequate procedure specification and Copyright r 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Qual Assur J 2007; 11, Published online in Wiley InterScience (

2 54 R O Abdel Rahman et al. verification of required actions in the selection, design, construction, and operation of individual facilities and processes. The application of a Quality Assurance Program (QAP) to all waste management activities including treatment, conditioning, storage, and disposal is intended to overcome this difficulty. The QAP may be very complex or relatively simple depending on the existing waste management activities. In countries operating nuclear power plants [2], a formal QAP should be established. This is accomplished by establishing the standards that specify authorities, responsibilities, documentation, and control measures to be employed in different waste management activities. Conversely, in isotope application countries where waste management activities are relatively simple [3], the QAP might include a means of independent cross-checking that required elements of the operations are being correctly executed and that safety objectives are being achieved. This work is concerned with the QAP for the Egyptian radioactive solid waste management system and includes a description for the organizational structure, functional responsibilities, and organizational interfaces. The QAP will also describe the requirements for personnel training and qualification, documentation, and corrective action. Solid Waste Management System During the establishment of the Egyptian solid waste management system, all stages in waste processing have been considered, starting with waste generation, through sorting and treatment, up to disposal of the waste. To achieve the overall safety goal of waste management, component elements must be complementary and compatible. The core of the waste management system is the technology which is applied to the waste from its generation to disposal. Waste Generation Over the past four decades, a considerable amount of solid radioactive waste has been generated in Egypt from a variety of nuclear technology applications in research, medicine, and industry. The generated waste includes aqueous and organic liquid wastes, disused radioactive sources, ion-exchange resins, spent radionuclide generators, and large quantities of various medical and biological wastes with significant concentrations of both short-lived and long-lived radionuclides. Solid wastes arising in Egypt are divided into compactable, combustible, and non-compactable, non-combustible. Compactable solid waste comprises of laboratory dry and wet waste (paper, plastics, gloves, protective clothing, filters), and noncompactable solid waste which includes large activated metallic items, radium needles, and sealed sources. Treatment Treatment of solid radioactive waste comprises of two steps: the first is sorting and segregation of the waste according to activity and/or nature, and the second is volume reduction. There are various available treatment technologies that may be used to reduce waste volume. The selection of the appropriate volume reduction technology is largely determined by the type of waste. The three treatment options that have been chosen to be utilized in Egypt are as follows. 1. Storage for decay: After considering fire hazards, volatile and combustible components of waste, chemical and biological instabilities as well as the toxicity, the storage for decay option was selected to be applied for short-lived radionuclides. Activity measurement is carried out, before and after the storage period to ensure that the waste will decay to the level that allow clearance by the regulatory body from further regulatory control i.e. dumping these wastes with the municipal refuse after a reasonably limited storage period. 2. Incineration: This option has been considered to reduce the volume of combustible waste after careful evaluation of all safety,

3 Planning for a Solid Waste Management Quality Assurance Program in Egypt 55 operational, and performance features, especially radiological aspects [4]. Incineration provides a very high volume reduction and converts the waste into radioactive ashes and residues that are non-flammable, chemically inert, and much more homogeneous than the initial waste. Figure 1 illustrates the lowactive waste incinerator used in Egypt. It uses the Jülich thermal process and is composed of a gas reactor containing a loading station, combustion chamber, cyclone separator, and filtration system. 3. Compaction: This method has been considered because of its reliability, simplicity, and low operational costs. A low-pressure compactor, as illustrated in Figure 2, is used; the compactable solid waste is fed manually into the compactor and compressed into a 200 L drum. The compaction process provides a volume reduction factor between three and five [5]. Conditioning The solid waste resulting from the highest volume reduction is then routed to the appropriate conditioning step where the final package for interim storage or disposal is obtained. Conditioning includes operations that produce a waste package suitable for subsequent management steps [6]. The immobilization of radioactive waste to obtain a stable waste form may be the most important step to minimize the potential for migration or dispersion of radionuclides into the environment. The choice of immobilization in a cement matrix has been based on the physical and chemical nature of the waste, low cost, suitability for sludge, good thermal, chemical, and physical stability, and good compressive strength of the waste forms [7]. Then the immobilized waste is packed: the waste packages must be capable of meeting Material feed Stack Gasification air Air supply Gas reactor Combustion chamber Off-gas cleaning Figure 1. Low-active waste incinerator Off-gas release

4 56 R O Abdel Rahman et al. under controlled conditions for long enough to allow the radioactivity to either decay naturally or slowly disperse to an acceptable level. The choice of a disposal option depends on the waste type and local conditions, including geological and hydro-geological conditions, radiological performance requirements, and considerations of socio-political acceptance. Egypt selects the closed-vault disposal facility design to dispose of low-level radioactive waste. The Egyptian disposal facility comprises of four modules (3 m 5m 10 m each) with capacity of 6000 concrete containers. Water movement is controlled by a drainage system that links the four modules and drains precipitation away from the vault surface. The facility has a fully engineered structure with backfill material-reinforced concrete walls and a multi-layer cover [5]. Quality Assurance Program shielding and containment requirements for handling, storage, transportation, and, finally, the waste disposal site requirements. Storage Storage is an integral part of the waste management system. The main functions of a storage facility are to provide safe custody of the waste packages and to protect both operators and the general public from any radiological hazards associated with the radioactive waste. The Egyptian interim storage has been designed to facilitate inspection and monitoring of stored waste, keep exposure to personnel as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), and provide adequate environmental conditions to ensure proper conservation of waste packages during their tenure at the facility [8]. Disposal Figure 2. In-drum compactor The basic objective of disposal is to isolate the waste from water and the human environment An increased implementation of QA and understanding its role in waste management is helping to manage the waste stream in a more efficient way. The planned QAP includes all activities that affect the quality of the waste packages, and includes the following. 1. Raw waste characterization: Characterization should be made directly or indirectly and characterization data should be documented in sufficient detail including physical and chemical characteristics, volume, identities, activities, and concentrations of major radionuclides, characterization date, and generating source. 2. Transportation: The radioactive solid wastes are transported to the Hot Laboratory and Waste Management Center (HLWMC) to be treated and/or conditioned. The waste transportation should meet the Egyptian transportation regulations, general safety principles, activity limits, and testing requirements for transportation containers. 3. Waste treatment and storage: The radioactive solid waste treatment and storage facilities should maintain waste confinement, and

5 Planning for a Solid Waste Management Quality Assurance Program in Egypt 57 include a ventilation system. It should also have monitoring capabilities to provide rapid identification of failed confinement or other abnormal conditions. 4. Waste conditioning and packaging: Solid waste must be packaged for the duration of the expected storage period and until disposal is achieved, containers must be marked such that their contents can be identified. 5. Waste disposal: The radioactive waste disposal facility must maintain waste confinement. It must be designed to achieve longterm stability and to minimize the need for active maintenance following final closure. Also, it should be designed to minimize the contact of waste with water during different disposal phases. The proposed QAP for the solid waste management is concerned with the operators safety, and the behavior of the waste package under normal and abnormal conditions. Organizational Structure and Functional Responsibilities The HLWMC is responsible for ensuring the regulated management of all radioactive solid wastes in Egypt to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. This includes activities such as transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal. The center is responsible for maintaining a fund to ensure financing for emergency incidents or accidents at the site, and to establish and implement the QAP for the management of the radioactive waste. The administrative management structure in the Center has three levels, as illustrated in Figure 3, HLWMC Director, Division Managers, and Department Managers. The project management responsibility for the radioactive waste management activities is assigned to the Department Manager who has a direct reporting relationship to the Division Manager. The Division Managers in turn report to the HLWMC Director and also have a role in the identification of adverse conditions to the implementation of corrective action and must ensure that resources are available to resolve the identified problems in a timely manner. The Department Managers have the role of management and integration of the radioactive waste management and are responsible for establishing, implementing, and ensuring compliance with the requirements of the QAP, with duties including: 1. Assisting with the QAP planning, development, and implementation. 2. Establishing planning policies to ensure that QA matters are reflected in characterization, treatment, conditioning, storage, and disposal. 3. Ensuring that all staff are aware and compliant with the requirements of the policy. 4. Reporting quality problems to the waste management Division Manager. The waste management department is organized into four units, as illustrated in Figure 3, each under the responsibility of a Unit Manager assigned by the waste management Department Manager. Unit Managers have responsibility for: 1. Managing the activities within their scope of responsibility. 2. Requesting appropriate training for their staff to comply with QA. 3. Responding in a timely manner to QA deficiencies. 4. Providing status reports. 5. Ensuring the submittal of records. All waste management staff are responsible for the implementation of the QAP and reporting any quality problems to the waste management Department Manager. Organizational Interface The QAP and associated procedures should provide for the recognition and control of both internal and external interfaces whenever they occur. This includes the detailed description of the responsibility transfer point and operational control transfer point. The internal interfaces include interfaces between different management units such as treatment operators,

6 58 R O Abdel Rahman et al. Director of HLWMC Nuclear Fuel Research Division Radioactive Waste Management Division Production of Radioisotope Division Department of Protection and Radiation Safety Department of Radioactive Waste Management Department of Analytical Chemistry and Inspection Transportation Unit Conditioning Unit Treatment Unit Disposal Unit Figure 3. Organizational structure of HLWMC conditioning operators, storage operators, and disposal operators. The external interfaces include interfaces between the waste management department and the waste producers. Personnel Qualification and Training Qualification and training processes must ensure that personnel achieve and maintain the required capabilities to perform their work. Each Unit Manager is responsible for requesting training and qualification processes for department members ensuring that personnel hired or transferred into positions meet the appropriate requirements. Policies that describe personnel selection, training, and qualification requirements should be established for each function. These should include the minimum applicable requirements for education, experience, skill level, and physical condition. Before personnel are allowed to work independently, management must ensure those personnel satisfy these requirements. Training plans should be prepared for personnel responsible for managing, planning, performing, and controlling work. They should consider changes in hazard conditions, technology, work methods, and job responsibilities and should specify the type of training records to be maintained. Documents The QAP must be documented with written policies, plans, procedures, and instructions and be implemented and maintained throughout the whole system. These documents must identify the scope of activities covered and provide for performing work under controlled conditions, by qualified personnel. Activities must be prescribed and performed in accordance with

7 Planning for a Solid Waste Management Quality Assurance Program in Egypt 59 documented instructions, procedures, or drawings, which may include criteria for determining that activities have been satisfactorily accomplished. The waste management Department Manager must maintain official copies of all approved QAP plans, documents, and records. Also, applicable QA guidance and requirement documents pertaining to QA activities must be maintained and distributed to appropriate personnel by the waste management Division Manager. Non-Conformance and Corrective Action Corrective action is the identification of cause and the effective resolution of a quality problem after its occurrence to prevent its recurrence [9]. The root cause affecting the quality must be determined, corrected to prevent recurrence, properly documented, and reported to the waste management Division Manager in a timely manner. When a waste package fails to satisfy the requirement of waste acceptance criteria, arrangements should be made for it to be identified as non-conforming and segregated. Any non-conforming waste must be reported and evaluated to assess whether it could be accepted or whether it could be over-packed to bring it into conformance. The waste management Division Manager must be involved from the identification of the adverse conditions to the implementation of corrective action and must ensure that resources are available to resolve the identified problems in a timely manner. Conclusion The QAP is a means to provide confidence that the objectives of the radioactive waste management operations to protect the human health and the environment now and in the future without imposing undue burden on future generations are being met by the appropriate specification of different waste management activities. Within this context, a QAP has been proposed for these activities including the organizational structure, functional responsibilities, and organizational interfaces. Also, a description for the requirement for personnel training and qualification, documentation, and corrective action has been provided. References 1. International Atomic Energy Agency. Quality assurance for radioactive waste packages. Technical Reports Series No. 376, Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency. Establishing the quality assurance program for a nuclear power plant project. Safety Series No. 50-SG-QA1, Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency. Selection of efficient options for processing and storage of radioactive waste in countries with small amounts of waste generation. TECDOC No. 1371, Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency. Design and operation of radioactive waste incineration facilities. Safety Series No. 108, Vienna, Available at 921e web.pdf, accessed 1 March Abdel Rahman RO, El-Kamash AM, Zaki AA, El- Sourougy MR. Disposal: a last step towards an integrated waste management system in Egypt. International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Disposal, Tokyo, Japan, International Atomic Energy Agency. Conditioning of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. Technical Reports Series No. 222, Vienna, Abdel Rahman RO, Zaki AA, El-Kamash AM. Modeling the long-term leaching behavior of 137 Cs, 60 Co, and 152,154 Eu radionuclides from cement clay matrices. J Hazard Mater doi: /j. jhazmat International Atomic Energy Agency. Storage of radioactive wastes. TECDOC Series No. 653, Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency. Application of quality assurance to radioactive waste disposal facilities. TECDOC Series No. 895, Vienna, Available at prn.pdf, accessed 1 March 2007.