Read or download the official PDF of this gazette notification issued by the Department of Atomic Energy on 29th July 2026. Classified under Press Release.
Executive Summary
This report details the management of radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants in India, as presented in a Lok Sabha reply on July 29, 2026. It outlines the regulatory framework under the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987, and the technological processes used to ensure environmental safety. Key highlights include the adoption of a closed fuel cycle and the recovery of useful isotopes for healthcare applications.
Key Points / Main Content
Regulatory and Legal Framework
Compliance: All radioactive waste management is governed by the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987.
AERB Authorization: Facilities must obtain authorization from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to discharge effluents, which specifies allowed volumes and radioactivity levels.
International Standards: Waste management practices are aligned with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines and internationally followed safe practices.
Waste Treatment and Disposal Protocols
Gaseous Waste: Treated at the source using adsorption on activated charcoal and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration.
Liquid Waste: Processed through filtration, chemical treatment, evaporation, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis.
Solid Waste: Segregated and volume-reduced before disposal in specially constructed structures like stone-lined trenches, reinforced concrete trenches, and tile holes.
Containment: Disposal structures use a multi-barrier principle and are located in access-controlled areas.
High-Level Waste and Technological Advances
Vitrification: High-level waste from spent fuel reprocessing is converted into glass (vitrification) and stored in Solid Storage Surveillance Facilities.
Partitioning Technology: Used to separate long-lived radioisotopes and recover useful radionuclides like Cesium-137, Ruthenium-106, and Strontium-90 for healthcare applications.
Closed Fuel Cycle: India pursues a closed fuel cycle where spent fuel is regarded as a resource and reprocessed for use in future reactors.
Safety and Environmental Monitoring
Surveillance: Disposal areas are monitored via bore-wells to check underground soil and water samples.
Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESLs): Established at all plant sites to monitor environmental matrices against baseline radiation levels.
Safety Record: To date, there have been no incidents of radioactivity release, and no adverse effects on the public or environment have been observed.
Impact Analysis
Facilities Generating Radioactive WasteImpact
These facilities are subject to strict legal requirements regarding the volume and activity of waste they can discharge. They must operate under the technical procedures and guidelines stipulated by the AERB.
Action Required
Facilities must obtain mandatory AERB authorization and maintain regular records of the quantity and location of disposed waste for filing with the regulator.
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)Impact
The DAE is responsible for implementing the closed fuel cycle policy and maintaining high-level waste storage facilities.
Action Required
The DAE must continue to deploy partitioning and vitrification technologies to reduce waste volume and eliminate the future need for deep geological repositories.
Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESLs)Impact
These laboratories are the primary entities responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance regarding environmental radiation.
Action Required
ESLs must conduct regular monitoring of environmental matrices and compare findings with recorded baseline radiation levels to ensure no deviation from safety limits.
Healthcare SectorImpact
The sector benefits from technological advances in waste partitioning.
Action Required
The sector can utilize recovered radioisotopes (such as Cs-137 and Sr-90) extracted during the nuclear waste treatment process for medical applications.
Key Entities Referenced
Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987: The primary legal framework establishing requirements and authorizations for the safe management, discharge, and disposal of radioactive waste in India.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB): The regulatory body that stipulates procedures, sets limits for radioactive effluent discharges, and grants authorizations to facilities generating waste.
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): The primary government department responsible for the nuclear energy programme and ensuring safe management and a closed fuel cycle for nuclear waste.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): The international organization whose guidelines and best practices serve as the benchmark for India's nuclear waste management and regulatory frameworks.
Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESLs): Specialized laboratories established at atomic power plants to monitor radiation levels and ensure environmental compliance with regulatory limits.
Department of Atomic Energy
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: RADIOACTIVE
WASTES
प्रव तथ: 29 JUL 2026 4:04PM by PIB Delhi
Typically, radioactive solid waste arising from nuclear power plants, including waste generated during the
operational life and decommissioning of the plants, is within 0.15 cubic meters/year/MW. Records relating
to the quantity and location of radioactive waste disposed of are regularly filed with the Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board (AERB).
Safe management of nuclear waste has been accorded high priority right from the inception of our nuclear
energy programme. Government of India has promulgated the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of
Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987 which establishes the legal requirements for safe management and
disposal of radioactive waste. As per these Rules, all facilities generating radioactive waste are required to
have an Authorization from AERB to discharge radioactive effluents. The authorization specifies the
volume and activity of the waste that can be disposed by the facility through designated routes. The limits
for radioactive effluent discharges specified by AERB are based on the internationally followed norms and
safe practices. The radioactive waste handling, treatment, storage and disposal are required to be carried
out as per the well laid down procedures and guidelines stipulated by AERB.
As a waste management philosophy, no waste in any physical form is released / disposed to the
environment unless the same is cleared, exempted or excluded from regulations. A comprehensive
radioactive waste management is established for the management of radioactive waste from nuclear power
plants and back-end fuel cycle. Nuclear waste in the form of gaseous, liquid and solid is generated during
operation & maintenance activities of nuclear power plants. (a) Gaseous waste is treated at the source of
generation. The techniques used are adsorption on activated charcoal and filtration by high efficiency
particulate air filter. (b) Liquid waste streams are treated by various techniques, such as filtration,
adsorption, chemical treatment, evaporation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis etc. depending upon the
nature, volume & radioactivity content. (c) The radioactive solid wastes generated during operation and
maintenance of nuclear power plants are segregated and volume reduced prior to its disposal. Disposal of
waste is carried out in specially constructed structures such as stone lined trenches, reinforced concrete
trenches, and tile holes. These disposal structures are located both above and under-ground in access-
controlled areas and are designed based on multi barrier principle for ensuring effective containment of
the radioactivity. The areas where the disposal structures are located are kept under constant surveillance
with the help of bore-wells laid out in a planned manner by routinely monitoring the underground soil and
water samples to confirm effective confinement of radioactivity present in the disposed waste. Till date
the surveillance of the disposal areas at different sites has confirmed the high degree of effectiveness of
the disposal system for the containment of the disposed wastes. There has been no incident of release of
radioactivity from such disposed wastes. No effect of radiation from the disposed wastes on the public or
the environment has been observed.High level radioactive waste generated during reprocessing of spent fuel is converted into glass through a
process, called vitrification. The vitrified waste is stored for an interim period in a Solid Storage
Surveillance Facility at par with international practices as per the guidelines of International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA).
Technological advances based on partitioning of the waste enables separation and recovery of useful
radio-isotopes such as Cesium-137 (Cs-137), Ruthenium-106 (Ru-106) and Strontium-90 (Sr-90), for
health care applications. Apart from the recovery of valuable radionuclides, partitioning technology
enables separation of long-lived radioisotopes including actinides prior to immobilizing in glass matrices.
Partitioning technology has significantly reduced the quantity of residual waste to be stored.
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is committed to ensure safe management of radioactive wastes, in
accordance with best practices. Nuclear wastes are safely managed/disposed as per the provisions of
Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules 1987. The regulatory frameworks for waste
management in the country are aligned with international best practices and are at par with guidelines of
IAEA.
Further, Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESLs) are established at all atomic power plants to regularly
monitor various environmental matrices and compare with baseline radiation level recorded prior to
operation of nuclear facility. The effluents from the facilities are treated and monitored before discharging
to ensure compliance of regulatory limits.
DAE is pursuing closed fuel cycle where spent fuel from domestic source is considered as a material of
resource. Most of the useful components of spent fuel are reprocessed as fuel for future reactors. High
level radioactive waste generated during the reprocessing is converted into vitrified glass through a
process called vitrification. With advent of partitioning technologies, segregation of long-lived radioactive
constituents including actinides and extraction of useful radioisotopes from high level radioactive waste
for societal application can result in significant reduction of waste-volume prior to vitrification
eliminating the need of deep geological repository in near future.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Prime Minister’s office and Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, in a written reply in the Lok
Sabha today.
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