Preliminary Assessment of Nuclear

Waste Management in Thailand Using

INPRO Methodology

INPRO Thailand

Kotchaphan Kanjana, Kampanart Silva, Jiraporn Promping,

Piyatida Trinuruk and Somboon Rassame

25 May 2016 IAEA, Vienna

Nuclear Institutional Structure

Thai Atomic Energy

Commission (Thai AEC)Ministry of Science and Technology

(MOST)

Office of Atoms for Peace

(OAP)Thailand Institute of Nuclear

Technology (TINT)

Nuclear

Research

Reactor

Center

Radioactive

Waste

Management

Center

Bureau of

Radiation

Safety

Regulation

Bureau of

Nuclear

Safety

Regulation

Bureau of

Technical

Support for

Safety

Regulation

Bureau of

Atomic Energy

Administration

Other

Centers

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Regulatory Framework

• Atomic Energy for Peace Act B.E. 2504 (1961)

Ministerial Regulations B.E. 2546 (2003)

Rules and procedures of radioactive waste management

for waste generators (how to transfer radioactive wastes to OAP), not

covering regulation for waste management facilities

Ministerial Regulations B.E. 2550 (2007)

Condition and procedure requirements for license of the possession and

utilization of nuclear materials, radioactive materials or atomic energy

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

• New Nuclear Energy Act This act is now complete, approved by the National Legislative

Assembly and expected to be passed by the Thai parliament in the near

future. It will completely replace the Act B.E. 2504. New

ministerial regulations complied with the new act will be established.

Radioactive Wastes in Thailand

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

• Medical applications

• Industrial applications

• Consumer products

• Research and development

Thailand Research Reactor (TRR-1/M1)

Located at TINT (Bangkok)

Maker type: GA

First Criticality: 1964

Status: in operation

Power (recent): 1.2 MW

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Radioactive Waste Management

Waste Generation

Waste Characterization and Segregation

Waste Processing and Packaging

Waste Storage

Waste Disposal (End State)

INPRO Methodology for sustainability assessment of nuclear energy systems: waste

management, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series (draft)

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

User requirement

(UR)

Criteria (CR) Assessment Results

(Criteria Met)

Yes Partially No

UR1. Classification,

categorization and

minimization of

waste

CR1.1 Waste

classification and

categorization

Rationale: Wastes are well-classified and well-categorized. The

classification and categorization scheme is well-established

under the regulatory framework.

Liquid waste from

laboratories

WM Assessment

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Sealed source wastes

Rationale: Given all involving activities, each waste generator must

have a plan to ensure that waste minimization will be justified. Waste

conditioning has been achieved.

User requirement

(UR)

Criteria (CR) Assessment Results

(Criteria Met)

Yes Partially No

UR1. Classification,

categorization and

minimization of

waste

CR1.2 Waste

minimization

WM Assessment

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

WM Assessment

User

requirement

(UR)

Criteria (CR) Assessment Results

(Criteria Met)

Yes Partially No

UR2. End state CR2.1 End state technology

CR2.2 Safety of end state

CR2.3 Schedule for achieving

end state

CR2.4 Resources for

achieving end state

Rationale: SNF will be returned to the country of origin.

Ultimately all radioactive waste will be disposed in a licensed radioactive

waste disposal facility. The Thai government has an investigation plan on a

radioactive waste disposal facility.

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

WM Assessment

User requirement

(UR)

Criteria (CR) Assessment Results

(Criteria Met)

Yes Partially No

UR3. Pre-disposal

waste management

CR3.1 Process descriptions

CR3.2 Time for waste form

production

CR2.3 Predisposal waste

management safety

Rationale: Since there is no plan for end states, the existing process description

does cover up to the storage step, not the entire lifecycle of radioactive wastes.

For the same reason the time for waste form production cannot be evaluated.

The safety case for predisposal waste management is also ready up to the

storage level. Safety analysis was prepared and justified by TINT (operator).

The related national regulatory standards are still under development.

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Waste management in

Thailand

• Waste treatment by volume

reduction

– Solid waste:

Incineration and

compaction

– Liquid waste: Chemical

precipitation

• Waste conditioning:

Cementation

Compaction system

WM Assessment

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Cementation

Waste management in Thailand

Incineration for

solid and organic

liquid waste

WM Assessment

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Facility located in

Ongkharak district,

Nokhon Nayok

Radioactive Waste Storage

• 4 waste storages: 3 storages in use, a new storage

facility is complete in construction

Storage No.1, Bangkok Storage No.2, Bangkok Storage No.3, Pathumthani

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

New Storage Facility

• Storage no.4 at Ongkharak district, Nokhon Nayok

• Construction complete

12K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

SNF Management in Thailand

Nuclear facilities have to store their own SNF safely

and securely as described in their safety analysis

reports (SARs) unless SNF is

• Transferred to government entity responsible for

SNF storage or

• Exported to be reprocessed or

• Exported (sent back) to manufacturers or lessors

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

SNF Building at Reactor Site

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Summary

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Although nuclear energy has been addressed in Thailand

PDP 2015, the country still has no solid plans on installing

its first NPP.

This assessment can only help identify gaps in knowledge

and planning in preparation for nuclear energy programs in

the country.

The majority of user requirements is dedicated to the end state

step which is one of the most important parts of nuclear waste

lifecycle. However, for those countries planning on their first

NPPs practically this step will likely to be complete in the

latest phase of planning?. Assessment using this manual will

therefore not providing that much information.

Acknowledgement

• Thailand INPRO team would like to gratefully thank

Ms. Nanthavan Yaanant from the Radioactive Waste

Mamanagement Center (TINT) for a number of

discussions and all useful information.

K. Kanjana May 25th, 2016Towards Nuclear Energy System Sustainability –

Waste Management and Environmental Stressors

Thank you for your attention