Objectives of low and intermediate level waste disposal

The basic objectives of the El Cabril Disposal Facility are to guarantee the protection of persons and the environment against ionising radiations and to allow use to be made of the site 300 years after its has ceased to operate.

In order to achieve this, the following is necessary:

• Effective isolation of the radioactive wastes and preventing their possible dispersion: to achieve this, three barriers are placed between the wastes and the environment:
• a first barrier, made up of the conditioned waste and the container. • a second barrier, consisting of the engineered structures housing the wastes. • a third and final barrier, formed by the natural terrain of the site at which the facility is located.
• Limitation of the activity of the wastes: to achieve this objective the El Cabril facility accepts only radioactive wastes with a half life of less than 30 years or wastes with very low levels of long-lived radioactive substances.