ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the principles of waste recycling and disposal. It describes the sub-categories of disposal, the issues of abandoned disposal sites, and radioactive waste management. The concepts of waste removal generally involve destruction of the waste. However, there is another concept, often more economical, by which a chemical waste can be disposed of, and that involves recycling the material for other use(s). Waste disposal requires some degree of immobilization to minimize the potential for leaching of the constituents thereby reducing the tendency of the waste constituents to migrate. Disposal of liquid waste in deep wells consists of pressurized injection of the waste to underground strata isolated by impermeable rock strata from aquifers. In-situ treatment refers to waste treatment processes that can be applied to wastes in a disposal site by direct application of treatment processes and reagents to the wastes. Nuclear power plants are an important category of nuclear facilities since they contain the largest amounts of radioactive wastes.
