ALARA

As low as reasonably achievable; a concept meaning that the design and use of nuclear facilities should be such as to ensure that radiation exposures should be ALARA, economic and social factors being taken into account

Becquerel

Bq; the standard international unit of measurement of radioactivity - equivalent to one disintegration per second

GBq

Gigabecquerel, one thousand million Bq

TBq

Terabecquerel, one million million Bq

BNFL

British Nuclear Fuels plc

BPEO

Best Practicable Environmental Option; a concept which implies that decisions on waste management have been based on assessment of alternative options evaluated on the basis of factors such as the occupational and environmental risks, the environmental impacts, the costs and the social implications

BPM

Best Practicable Means; within a particular waste management option, the level of management and engineering control that minimises, as far as practicable, the release of radioactivity to the environment whilst taking account of a wide range of factors, including cost-effectiveness, technological status, operational safety, and social and environmental factors

Cm 2919

The last Conservative Administration's White Paper: "Review of Radioactive Waste Management Policy - Final Conclusions" (July 1995)

Controlled burial

Defined in Cm 2919 in terms of the authorised disposal of some LLW at suitable landfill sites that have possess good containment characteristics.

Critical group

A group of members of the public whose exposure to radiation is reasonably homogenous and is typical of individuals receiving the highest radiation dose through a given pathway from a given radiation source

Defra

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the Government body that, together with the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly, sponsors RWMAC

Drigg

The facility for the near-surface disposal of most of the UK's solid LLW operated by BNFL, near the company's Sellafield site, in Cumbria

EA

The Environment Agency for England and Wales; one of the regulators for radioactive materials and radioactive wastes

FSA

The Food Standards Agency - which reports to theUK Government via the Department of Health

HLW

High level (radioactive) wastes; classified in Cm 2919 as wastes in which the temperature may rise significantly as a result of their radioactivity, so that this factor has to be taken into account in designing storage or disposal facilities

HSE

The Health and Safety Executive

ILW

Intermediate level (radioactive) wastes; classified in Cm 2919 as wastes with radioactivity levels exceeding the upper boundaries for LLW but which do not require heating to be taken into account in the design of storage or disposal facilities

Letter of comfort

A document, provided by Nirex, confirming that a specific waste stream is in a form (for example, in the way it is packaged) suitable for disposal

LLW

Low level (radioactive) wastes; classified in Cm 2919 as wastes containing radioactive materials other than those acceptable for disposal with ordinary refuse, but not exceeding 4 GBq per tonne of alpha or 12 GBq per tonne of beta/gamma activity

Magnox

The type of reactor used in the UK's second generation nuclear power plants

Microsievert

One millionth of a sievert; a sievert is the standard international unit of radiation dose

Millisievert

One thousandth of a sievert

MoX

Mixed-oxide nuclear fuel; made from uranium and plutonium and manufactured at BNFL's Sellafield MoX Plant (SMP) in Cumbria

NIA65

The Nuclear Installations Act 1965; the main legislation under which the NII regulates UK nuclear sites

NII

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate; the regulator for civil nuclear plant safety in relation to the safety of the public and nuclear workers, part of the HSE

Nirex

UK Nirex Limited; the company established by the UK nuclear industry, with the support of Government, to provide and manage facilities for the disposal of solid ILW and some LLW

NuSAC

The Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee; an independent committee that advises the UK Government on issues of nuclear safety

OSPAR

The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-east Atlantic; an aim of which is the use of best available techniques to prevent and eliminate pollution by inputs of radioactive substances to the maritime area. An international agreement on these issues was drawn up at Sintra in 1998 - the "OSPAR-Sintra" meeting

PFMR

Policy and Financial Management Review; a Government review mechanism for determining the need for individual Non-Departmental Public Bodies and assessing their effectiveness (also termed a Financial Management and Policy Review or FMPR)

RSA93

The Radioactive Substances Act 1993; the legislation under which, inter alia, EA and SEPA regulate the keeping and use of radioactive materials and the management of radioactive wastes

RWI

The (UK) Radioactive Waste Inventory

Safegrounds

The Safegrounds Learning Network project funded jointly by various Government departments and the nuclear industry - responsible for preparation of Good Practice Guidance for the Management of Contaminated Land on Nuclear and Defence Sites

SEPA

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, one of the regulators for radioactive materials and radioactive wastes

UKAEA

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority; a state-owned organisation responsible, inter alia, for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, including those at its Dounreay site

VLLW

Very low level (radioactive) waste; classified in Cm 2919 as wastes which can safely be disposed of with ordinary refuse - "dustbin disposal"