Significance of the principle of radiation equivalence

The significance of the principle of radiation equivalence in connection with need to decrease substantially the radiation danger of wastes prior to their burial is discussed. The principle presupposes closure of the fuel cycle, and it presupposes a definite organization of the flows of nuclear materials. After a holding period of several hundred of years, a definite quantity of wastes, equivalent to the extracted uranium with respect to radiotoxicity, can be finally buried in stable geological formations. It is observed that if uranium, plutonium and actinides are recycled, then in approximately 350 years the radiotoxicity of the wastes will be the same as that of the extracted plutonium.