“Polluter pays” principle applies
The producers of radioactive waste are obliged to dispose of it at their own cost. This is also known as the “polluter pays” principle (Nuclear Energy Act, Article 31). To ensure the permanent protection of humans and the environment, waste produced in Switzerland has to be disposed of in a deep geological repository. This is stipulated in the Swiss Nuclear Energy Act (Articles 30 and 31).
Waste from the nuclear power plants
The largest producers of radioactive waste in Switzerland are the nuclear power plants. Switzerland has four nuclear power plants that are operational and generate electricity. The Mühleberg nuclear power plant was shut down in December 2019 and decommissioning is in progress.
Nuclear power plants generate two types of radioactive waste:
- high-level waste in the form of spent fuel assemblies
- low- and intermediate-level waste from operation and decommissioning
Waste from medicine, industry and research
Waste from medicine, industry and research (MIR) will also eventually be sustainably disposed of in a deep geological repository. The federal government is responsible for this waste, which is held in the Swiss Federal Interim Storage Facility in Würenlingen.
As mentioned, radioactive substances are not only used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants. But for what else exactly are they used?
Medical applications
Clinical diagnostics: To generate images of the inside of the body, medical professionals use techniques such as scintigraphy. For this investigation method, the patient ingests a substance containing radioactive tracers, also known as radiopharmaceuticals. These spread throughout the entire body and accumulate in certain organs and cells. With the help of a tracer’s radiation, it is possible to depict the location and structure of organs, tissue and tumours or the metabolism of organs.
Radiation therapy: To treat cancer, specialists use strong external radiation sources which destroy the tumours. Alternatively, weaker sources with a localised effect are used over longer time periods directly in the body, for example in cervical cancer. In some cases, radioactive medications are also administered.
Healthcare: Ionising radiation is also used in food hygiene and in fighting pathogens. It can be used to kill bacteria such as salmonella and to extend the shelf-life of foodstuffs such as spices and seeds. Radiation also plays a role in eradicating the tsetse fly and the Egyptian tiger mosquito. Male mosquitoes are sterilised through irradiation preventing the reproduction of these dangerous insects when they are subsequently released.
Applications in industry and technology
Radioactive substances are used for materials testing, for example, welding seam inspection, and for process monitoring of level and density measurements (radiometry). They are also used for analytical procedures, for example for detecting drugs, explosives or water damage. Small amounts make fluorescent substances in paint light up, for example in old watches, old display units or compasses.
Radioactive substance in research
At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), a research reactor is fuelled with lowly enriched uranium. The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva use particle accelerators. The targeted radiation of certain accelerator components with particles results in the generation of radioactive substances that are needed for medical and industrial applications.
Photo: CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. It runs underground, is 26.7 kilometres long and can accelerate protons or lead nuclei to almost the speed of light.
PSI has also entered into a partnership with Copenhagen Atomics. From 2026, a new generation of molten salt reactors is to be researched for four years. To this end, a small molten salt reactor is being put into operation in Villigen. PSI has a so-called Hotlab research facility that is specifically designed for research on radioactive materials and, like Nagra, supervised by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI).
Dating: Various naturally occurring radioactive substances (radionuclides) with different half-lives can be used to determine the age of archaeological finds, rocks and groundwaters. This is known as radiocarbon dating (C-14 dating).
Photo "Medical applications": © Grieze | Dreamstime.com