The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle is a strategically important activity due to its significance both in terms of the sensitivity as well as safety. Fuel reprocessing technology was developed and standardized entirely by in house R&D efforts. Three reprocessing plants one at Trombay, second at Tarapur and recently the third one cold commissioned at Kalpakkam to extract Plutonium from spent fuel. 

Waste management facilities at Trombay consists of :-

1. Waste Immobilization Plant (WIP)
2. Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP)
3. Decontamination Centre (DC)
4. Radioactive Solid waste Management Site (RSMS).

The waste management facilities at Tarapur consist of :-

1. Tarapur Radwaste Augmentation Plant (TRAP)
2. Low-level liquid Waste Treatment Plant (LWTP)
3. Sold Waste Management Facility (SWMF)
4. Decontamination Centre (DC)
5. Waste Immobilization Plant (WIP)
6. Solid Storage & Surveillance Facility (S3F)
   

These facilities/ Plants provide uninterrupted waste management services to :-

1. Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS)
2. Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (PREFRE)
3. Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility (A3F).
4. Spent Fuel Storage Facility (SFSF)
5. Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF)
6. Solid Storage Surveillance Facility (S3F)

WIP at Tarapur is the first unit of its kind in the country for management of reprocessing wastes for conditioning of high-level liquid waste in borosilicate glass matrix (Vitrification).

Vitrified waste product canisters produced at WIP are stored at Solid Storage & Surveillance Facility (S3F). S3F houses a storage vault designed to cool VWP canisters by natural convection.

WIP also processes intermediate level liquid waste employing a cesium selective ion exchange process.

Presently an Advanced Vitrification System (AVS) is under construction at Tarapur. The system employs Joule heated ceramic melter for vitrification of HLW.

Preparations are underway at SWMF for management of solid waste likely to be generated from TAPP- III & IV

The Centralized Waste Management Facility at Kalpakkam  provides waste management services to :-

1. Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS)
2. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR)
3. Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP).
   

The Kalpakkam plant incorporates a number of innovative features such as 

• Hybrid maintenance concept in hot cells using servo-manipulators 
• Engineered provisions for extending the life of the plant. This plant will cater to the needs of reprocessing fuels from MAPS as well as FBTR. 

In this part of the activity top priority is given to efficient handling, safe management and proper disposal of the highly radioactive waste generated in the fuel cycle with minimum environmental impact. 

• Indigenous technology for safe handling and disposal of waste developed by the R&D efforts meeting the stringent regulatory standards.
• Waste processing plants set up and are in operation at all nuclear power plant sites.

Long-term action plan formulated for waste management is identified with the following:

• High-level waste immobilized by vitrification in glass matrix and after double encapsulation in corrosion resistant canisters, stored separately in engineered storage facility provided with continuous cooling for 20 –30 years. The ultimate disposal is then carried out in deep underground geological formations with extra protection barriers.
• Medium level wastes after solidification into a suitable matrix was stored in leak tight containers and buried them in water- proof concrete tiled holes with adequate shielding.