The Data Centre

The Data Centre is the page that contains access to all of the consolidated data in the system.

The Data Centre is the heart of NEWMDB data access. On this page, you can browse and download the worldwide waste arisings for all of the reporting Member States, in a format that is comparable. The vast majority of countries that deal with radioactive waste do so each in their own unique ways. Almost all such countries adhere to a baseline level of safety regulations and requirements, but the way that each defines and accounts for their wastes tend to vary. This makes intercomparison using the "native" waste classification schemes nearly impossible. The NEWMDB solves this problem by translating Member State waste classes into the standard IAEA classes, namely Low & Intermediate Level - Short Lived Waste (LILW-SL), Low & Intermediate Level - long Lived Waste (LILW-LL), and High-Level Waste (HLW). By converting the reported data into standard IAEA classes, they can be summed, plotted, analyzed, and compared.

Waste Matrices and Translation Tables

NEWMDB is based on a structure that is meant to facilitate flexible reporting. This is necessary because regulation of radioactive waste varies greatly from country to country. Also, the degree of detail provided is a choice of the country. While some Member States provide high levels of detail concerning their waste management programs, some provide only summary information.

Furthermore, because of the variation in radioactive waste regulations, definitions used by one country are usually incompatible with the majority of other countries (see Waste Classification). This leads to a problem when trying to sum or compare the inventories from country to country, from regions (i.e., South America or European Union), or when attempting to determine a global total.

Therefore, an important part of NEWMDB reporting is the Waste Class Matrix. The Waste Class Matrix provides each Member State a method of reporting their waste classes along with a translation into the IAEA proposed standard classification scheme (click here for the IAEA report). Inventory data are then entered according to each respective country's "native" waste classification scheme, and then translated into the IAEA standard classes for comparisons. A short graphical overview of how this works can be found by clicking the button below.

Using the Data Centre Query

The Data Centre enables browsing and downloading of the NEWMDB data in a comparable format, namely in the IAEA suggested classification scheme. The Query page presents the consolidated radioactive waste inventory for all countries reporting to the NEWMDB. The default query is "All Regions" and "All Years" with estimates included. Estimates refers to the inclusion of data for countries who reported in one year and failed to report in the next. The estimate values are simply a copy of the prior year's data to fill the reporting gap. This has a smooting effect on the data and can be switched off, if desired, using the radio button for Include Estimates.

The other default is to show graphs with Less Detail. This is controlled by the Graph Details radio button. Selecting More will show the treatment/conditioning status of the waste (i.e., processed or unprocessed), in addition to its waste class. The definition of "processed" varies for each country. This information can be found under the Reports tab, after selecting a country and then going to Waste Matrix(ces)/Waste Processing Definitions.