**6. Conclusions**

Radioactive materials are extensively used in industrial and research activities into medical, agricultural and environmental applications, and in various other areas. During the produc‐ tion and use of these materials, radioactive waste will inevitably arise; this must be managed with particular care owing to its inherent radiological, biological, chemical and physical hazards.

Producers and users of radioactive materials must be sure that a waste management strategy exists prior to the start of waste generation. A well-developed waste management strategy should consider the entire sequence of waste management operations, from the waste's production until its final disposal, including the various regulatory, sociopolitical and economic issues. The identified goal of radioactive waste management can be met with reasonable cost and resource use by implementing a carefully planned waste management strategy using appropriate technologies.

Waste containing long lived radionuclides must be treated, conditioned, stored and disposed of at a repository specifically designed for this purpose. Sample storage capacity is needed for the decay of short lived radionuclides and for storing long lived waste prior to, and after, the treatment and conditioning steps. Decay is the only natural way of reducing radioactivity (the process of transmutation of some long lived radionuclides is not considered viable at this time).

Since radionuclides have decay rates ranging from days to thousands of years, proper segregation of wastes depending on their half-lives, and separate treatment and conditioning of these wastes, is an important factor in the overall scheme of radioactive waste management. Treatment of waste involves operations intended to benefit safety and/or economy by changing the characteristics of the waste. There are different procedures to the treatment of radioactive waste, like:


In the case of electroremediation treatment of radioactive wastes offers many advantages such as the capacity to remove organic and inorganic pollutants by applying direct electric current into the soil, even in clays, it is easy to operate and involves the installation of electrodes into the soil or waste and the application of a low voltage gradient or direct current through them. In consequence, the EKR is a very good technological alternative to remove radioactive species as 22Na, 137Cs, 134Cs, 85Sr, 90Sr, 60Co and 238Ur from both saturated and unsaturated radioactive soils, sludges, ash and sediments, with less time and high efficiencies of removal in comparison of the other alternatives to remove radioactive wastes.
