The guiding principles and policy guidelines for the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel in IBERDROLA are:

• Responsibility as a producer, from waste generation until it is transferred to ENRESA or the applicable disposal responsible entity. In the case of fuel, it becomes waste after irradiated in the reactor core; nevertheless IBERDROLA takes responsibility for it once the fresh fuel is delivered on the sites.
• The radiation protection of public and workers during:
  • The internal management.
  • The transfer to other stages and, when appropriate,
  • the decommissioning phase which goes from the time the plant is definitely shutdown until the site is transferred to ENRESA or the applicable entity.
• The traceability of waste and the operations of management of radioactive waste.
• Knowledge and control of the flow of waste and spent fuel and the evolution of their chemical, physical and radiological characteristics.
• As far as reasonably possible from a technical and economic standpoint:
  • The reduction of generated radioactive waste and spent fuel to the minimum quantities and the radioactive waste management, applying the best available techniques and technologies depending on the type of reactor.
  • The separation and recovery of the waste materials.
  • The security of the interdependence of all phases of management.

Throughout the radioactive waste treatment processes and the spent fuel management, IBERDROLA applies the criteria ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) to maintain the individual doses, the number of exposed people and the likelihood of potential exposure at levels as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account economic and social factors. The management of radioactive waste also employs the cycle of continuous improvement, the key steps of which are: planning, implementation, evaluation, and management of:

• Preventive and corrective actions.
• Actions for improvement.

For new build, one of the criteria for technology selection will be the expected operational waste generation, which is predicted by design, taking into account both volumes and radioactivity involved.