FIELD: nuclear power engineering and nuclear industry. SUBSTANCE: method for handling metal wastes including shipborne wastes involves treatment of wastes to reduce level of their total specific activity at the same time keeping this level at value sufficient for using them without restrictions concerning radio activity; waste disposal to industrial waste storage ground located beyond nuclear power units; reduction of waste volume before their disposal to storage ground including natural reduction of their specific activity to value enabling their handling without restrictions concerning radioactivity; waste recovery such, among other things being either storage of limited-use solid metal wastes on industrial waste storage grounds beyond nuclear power units including immobilization of radioactive contaminants removed from outer or inner surfaces of wastes or disposal of limited-use solid metal wastes. EFFECT: reduced specific activity of and radionuclide leaching from metal wastes, enlarged amount of non-radioactive metal scrap obtained in the process. 9 cl, 7 ex
