ML20057F529
| ML20057F529 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/05/1993 |
| From: | Richard Turtil NRC |
| To: | Hailer J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 9310180137 | |
| Download: ML20057F529 (3) | |
Text
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Mr. Joseph Hailer 1872 Pratt Drive Lw n 5 70 Blacksburg, VA 24060-6363
Dear Mr. Hailer:
In a September 23, 1993, telephone conversation with James Kennedy of the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission, you requested information on the identification l
and classification of radioactive wastes.
This letter responds to your l
request.
I have enclosed with this letter a list that identifies several categories of radioactive waste and material often referred to by professionals in the field.
Some are addressed by federal statute or regulations concerning their -
proper use and disposal. Where applicable. I have identified those statutes promulgated to direct waste disposal efforts concerning particular radioactive wastes.
I have also enclosed several information sources that address various topics that should be of interest to you, including mixed waste, low-level radioactive waste (LLW), high-level waste (HLW), and naturally occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive materials (NARM).
In addition, if you have not yet acquainted yourself with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) governing commercial regulation of nuclear material, I encourage you to review a
these sections.
Title 10--Energy, parts 0 through 199, comprise Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations.
Several parts within Title 10 specifically address the disposal of radioactive waste, and are identified in the enclosure.
I trust this responds to your request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at (301) 504-3447 should you have further questions.
Sincerely.
Richard
. TurtIf,'
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Project Manager j
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i IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF RADI0 ACTIVE WASTES AND SOME MATERIALS Low-level Radioactive Waste (LLW or LtRW) i Oftentimes, this waste is defined as what it is not rather than what it is.
LLW is " radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent fuel, or by-product material as defined in section lle.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act."
Most LLW are generally short-lived and have low radioactivity.
Sources of waste include: industrial facilities, nuclear reactor sites, medical and academic institutions, and government entities.
Commercial wastes designated as LLW are classified either as Class A, B, or C.
This LLW classification system is defined by 10 CFR Part 61.55.
Class A waste contains lower concentrations of radioactive material than does Class B and C waste.
Each waste class is acceptable at disposal f acilities designed to meet standards in 10 CFR Part 61. Wastes are packaged and disposed in a manner designed to ensure the facility meets the performance objectives in 10 CFR Parts 61.41 through 61.44 Congress established State responsibility for disposal of LLW by enacting the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980.
It remains the responsibility of the State in which LLW is generated to provide for the disposal of such waste.
Congress amended the Act, in 1985, by establishing a series of milestones, incentives, and penalties designed to encourage the States' progress in developing LLW disposal capacity.
This Act is known as the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (LLRWPAA).
High-level Radioactive Waste (HLW)
HLW is highly radioactive material, containing fission products, traces of uranium and plutonium, and other transuranic elements.
From 10 CFR Part 60, " Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Geologic Repositories," HLW means "(1) Irradiated reactor fuel, (2) liquid wastes resulting from the operation of the first cycle solvent extraction system, or equivalent, and the concentrated wastes from subsequent extraction cycles, or equivalent, in a facility for reprocessing irradiated reactor fuel, and (3) solids into which such liquid wastes have been converted."
The disposal of HLW in a geologic repository is regulated by 10 CFR Part 60, and in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982.
The major source of commercially generated HLW is the spent fuel rods used to generate electrical power in a nuclear power reactor.
Low-level Mixed Waste (Mixed Wastel Any class of low-level radioactive waste that contains a nazardous waste component as defined under Subtitle C of RCRA, is c.onsidered mixed waste.
This waste is regulated using a dual regulatory framework:
EPA (or authorized states) regulate the hazardous waste component, and NRC (or the agreement states, or DOE) regulate the radioactive waste component.
. Mixed waste contains radioactive material that is subject to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (and that meets NRC's definition of LLW in 10 CFR Part 61),
and hazardous waste that is subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), (and that meets the EPA's definition of hazardous material in 40 CFR Part 261.)
Transuranic Waste (TRU)
Without regard to source or form, TRU is radioactive waste that is contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranium radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years and concentrations greater than 100 nCi/ gram.
TRU constitute waste materials contaminated with U-233 (and its daughter products), certain isotopes of plutonium, and nuclides with atomic number greater than 92 (uranium).
It is produced primarily from reprocessing spent fuel and from use of plutonium in fabrication of nuclear weapons.
Wastes containing concentrations of transuranics limited to conditions identified in Part 61 may be eligible for disposal at a Part 61 facility.
NARM/ NORM - Naturally Occurrina and Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Materials NARM refers to the collective body of naturally occerring and accelerator-produced radioactive materials.
Naturally occurring radionuclides that represent a significant source of human radiation exposure include carbon-14, potassium-40, polonium-210, radon-222, and radium-226.
Exposures of the public to naturally occurring radon constitute 55 percent of the average total radiation dose the U.S. population receives in a year.
Accelerator produced radioactive materials are produced by cyclotrons, heavy ion accelerators, electron accelerators, and neutron generators.
These machines are used to produce radioisotopes for medicine and research, to modify properties of materials for industry, and in radiation therapy.
Operations or processes that use or produce NARM, and entities who use or process NARM, are not licensed or regulated by NRC.
I I. e._L2 )
Byproduct Material / Mill Tailinas ll.e.(2) byproduct material, is defined in section 11, Chapter 2, of The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
Uranium mill tailings from the mining of uranium fall under this classification.
It is "the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content."
Disposition of uranium mill tailings are addressed by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA), and its amendments.
Title 1 of UMTRCA addresses remediation of wastes at mining facilities that have ceased operations, including waste in the form of tailings resulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of uranium and other valuable constituents of the ores, and other wastes which relate to such processing, including any residual stock of unprocessed ores or low-grade materials.
Title II addresses uranium mining facilities that are currently operating, and will require reclamation in the future.