ML20058H510
| ML20058H510 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/30/1993 |
| From: | Joseph Austin NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY |
| References | |
| REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 9312130098 | |
| Download: ML20058H510 (4) | |
Text
.
.4 NDY 3 0 1993 -
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20460 L
Dear Sir or Madame:
I
{
SUBJECT:
DOCKET NUMBER F-92-CS2P This is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Proposed i
Rulemaking and Request for Comment that appeared in the Federal Reaister on September 14, 1993.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's interest in this rule stems from the effect it may have on the management of mixed radioactive and hazardous waste (mixed waste) by licensees subject to the NRC's jurisdiction.
NRC staff has reviewed the proposed rule and has several comments. These comments are enclosed.
If you have any questions, please contact Dominick A. Orlando, of my staff, at j
(301) 504-2566.
Sincerely, I
John H. Austin, Chief Decommissioning and Regulatory Issues Branch Division of Low-Level Waste Management i
and Decommissioning Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosure:
As stated Ticket I
DISTRIBUTION:
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- See previous concurrence 1
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DATE:
11/22/93 11/23/93 H
11/24/93 g/h/93 Path & File Name:g:EPAWST.RUL OFFICIAL RECORD COPY PDR :
YES X
NO Category:
Proprietary or CF Only ACNW:
YES NO X
Delete file after distribution Yes No IG:
YES N0 X
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9312130098 931130 j
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4 NOV 0e liu T
NRC STAFF COMMENTS ON EPA's PROPOSED HAZARDOUS WASTE AND DEBRIS RULE November 1993 i
1.
The proposed rule discusses the demonstration and use of acceptable knowledge in characterizing hazardous wastes.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff encourages the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt the approach outlined in the proposed rule and to encourage the use of acceptable knowledge for characterizing mixed wastes. Many mixed waste generators have expressed concerns to NRC and EPA about the potential for increased radiation exposures if they must test their high-activity mixed wastes. Generators have pointed to EPA's testing requirements and NRC's requirements for maintaining radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) as potential inconsistencies between the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Atomic Energy Act.
By allowing acceptable knowledge to be used in lieu of testing, it may be possible for these generators to maintain their occupational radiation exposure ALARA while still meeting the.
requirements of RCRA.
In addition, NRC encourages EPA to expand the discussion of when acceptable knowledge might be used to include situations where the hazardous component is known and well characterized, but testing would be required merely because the waste i
contains a radioactive component.
Finally, NRC believes that EPA should encourage the use of nonradiologically contaminated surrogates for mixed waste characterization, as long as the surrogate faithfully represents the hazardous component of the mixed waste.
2.
The proposed rule requests comments on the use of risk-based vs.
technology-based levels in establishing treatment standards for hazardous waste.
In our July 16, 1992 comments on the proposed Hazardous Waste Identification Rule, NRC encouraged EPA to adopt a scientifically defensible, risk-based approach to revising the regulations that EPA uses to identify hazardous waste subject'to RCRA.
NRC stated at that time that it appears that RCRA intended EPA to use health and environmental risks as the fundamental criteria for determining which wastes warrant management as hazardous waste.
We i
continue to encourage EPA to develop hazardous waste management criteria based on the potential for risk as opposed to adopting waste treatment criteria based on the ability of current technology to achieve non-risk-based treatment standards.
1 3.
Statements in the proposed rule indicate that EPA believes that radioactive material concentrations in mixed waste are low and should not interfere with the treatment of the mixed waste. This belief is not l
always valid based on the results of the NRC/ EPA National Profile on Commercially Generated low-Level Radioactive Mixed Waste and available information on the characteristics of mixed waste generated by the Department of Energy (DOE). As discussed in #1 above, generators routinely cite the EPA's testing requirements and ALARA requirements under the Atomic Energy Act as potential inconsistencies in the Enclosure l
4 i
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 401 M Street, SW Washington, DC 20460 Docket Number F-92-CS2P
Dear Sir or Madame:
?
1 This is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Proposed i
Rulemaking and Request for Comment that appeared in the Federal Reoister on September 14, 1993. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's interest in this rule stems from the effect it may have on the management of mixed radioactive and hazardous waste (mixed waste) by licensees subject to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's jurisdiction.
NRC staff has reviewed the proposed rule and has several comments.
These comments are enclosed.
s If you have any questions, please contact Dominick A. Orl.ando, of my staff, at l
(301) 504-2566.
f' t
Sincerely, John H. Austitf, Chief Decommissiorying and Regulatory Issues Brtnch Division if Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning Office of Nuclear Material Safety and, Safeguards
Enclosure:
As stated
/
Ticket
/
DISTRIBUTION:
Central file NMSS r/f/
JSurmeier MBell TJohnson LBell LLWM r/f
/54/ /
4#a -*
- 4* ds SUBJECT ABSTRACT: COMMENTS ON EPA WASTE RUL'E x A49~ede
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/ /93 Path & File Name:g:EPAWST.RUL OFFICIAL RECORD COPY In small Box on "DATE:" line p7 ace a: M = E-Mail Distribution Copy H = Hard Copy PDR :
YES X NO Category:
Proprietary _ or CF Only ACNW:
YES NO X Delete file after distribution Yes No IG:
YES NO X
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 401 M Street, SW Washington, DC 20460 Docket Number F-92-CS2P
Dear Sir or Madame:
lhis is in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Comment that appeared in the Federal Register on September 14, 1993.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's interest in this rule i
stems from the effect it may have on the management of mixed radioactive and hazardous waste (mixed waste) by licensees subject to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's jurisdiction.
NRC staff has reviewed the proposed rule and has several comments.
These comments are enclosed, if you have any questions, please contact Dominick A. Orlando, of my staff, at (301) 504-2566.
Sincerely, John H. Austin, Chief Decommissioning and Regulatory Issues Branch Division of Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosure:
As stated Ticket 01STRIBUTION:
Central File HMSS r/f JSurmeier MBell TJohnson LBell LLWM r/f j, W-t hEL SUBJECT ABSTRACT: COMMENTS ON EPA WASTE RULE n (..,, c "
' > n "',
- Hark Small Boxes in Concuprence Block to Define' DistributLion' Copy Preference
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in small Box on "0FC:" line place a: C - Cover 'E = Cover & Enclosure
'N = No Copy 0FC :
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LLDR 00r}qdo MWeber l' JAustin NAME:
DATE: y/z;/93 g i// N/93 t-I
/ /93 Path & File Name:g:EPAWST.RUL OFFICIAL RECORD COPY In small Box on *DATE:" line place a: M = E-Mail Distribution Copy H = Hard Copy PDR :
YES NO Category:
Proprietary _ or CF Only Delete file after distribution Yes __ No ACNW:
YES NO 1G:
YES NO 1
.