[ RadSafe ] Re: "Radioactive cocktail: Blending waste won't lessen the danger"

[Jim Hardeman]

Gene et al.
 
Actually, the classifications for low-level radioactive waste are concentration-based ... the regulations can be found in 10 CFR 61.55 (see  http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part061/part061-0055.html) For a given radionuclide (yes, even C-14), waste can be Class A, Class C or even "greater than Class C" (GTCC) simply based on the concentration of the radionuclide in curies per cubic meter.
 
I agree that whoever wrote the article doesn't know anything about radioactive waste, and doesn't understand how the classification system works.
 
Jim Hardeman
jim.hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us 

>>> <efforrer at aol.com> 7/3/2008 11:51 >>>


OK who ever wrote this article obviously has no clue as to what is Class A, B, And C waste.  Half-life has nothing to do with the classification. The waste is characterized by where it originated.  H-3 and C-14 will still have plenty of activity left after 100 years.  If done properly this idea may not be entirely without merit.  While at the Texas BRC I oversaw a soil mixing project that had a lot of promise for releasing former uranium in-situ mining operations.  The theory was sound but unfortunately the operators execution made a mess of things.

Gene Forrer