[ RadSafe ] " Radioactive cocktail: Blending waste won't lessen thedanger "

[WILLIAM LIPTON]

While the radionuclide concentrations in radioactive waste are an important factor in its hazard, they are not the only consideration.  A major concern is the potential for causing human radiation exposure.  For blended waste with heterogeneous concentrations, there is a concern that, while the average concentration is Class A, someone will be exposed to part of the waste that is Class C.  I recommend reviewing the NRC's "Branch Technical Position On Concentration Averaging And Encapsulation."  Here's a link for this document:  http://rockyflats.apps.em.doe.gov/references/101-NRC%20Branch%20Tech%20Position%20Paper%20on%20Conc%20Avg.pdf
Bill Lipton
It's not about dose, it's about trust.
Perception is reality.


----- Original Message ----
From: Jerry Cohen <jjcohen at prodigy.net>
To: Jaro <jaro-10kbq at sympatico.ca>; RADSAFE <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Thursday, July 3, 2008 2:47:59 PM
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] " Radioactive cocktail: Blending waste won't lessen thedanger "

If  the of concentration of radioactivity in waste is not indicative of its 
potential
danger, then what is? Why is radwaste classified  according to its 
concentration?
The whole thing makes no sense to me---but then I suppose one needs to be a
bureaucrat or politician to understand the "logic" behind it all.
Jerry Cohen


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jaro" <jaro-10kbq at sympatico.ca>
To: "RADSAFE" <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: [ RadSafe ] " Radioactive cocktail: Blending waste won't lessen 
thedanger "


> Presumably this will affect all sorts of Rad users ?
>
> Jaro
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>
> http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9756721
> Radioactive cocktail: Blending waste won't lessen the danger
> Tribune Editorial
> Article Last Updated: 07/01/2008 05:37:06 PM MDT
>
>
> Officials from our nation's nuclear power industry have devised a magical
> mathematical formula that miraculously transforms dangerous Class B and
> Class C nuclear waste into less-ominous Class A waste. Anxious to dispose 
> of
> their radioactive garbage, they pitched the proposal to the federal 
> Nuclear
> Regulatory Commission last week.
>    Now, all it will take is a few foolish strokes of the rule-writing pen
> at the NRC, and the industry will be allowed to mix waste from each 
> category
> to achieve a blend that qualifies as Class A. That, in turn, would open 
> the
> door for disposal of hotter waste at EnergySolutions' radioactive waste
> landfill in Tooele County, circumventing a Utah law that prohibits the 
> more
> dangerous waste classifications.
>    The trouble is, the formula defies the associative property of
> mathematics, the laws of science and the canons of common sense. The only
> way to make A + B + C = A is to remove B and C from the equation.
>    Simply put, dilution is not the solution to pollution. No matter how 
> you
> mix it, or how long you stir, the nature of the materials won't change. 
> The
> Class B waste in the mix will still be hazardous for 300 years, and the
> Class C waste will still be hazardous for 500 years. Only time, and we're
> talking centuries, can render nuclear waste benign.
>    Federal regulators need to see through the facade. The industry's
> proposal, an act born of desperation, is nothing
> more than a way to foist hotter waste on Utah, a state where the 
> Legislature
> has wisely banned all but Class A waste, which is considered safe after 
> 100
> years.
>    Obviously, after South Carolina this week closed the last remaining
> Class B and C waste depository available for 36 states, the nuclear power
> industry needs another place to toss its trash. And once again, the
> radioactive waste facility within our bounds, and the profit-driven 
> private
> company that operates it, have proven to be attractive nuisances.
>    Congress needs to move quickly to solve the problem and establish a
> national disposal site for all radioactive waste. Until that happens,
> nuclear power plant operators can store their poison at the plants that
> produce them.
>    Utah lawmakers and Gov. Jon Huntsman need to monitor this situation 
> very
> closely, and let their opinions be known. And should the NRC opt to 
> rewrite
> the rules to allow blending, the state Legislature should quickly rewrite
> the law to ban blended waste from the state.
>
> ==================================================
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