LLRW - on a more serious note

["Pete Collopy, CIH,CHP" <pcollopy@mjwcorp.com>]

Time to stop with my silly posts and ask a serious question. I have a policy
question related to when something is radioactive (and greater than
background) - is it considered low level radioactive waste ? Please respond
directly to me so I don't end up cluttering the list. Everyone that sends me
a message I will send you a summary of what the responses, if any, were.

A number of the states define Low Level Radioactive Waste as follows:

"Low-level radioactive waste or LLRW or waste means radioactive material
that is not high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear
fuel or tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of
uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for it source material
content, and the U.S. Nuclear Regualtory Commission consistent with federal
law classifies as low-level radioactive waste."

My take on this is that if the material is used as part of a licensed
activity then regardless of its radioactivity content when the material or
an object contaminated by the radioactive material is no longer useful it is
radioactive waste.  I would also say that if the radioactive content comes
about from a non-licensed activity it is then NOT radioactive waste. Of
course there are certain states that include TENORM as LLRW so by extension
if a state had a law on the books, the material from those TENORM activities
would also be included as LLRW.

First I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has a different
interpretation on LLRW. Second given the following scenarios which would you
consider to be LLRW, and therefore regulated, and which would you not and
why. All of the following are somewhat true examples I have run into but
have never actually gotten a clear direction from any of the regulatory
agencies who got involved or chose not to be involved. However, there are
some recent stirrings within one of the states I work in that has the
regulatory body taking a somewhat restrictive approach where anything above
background is to be treated as LLRW. I am sorry I can't say which one at
this time. One hint is I don't do any work in Alaska.

1. You have a generally licensed material such as a smoke detector that gets
crushed and contaminates a storage area or even a home. Would all the
contamination be treated as LLRW ? I would think so but what is the real
obligation of the customer who possessed the source ? While I recognize GL
materials have certain exemptions applied to them I couldn't find anything
that specifically ruled not treating the material as LLRW when the usefull
life was done. Besides it has been my experience that when we come across
some GL stuff in the public arena ( I've run into some good sized Ra smoke
detectors) we end up disposing as LLRW.

2. You are a POTW and you end up reconcentrating material from a licensed
user up stream of your facility. The material is well below licenseable
quantities but at greater than background levels in soil (say about 10-20
pCi/g of some non-alpha emitting radionuclide). What if the material may be
from  medical usage ? This is a problem when the POTW's sludge ends up
setting off a disposal facilty's gate detector.

3. This next one is a bit facetious but it kind of drives home the point of
why I am asking. You have collected 1000 baby teeth and claim the Sr-90 in
them is from licensed reactor processes. Do all the baby teeth constitute a
LLRW once you are done analyzing ?

4. You have a site that formerly used licenseable quantities of radioactive
material but has been cleared by the cognizant regulatory body. Lets say for
the sake of argument the regulators allow the site to contain 15 pCi/g of
Cs-137. You are an industrialist who buys the site and finds there are some
areas that are over the RCRA metals limit and decide to dispose of the soil
because of its chemical composition. Is this a mixed waste ? I think it may
be because the site has been cleared based upon site parameters for future
use and not for moving the soil to another location. On the other hand the
site is not now being used for licensed activities so how far back does one
go to assume licensable material translates to LLRW ?

Sorry for the length but I think this is going to be real policy (and
practical) headache for everyone in the field if this certain unnamed state
decides to carry through with a what is now an unwritten policy and other
states follow.

Any answers are appreciated as I will proably end up in the next several
months trying to steer the policy within the state to be more risk based and
less prescriptive just because radioactivity is present.

Pete C.

Peter Collopy, CIH, CHP
MJW Corporation
338 Harris Hill Road
Williamsville, NY 14221
716-631-8291 (phone)
716-631-5631 (fax)
pcollopy@mjwcorp.com

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