Re: Sewer Disposal & Plumbing

[don@radpro.uchicago.edu]

Last June I attended a short course in rad. waste management at the 
Hahvard School of Public Health.  One of the final speakers was Mr. 
Robert M. Bernero, the Director of the NRC's Office of Nuclear Material
Safety & Safeguards.

I response to a question on sewer disposal from one of the audience, Mr.
Bernero expressed the _opinion_ that sewer disposal of hospital patient
waste and H3 & C14 waste would likely be preserved, but that most of the
rest was likely to go.  

The week after Mr. Bernero offered this speculation, he testified at the
Joint House/Senate hearings on sewer disposal convened by Glenn & (I
believe) Rep. Markey of Mass. 

I have obtained copies of the written testimony of all the witnesses
at this hearing and could provide a synopsis of the statements to radsafe
if there is need/interest.  

The general sense I got from reading the prepared statements was that there
is a basic disagreement between the NRC & the EPA (surprise!) over the 
adequacy of the NRC's rule change limiting sewer disposal to soluable &
dispersible biological material.  In 1996 there will be another National
Sewer Sludge Survey - destined, no doubt to be as big a seller as the 
U. of Chicago Sex Survey - which will specifically examine radionuclides
in sewer sludge.  Further rulemaking might await the acquisition of this
data.

___________________________________________________________________

Don Jordan                          Tel. (312) 702-6299
Office of Radiation Safety          Fax        702-4008
The University of Chicago           email: don@radpro.uchicago.edu
1101 East 57th Street, Room 11
Chicago, Illinois  60637  
           -- Opinions expressed are soley the author's --