Re: Legislation in relation to mineral sands

[Jim Williams <NARM@worldnet.att.net>]

With respect to the disposal of Zircon (and other rare earth
ores/tailings in landfills) here goes the US methodology.

	1. If you have virgin, unprocessed ore with a combined Th and U weight
percentage of < 0.25%, the material is exempt from the requirements for
a source material license (see 10 CFR 40.13). If you do not have a
specific source material license for the material, it is not regulated
by the US NRC. In addition, it shouldn't be considered source material
by the state regulatory agency. Some states in the US consider this
material to be regulated NORM, most do not. If it is not regulated as
NORM in the state the material is in, it can be disposed of without
regard to it's radioactivity as a "solid waste".
(NOTE: The US NRC will issue a license for material that does not
require a license. If you obtain a specific source material license for
this material, it would be considered  LLRW if it were declared a waste.
It would then have to be disposed of in a radioactive waste landfill).

	2. The first paragraph above applies only to "virgin, unprocessed ore".
Just because you can possess the ore, does not mean you can process it
without a specific license. If you process ore, you must have a license
if, at any time during the processing, the combined U and Th content of
the material exceeds 0.05% by weight. This applies even if the final
waste stream(s) is/are < 0.05% Th and U by weight.

	3. During the extraction of rare earths from ore, the U and Th daughter
products typically become seperated from the U and Th due to the process
(usually due to a change in pH). In addition, depending on the process,
you usually wind up with at least 3 streams: The desired rare earth(s),
a waste stream containing U and/or Th >0.05% by weight (usually with a
less than equilibrium concentration of daughters), and a waste stream
containing the daughters and some U and Th (usually <0.05% combined).

	4. The extracted ores almost always contain <0.05% U and Th by weight.
They are then distributed as a product and not considered a radioactive
waste (LLRW or NORM) if they are declared a waste.

	5. The waste stream that contains >0.05% U and Th are considered to be
a source material and thus a LLRW. These materials must be disposed of
as a radioactive waste at a radioactive waste landfill (Barnwell,
Envirocare or Richland). Historically, some of these wastes were
exported, but this practice is no longer allowed. The exception to this
is if you can extract the U and Th for use, then the result of this
process is a waste called 11(e)2 a.k.a. by-product II waste. (NOTE: It
historically has taken years of negotiations with a regulatory agency to
allow the use of a "waste" as a "feed product" at a Uranium mill.
However, one US company was recently sucessful at this. The incentive
for this is that 11(e)2 disposal is at least ten times less expensive
than LLRW disposal and long-term liability is almost non-existient).

	6. The waste stream that contains < 0.05% U and Th, but a high
concentration of daughter products is usually considered to be a NORM
waste. Disposal requirements vary from State to State, but most large
generators dispose of this material as NORM at one of several NORM
disposal sites. Some generators are allowed to dispose of this material
at a non-radioative waste landfill. Again, NORM disposal is less
expensive than LLRW disposal, but more expensive than 11(e)2 disposal.

	7. Sorry about the long reply, but the regulations concerning this
issue are rather complex since they involve many regulatory agencies and
many different sections of the regulations.

	I will be happy to discuss in more detail in private e-mail, if
desired.

Jim Williams
713-869-0018
713-869-0070 facsimile
NARM@Worldnet.att.net