Uranyl Acetate

[Steve Deitch <StephenD@compuserve.com>]

Your question points out one of the anomalies in the legal nomenclature
used.  As the responses I have read so far show, Uranyl acetate is a
hazardous material ... it's LD50 etc.  But your question had to do with
regulation.

Uranyl acetate is not specifically regualated for TRANSPORTATION purposes
as a hazardous material ... it is not specifically identified in the
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TABLE .. 49CFR172.101.  It is (as you point out)
regulated as a radioactive for transportation materials.  You have several
choices of shipping name, all containing the word "Radioactive, n.o.s." 
NOS means not otherwise specified.

The confusion occurs because of the nomenclature.  "Hazardous" is a
transportation term, and defined by 49CFR.  "Regulated" for these purposes
is a disposal term, defined for chemical waste (without regard to
radioactivity) by 40CFR (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act =
RCRA).  It gets confusing because we refer to "hazardous waste" almost
colloquially, when we mean "RCRA regulated."  RCRA wastes may or may not be
hazardous materials for transportation purposes.  Hazardous materials may
or may not be RCRA wastes.

So after this long winded remark, Uranyl acetate is hazardous because of
it's radioactive nature, and must be disposed of in accordance with the rad
regs, but it is not "hazardous waste" under the chemical waste regs (RCRA).