RE: Smoke Detectors

["Mel Young" <young@u.arizona.edu>]

This issue was raised several years ago by the Household Hazardous Waste
Group in our Public Works Department (Pima County, Tucson, AZ).  They were
stockpiling the smoke detectors rather than advising the public to dispose
of them via normal trash destined for the landfill.  They contacted me for
disposal advice.  I told them I thought it best to dispose of them as
routine household trash.  I contacted the Arizona Radiation Regulatory
Agency for an opinion, and they concurred.  At the time they gave me a copy
of an NRC document to back up the position.  As for the stockpiled items,
the options were either commercial disposal or gradual routine disposal,
avoiding a concentration of detectors in the landfill.

Melvin C. Young, Ph.D.
Senior Compliance Specialist
and Deputy Radiation Safety Officer
University of Arizona

(520) 626-5777 Voice
(520) 626-2583 FAX



-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
[mailto:radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu]On Behalf Of Busby, Bruce
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 1998 9:28 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Smoke Detectors


Hi all,

OK..another thought to stir the pot:

Disposal into ordinary trash is fine with me, with the idea that the
ordinary trash goes to a landfill.  But, suppose there is a commercial
facility that burns waste to generate electrical power-  taking
commercial and residential waste,  burning it, selling the power. The
scrap metal would probably be recovered and sold, with the ash going to a
landfill. Anyone else see a problem here with smoke detectors? Comments?


Bruce


> Therefore, you may dispose of these units as
> ordinary trash.

>Regulatory references:  10 CFR 30.20, 10 CFR 32.26



--------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce A. Busby    -     Radiation Health Physicist
W- bab1303@doh.wa.gov      H-babusby@aol.com
Rad Prot. Div. - Dept. of Health - Washington State
7171 Cleanwater Lane, Bldg. 5   Olympia, WA  98504

Good Health is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.
---------------------------------------------------------------

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