Improving the regulation and management of low-activity radioactive wastes

This paper summarizes the first phase of a study in progress by a committee of the National Research Council's Board on Radioactive Waste Management. The Board initiated the study after observing that statutes and regulations administered by the federal and state agencies that control low-activity radioactive wastes have developed as a patchwork over almost 60 y. These controls usually reflect the enterprise or process that produced the waste rather than the waste's radiological hazard. Inconsistencies in the regulatory patchwork or its application may have led to overly restrictive controls for some low-activity wastes while others were neglected in comparison. In the first phase of this study, the committee reviewed current low-activity waste inventories, regulations, and management practices. This led the committee to develop five categories that encompass the spectrum of low-activity wastes and serve to illustrate gaps and inconsistencies in current regulations and management practices. The committee completed its first phase with four findings that will lead into the final phase of the study. This paper is excerpted from the committee's interim report that was issued in October 2003.