United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Federal Register author aut Government Organization text government publication eng FR Regulatory Information 2003_register executive 2010-09-23 article Part II Proposed Rules D09002ee1c816dd74 D09002ee1c816de68 United States Environmental Protection Agency originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency This Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) requests public comment regarding options to promote a more consistent framework for the disposal of radioactive waste with low concentrations of radioactivity ("low-activity"). Of immediate interest is low-activity mixed waste (LAMW). This waste is both chemically hazardous according to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and is radioactive with low radionuclide concentrations under the purview of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA). Such waste is regulated and managed under both authorities but under certain conditions, one authority may be sufficient to provide public health and environmental protection. In particular, given appropriate limits on radionuclide concentrations in LAMW, disposal of LAMW in RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste landfills, with their prescribed engineering design and associated RCRA requirements (e.g., waste treatment, waste form), may provide protection of public health and the environment. This document focuses on effective use of the RCRA-C disposal technology for the disposal of LAMW. We (the Environmental Protection Agency) seek comment on standards that would codify this approach and provide greater flexibility for the safe disposal of LAMW. Beyond LAMW, however, there is a wide variety of radioactive wastes with relatively low concentrations of radioactivity; these wastes are not considered mixed wastes because they are not regulated under both RCRA and the AEA. Examples of such low-activity waste include certain AEA radioactive wastes, certain wastes from the extraction of uranium or thorium (such as those generated by the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP)), a variety of wastes that fall into the technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) category, and certain decommissioning wastes. Some AEA wastes are deferred from regulation, such as "unimportant quantities" of source material with less than 0.05 percent uranium or thorium, and would be characterized as another form of low-activity radioactive waste (LARW, of which low-activity mixed waste would be a subset). Some radioactive wastes are regulated strictly down to the last atom while other low-activity wastes are regulated primarily for their chemically hazardous constituents. Some of these wastes may be unregulated or regulated under a framework lacking clarity and consistency. We seek comment on possible regulatory and non-regulatory options to provide a more coherent framework to manage LARW, and information to improve the scientific characterization of such wastes. We envision that any standards promulgated to address the use of the RCRA-C disposal technology for LAMW (or, more broadly, LARW) would offer a new disposal option for these wastes. This would provide the flexibility to allow States, disposal facility operators, and waste generators to account for specific State or local regulatory constraints and economic considerations in determining whether they would choose to implement this disposal option for protective management and disposal of these wastes. 68 FR 65120 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2003-11-18/03-28651 03-28651 fr18no03-26 RIN 2060-AL71 6560-50-P FRL-7585-6 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2003-11-18/03-28651 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2003-11-18/html/03-28651.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2003-11-18/pdf/03-28651.pdf 32 p. 65120 65151 68 FR 65120 Title 40 Chapter I 40 CFR Chapter I RIN 2060-AL71 Approaches to an Integrated Framework for Management and Disposal of Low-Activity Radioactive Waste: Request for Comment; Federal Register Vol. 68, Issue PRORULE 03-28651 II ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FRL-7585-6 6560-50-P 03-28651 Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR).

This Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) requests public comment regarding options to promote a more consistent framework for the disposal of radioactive waste with low concentrations of radioactivity ("low-activity"). Of immediate interest is low-activity mixed waste (LAMW). This waste is both chemically hazardous according to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and is radioactive with low radionuclide concentrations under the purview of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA). Such waste is regulated and managed under both authorities but under certain conditions, one authority may be sufficient to provide public health and environmental protection. In particular, given appropriate limits on radionuclide concentrations in LAMW, disposal of LAMW in RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste landfills, with their prescribed engineering design and associated RCRA requirements (e.g., waste treatment, waste form), may provide protection of public health and the environment. This document focuses on effective use of the RCRA-C disposal technology for the disposal of LAMW. We (the Environmental Protection Agency) seek comment on standards that would codify this approach and provide greater flexibility for the safe disposal of LAMW. Beyond LAMW, however, there is a wide variety of radioactive wastes with relatively low concentrations of radioactivity; these wastes are not considered mixed wastes because they are not regulated under both RCRA and the AEA. Examples of such low-activity waste include certain AEA radioactive wastes, certain wastes from the extraction of uranium or thorium (such as those generated by the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP)), a variety of wastes that fall into the technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) category, and certain decommissioning wastes. Some AEA wastes are deferred from regulation, such as "unimportant quantities" of source material with less than 0.05 percent uranium or thorium, and would be characterized as another form of low-activity radioactive waste (LARW, of which low-activity mixed waste would be a subset). Some radioactive wastes are regulated strictly down to the last atom while other low-activity wastes are regulated primarily for their chemically hazardous constituents. Some of these wastes may be unregulated or regulated under a framework lacking clarity and consistency. We seek comment on possible regulatory and non-regulatory options to provide a more coherent framework to manage LARW, and information to improve the scientific characterization of such wastes. We envision that any standards promulgated to address the use of the RCRA-C disposal technology for LAMW (or, more broadly, LARW) would offer a new disposal option for these wastes. This would provide the flexibility to allow States, disposal facility operators, and waste generators to account for specific State or local regulatory constraints and economic considerations in determining whether they would choose to implement this disposal option for protective management and disposal of these wastes.

To ensure that your comments will be considered in future actions related to this document, please submit your comments no later than March 17, 2004. Dan Schultheisz, Radiation Protection Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mailcode: 6608J, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 20460-0001; telephone (202) 343-9300; e-mail schultheisz.daniel@epa.gov. Hazardous waste: Low-level radioactive waste; management and disposal, a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov schultheisz.daniel@epa.gov http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/cgi-bin/rulemake?source=SM_RFC&st=ipcr http://www.epa.gov/edocket http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/industd/index.htm http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ http://www.epa.gov/osw http://www.epa.gov/radiation/ http://www.epa.gov/radiation/mixed-waste http://www.epa.gov/radiation/mixed-waste/nat-prof.htm http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/ Vol. 68, no. 222 Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration 2003-11-18 continuing daily deposited born digital 186 p. Table of Contents: AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: KF70.A2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2003-11-18 P0b002ee1809d4523 0097-6326 0042-1219 0364-1406 769-004-00000-9 000582072 f:fr18no03 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2003-11-18 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2003-11-18/pdf/FR-2003-11-18.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2003-11-18/xml/FR-2003-11-18.xml fdlp 64977 65151 DGPO 2010-09-23 2024-06-07 FR-2003-11-18 machine generated eng FR FR-2003-11-18 68 222