Classification of Fuel-Cycle Wastes

Another important feature of the classification system for nuclear fuel-cycle wastes in the United States is the definition of low-level waste only by exclusion there is no definition of what low-level waste is, only a definition of what it is not. As a result, in contrast to the earliest descriptions of low-level waste prior to the establishment of definitions in law, this class is not restricted to waste that contains relatively low concentrations of radionuclides compared with high-level waste. Rather, low-level waste can range from virtually innocuous to highly hazardous over long time frames. 

The classification system for nuclear fuel-cycle wastes in the United States can be characterized in the following way. First, as a consequence of the definition of high-level waste as waste from fuel reprocessing, all waste classes, including mill tailings, are defined based essentially on the source of the waste, rather than its radiological properties, and most of the definitions are not explicit in regard 

Irradiated nuclear fuel that has not been chemically reprocessed 

Primary waste that arises from chemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel  

Waste that contains more than 4 kBq g 1 of alpha-emitting transuranium radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 y, excluding high-level waste 

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Classification of Fuel-Cycle Wastes. As indicated in the second level of the hierarchy in Figure 1.1, radioactive waste that... 

These considerations lead to an important conclusion regarding the relationship between classification of fuel-cycle wastes and requirements for their disposal—namely, that the selection of acceptable systems for disposal of fuel-cycle wastes does not depend on the definitions of waste classes. Rather, the types of disposal systems that are expected to provide adequate protection of public health (e.g., a near-surface facility or a geologic repository) are selected based on the radiological properties of waste, essentially without regard for how the waste is classified. Thus, general requirements for disposal are not affected by the qualitative, source-based, and ambiguous definitions in the classification system for fuel-cycle waste. 

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