Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments

Statutory and Regulatory Definitions. Current statutory definitions of low-level waste are contained in NWPA (1982) and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA, 1986). In the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, low-level waste is defined as radioactive waste that ... 

NRC has developed licensing criteria for near-surface disposal of waste that contains source, special nuclear, or byproduct materials in 10 CFR Part 61 (NRC, 1982a). These regulations are intended to apply primarily to disposal of commercial low-level waste. They do not include a definition of low-level waste but essentially defer to the current statutory definition in the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985. Thus, low-level waste can include wastes with high concentrations of radionuclides that are not generally acceptable for near-surface disposal in accordance with the licensing criteria in 10 CFR Part 61 (NRC, 1982a). 

Some definitions of low-level waste differ from the one summarized above. In particular, transuranic waste is not excluded in the definition in the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, and transuranic waste thus is a form of low-level waste. However, this inconsistency has little practical significance, because the Amendments Act governs disposal of commercial low-level waste only, unless DOE waste is sent to a commercial facility, and there is very little commercial transuranic waste requiring disposal. 

LLRWPAA (1986). Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985. Public Law 99-240 (January 15,1986), 99 Stat. 1842 (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington). 

After initial efforts to develop regional disposal facilities revealed the need for additional legislative specification. Congress passed the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (the Amendments Act) that authorized a compact with an operating site to disallow the importation of LLRW generated in states outside the compact beginning in 1993 (Public Law 99-240). 

Requirements for Disposal. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 (LLRWPA, 1980), as amended by the Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA, 1986), governs disposal of commercial low-level waste. A particular disposal technology is not specified, but shallow-land burial was presumed in accordance with contemporary practices. The original Act (LLRWPA, 1980) directed NRC to identify alternatives to shallow-land burial for commercial low-level waste and to establish technical guidance and requirements for licensing of alternative disposal methods. NRC published technical studies of alternative disposal technologies (Bennett, 1985 Bennett and Warriner, 1985 Bennett et al., 1984 Miller and Bennett, 1985 Warriner and Bennett, 1985), but specific licensing criteria for these alternatives have not been established. 

Public Law 96-573.1980. Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980, Washington, DC. Public Law 97-425.1983, as amended 1987. Nuclear Waste Policy Act for Fiscal Year 1989, Section 1433, Washington, DC. 

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