RADIOACTIVE AND HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

The survey, presented above, however, does not present the full picture of the recent research in the CBPC area. The Abstracts have not covered many modem CBPC applications such as those in radioactive and hazardous waste management. The purpose behind writing this monograph is to cover such areas in which CBPCs have made major inroads. In the process, we have built a discussion on the foundation of basic science and technology behind formation of these materials. We, therefore, hope that this monograph will be a comprehensive source for a wide readership interested in the science of CBPC materials and their applications. 

Process waste operations include the initial solidification of the liquid process residuals, packaging the solidified waste and other solid process residuals in waste barrels, loading of waste barrels on storage carts, and emplacement of waste barrels in shielded interim storage in Room 109. A complete description of the types and expected quantities of waste that will be generated in the HCF is contained in Chapter 9, Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Management. 

The primary purpose of this Report is to present NCRP s recommendations on classification of hazardous wastes. The Report is directed at a multidisciplinary audience with different levels of technical understanding in the fields of radiation and chemical risk assessment and radioactive and chemical waste management. Anew hazardous waste classification system is proposed that differs from the existing classification systems for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes in two fundamental respects. First, hazardous waste would be classified based on considerations of health risks to the public that arise from disposal of waste. Hazardous waste would not be classified based, for example, on its source. Second, the classification system would apply to any hazardous waste, and separate classification systems for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes would not be retained. In the proposed system, waste would be classified based only on its properties, and the same rules would apply in classifying all hazardous wastes. 

Over the last several decades, separate classification systems have been developed for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes based on a variety of considerations, the most prevalent being the source of the waste. These classification systems have served their intended purpose of facilitating development of health-protective strategies for waste management and disposal reasonably well. However, they have exhibited a number of shortcomings and undesirable ramifications, which indicate that a new approach to classification of hazardous wastes would be beneficial. 

This Section summarizes the separate classification systems that have been developed for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes. Impacts of the two classification systems on management and disposal of mixed wastes are also described. 

Wastes have been classified for decades for a variety of purposes. This Section discusses the historical development of classification systems for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes and the resulting classification systems in use at the present time. The relationship between waste classification and requirements for disposal of different classes of hazardous waste is emphasized. The framework for this discussion is the top-level system for waste classification in the United States shown in Figure 4.1. Within this framework, it is first determined whether a waste is nonhazardous (e.g., municipal waste) these wastes are not addressed in this Report. If a waste is deemed hazardous, it is so classified due to the presence of radionuclides or hazardous chemicals. Mixed radioactive and hazardous chemical waste is not a separate class of waste. However, mixed waste has been an important concern as a result of differences in requirements for management and disposal of radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes. Section 4.1 addresses classification and disposal of radioactive waste, and is followed by discussions of classification and disposal of hazardous chemical waste in Section 4.2 and approaches to management of mixed radioactive and hazardous chemical waste in Section 4.3. Finally, Section 4.4 summarizes previous NCRP recommendations relevant to waste classification. 

The discussions of classification of radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes and management of mixed waste in Sections 4.1 to 4.3 are presented in considerable detail to facilitate understanding of these issues by readers who may not be knowledgeable in these areas. The existing hazardous waste classification systems and the historical developments underlying them are complex. NCRP believes that an appreciation of these complexities is important in gaining an understanding of the need for a new hazardous waste classification system and the benefits it would provide. 

Classification systems for radioactive waste and requirements for disposal of different classes of radioactive waste have been developed largely independently of classification systems and disposal requirements for hazardous chemical waste. This Section has discussed the classification systems for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes and the relationships between waste classification and requirements for disposal. Impacts of the different systems for waste classification and disposal on management and disposal of waste that contains... 

The proposed framework for risk-based classification of all radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes developed in Section 6.2.2 represents waste classification in its broadest, most general terms. Thus, this classification system can be viewed as the highest level of a possible hierarchy of hazardous waste classifications (e.g., see Figure 4.2). Further subclassification of these broadly defined waste classes may be desirable for such purposes as protection of workers during waste operations, protection of public health and the environment following waste disposal, and development of efficient methods of waste management taking into account the characteristics of actual wastes. 

Development and implementation of the comprehensive and risk-based hazardous waste classification system presented in this Report would be facilitated by changes in the current legal and regulatory framework for managing radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes in the United States. A number of examples have been discussed previously in this Report and are summarized below. 

If implemented, the risk-based waste classification system presented in this Report would have impacts on the current waste classification systems for radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes. While it is expected that most wastes would be classified in accordance with current plans for their disposal, there would be some notable impacts on waste classification and waste management. 

J. Wescott, R. Nelson, A. Wagh, and D. Singh, Low Level and Mixed Radioactive Waste In-Drum Solidification, Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioacive Waste Management, Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Reston, VA. 2 [1] (1998) 4-7. 

Regulatory Definition of Hazardous, Radioactive, and Mixed Waste. Existing federal regulations give specific regulatory definitions for all waste types. Wastes that are of most Interest to environmental restoration and waste management are hazardous waste, radioactive waste, and mixed waste. 

MEPAS allows the user to prioritize hazardous, radioactive, and mixed-waste sites, based on their potential hazard to public health. MEPAS is applicable to a wide range of environmental management and regulatory conditions including inactive sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and active sites releasing air and water contaminants regulated under other statutory acts. 

Blackman, William G., Jr. Basic Hazardous Waste Management. 3d ed. Boca Raton, Fla. GRG Press, 2001. Overview of hazardous-waste management technologies with discussion concerning disposal of radioactive and biomedical wastes. 

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