Waste Safety Assessment Program

Erdal, B.R. Aguilar, R.D. Bayhurst, B.P. Daniels, W.R. Duffy, C.J. Lawrence, F.O. Maestas, S. Oliver, P.Q. Wolfsberg, K. "Sorption-Desorption Studies on Granite. I. Initial Studies of Strontium, Technetium, Cesium, Barium, Cerium, Europium, Uranium, Plutonium, and Americium", in "Proceedings of the Task 4 Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program Second Contractor Information Meeting", Vol. II, Report PNL-SA-7352, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, 1978, pp. 7-67. 

There are other regulatory, legal and ethical safety assessment requirements beyond those involved in the selection and marketing of a drug as a product entity. The actual drug product must be manufactured and transported in a safe manner, and any waste associated with this manufacture disposed of properly Chapter 14 of this volume specifically addresses this often overlooked aspect of safety assessment programs. 

Rickert, P. G., Seitz, M. G., Fried, S. M., Friedman, A. M., and Steindler, M. J., "Transport Properties of Nuclear Waste in Geologic Media," report to the Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program, March, ANL program code 85249-00 (1978). 

Mucciardi A. N. and Orr E. C. (1977) Statistical investigation of the mechanics controlling radionuclide sorption. In Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program, Task 4, Contractor Information Meeting Proceedings. Battelle Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA, pp. I5I-I88. 

The technical articles of the Convention on Nuclear Safety were drafted with nuclear power plants in mind. They are applicable to a great extent, however, to obligations which would be found in a convention on radioactive waste. There should be little if any difference in the required legislative framework, the role of the r nlatoiy body, quality assmance programs, safety assessment practices as well as the siting, design and construction practices. 

In several countries formal environmental and safety assessments for deep geological disposal have been carried out (e.g., Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland) or are in progress (e.g., Canada). For the most part, national programs have concentrated on research and development activities to evaluate the safety and feasibility of various design options, the selection of suitable disposal sites, and optimization studies covering safety, environmental, industrial, and economical issues. It is generally estimated that disposal facilities for long-lived waste will not be operational before about 2010-2020. 

Medical surveillance programs. Workers handling hazardous substances may be exposed to toxic chemicals, safety hazards, biologic hazards, and radiation. Therefore, a medical surveillance program is essential to assess and monitor workers health and fitness for employment in hazardous waste operations and during the course of work to provide emergency and other treatment as needed and to keep accurate records for future reference. 

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