Waste classification system description

Deficiencies in the Radioactive Waste Classification System. The classification system for radioactive waste in the United States summarized in Table 1.1 is based primarily on the earliest descriptions of different classes of waste that arises from chemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and subsequent processing of nuclear materials that were developed beginning in the late 1950s. These wastes were considered to be the most important in regard to potential radiological impacts on workers. 

To address the need of various audiences to understand this Report at different levels of detail, the Report consists of three essentially self-contained parts a short Synopsis, an extended Technical Summary, and the main Report. The Synopsis presents a brief description of the proposed waste classification system, essentially in the form of an overview for legislators and other executive-level decision makers. The aim is to show that the system is simple in principle and concepts, and to illustrate its benefits. The Technical Summary (Section 1) presents an extended discussion of existing hazardous waste classification systems, difficulties with these systems, and the proposed classification system. The aim is to fully describe the proposed system and its rationale and benefits, but without much of the background information on technical and historical details that support the proposal. Many audiences may find that the Technical... 

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. 

A second consideration that has been important, at least implicitly, in developing classification systems for radioactive waste is natural background radiation. The presence of a ubiquitous and unavoidable background of radiation and its description in terms of radiation dose provide a measure of the significance of potential exposures of radiation workers and members of the public to any radioactive waste. Levels of radiation in waste materials compared with levels of natural background radiation have played an important role in radioactive waste classification. 

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