CHALLENGES IN RH-TRU WASTE MANAGEMENT: INTEGRATION OFREGULATORY AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

摘要

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is establishing a remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) wastemanagement program in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) objective of beginning RH-TRUwaste disposal operations in 2002. The program incorporates lessons learned from contact-handledTRU (CH-TRU) waste management and recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences(NAS), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) andthe Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG). The principle of maintaining radiation exposure to levelsthat are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) in waste management activities is also incorporatedas in documents such as: the NAS WIPP Committee’s interim report on “Improving Operations andLong-Term Safety of the WIPP,” April 2000 (1); and the “Joint NRC/EPA Guidance on TestingRequirements for Mixed Radioactive and Hazardous Waste,” November 1997 (2).This paper focuses on the approach to integrate regulatory and safety requirements for RH-TRU wastecharacterization, while protecting the workers, the public and the environment.