Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Activity

The number of nuclear transformations occurring in a given quantity of material per unit time. See Curie; Radioactivity.

Alpha, alpha particle

A heavy particle consisting of two neutrons and two protons and thus having a charge of +2; the nucleus of a helium-4 atom.

Americium

An artificial radioactive element of atomic number 95. Am-241 is produced by the beta decay of Pu-241.

Beryllium

A toxic metal of atomic number 4. Natural beryllium consists entirely of Be-9.

Beta particle

Charged particle emitted from the nucleus of an atom, with a mass and charge equal in magnitude to that of the electron.

Curie (Ci)

A special unit of activity. One curie equals 37 billion nuclear transformations per second.

Department of Health Services, Toxic Substances Control Program (DHS)

The state agency with responsibility for administering the California Hazardous Waste Control Law. Effective July 17, 1991 this program became the Department of Toxic Substances Control within the newly formed California Environmental Protection Agency.

Detonators

A device used to initiate detonation in a high explosive. Typically these are much more sensitive to shock than the HE they initiate.

Explosives

See High explosives.

Exponential notation

A means of expressing large or small numbers in powers of ten. For instance, 4.3×106 = 4,300,000 and 4.3×10¾5 = 0.000043. This relationship is also sometimes expressed in the form 4.3E+6 = 4,300,000 and 4.3E¾5 = 0.000043.

Firing table

A table placed on a gravel or concrete pad on which experiments with explosives are set up and, when ready, fired. The term is also used to refer to the pad on which the test is conducted.

Gross alpha

The concentration of all alpha-emitting radionuclides in a sample.

Gross beta

The concentration of all beta-emitting radionuclides in a sample.

Hazardous waste

Any solid, semisolid, liquid, or gaseous waste that is ignitable, corrosive, toxic, or reactive as defined by RCRA and identified or listed in 40 C.F.R. part 261.

HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air)

Filter material that captures entrained particles from an air stream, usually with efficiencies in the range of 99.95 percent and above for particle sizes of 0.3 micron. Filter material is usually a paper or fiber sheet that is pleated to increase its surface area.

High explosives (HE)

Chemically energetic materials with the potential to react explosively; nuclear explosives are not included.

High-level waste (HLW)

Radioactive waste resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Discarded, unreprocessed spent fuel is also high-level waste. It is characterized by intense penetrating radiation and by high heat-generation rates.

Hood

An enclosure or canopy provided with a draft to carry off toxic or otherwise noxious vapors.

Inventory

The amount of a radioactive or hazardous material present in a building or laboratory.

Low-level waste (LLW)

Waste that contains radioactivity and is not classified as high-level waste, transuranic waste, or spent nuclear fuel or byproduct material.

Low specific activity

"'Low Specific Activity material (LSA)' means any of the following:

"(1) Uranium or thorium ores and physical or chemical concentrates of those ores.

"(2) Unirradiated natural or depleted uranium or unirradiated natural thorium.

"(3) Tritium oxide in aqueous solutions provided the concentration does not exceed 5.0 millicuries per milliliter.

"(4) Material in which the radioactivity is essentially uniformly distributed and in which the estimated average concentration of contents does not exceed:

"(i) 0.0001 millicurie per gram of radionuclides for which the A2 quantity* is not more than .05 curie;

"(ii) 0.005 millicurie per gram of radionuclides for which the A2 quantity* is more than .05 curie, but not more than 1 curie; or

"(iii) 0.3 millicurie per gram of radionuclides for which the A2 quantity* is more than 1 curie.

"(5) Objects of nonradioactive materials externally contaminated with radioactive material, provided that the radioactive material is not readily dispersible and the surface contamination, when averaged over an area of 1 square meter, does not exceed 0.0001 millicurie (220,000 disintegrations per minute) per square centimeter of radionuclides for which the A2 quantity* is not more than .05 curie, or 0.001 millicurie (2,200,000 disintegrations per minute) per square centimeter for other radionuclides" (49 C.F.R. section 173.403(n)).

* "'A2 quantities' are the maximum activities of radioactive material permitted in the package being transported. These quantities are listed in 49 C.F.R. 173.435; they depend on the isotopes included (49 C.F.R. 173)."

Mixed waste

Radioactive waste also containing RCRA-designated hazardous constituents.

Primary and secondary containment

Primary containment is that set of engineered safety features immediately around a radioactive or hazardous material designed to prevent its release; secondary containment is the set of backup features outside the primary containment.

Radioactive waste

Material that contains radionuclides regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and is of negligible economic value given the cost of recovery.

Radioactivity

The properties that certain nuclides have of spontaneously emitting particles, gamma radiation, or x radiation.

Radius of impact

The distance to which a specified peak overpressure will extend. In this EIS/EIR, the level at which it is calculated is 1 psi.

Retention tanks

Tanks in which liquid wastes and other effluents are held pending determination of what, if any, treatment they require before disposal.

Satellite waste accumulation area

The initial point of waste accumulation at waste-generating facilities. Waste is held here for later transfer to the waste management organization.

Transuranic (TRU) waste

Waste containing 100 nCi/g or more of alpha-emitting isotopes of elements above uranium in the periodic table with half-lives of over 20 years.

Tritium

A radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen, with two neutrons and one proton in its nucleus. Common symbols for the isotope are H3 and T.

TRU

See Transuranic waste.

Waste Accumulation Area

An area specifically designed for temporary storage of wastes until they are picked up by the waste management staff. Hazardous and mixed waste may only be stored in these areas for up to 90 days. Radioactive waste may also be stored in these areas prior to being transferred to Waste Management storage facilities or being shipped offsite.

Waste Generator

Any individual or group of individuals that generate radioactive, mixed, or hazardous wastes at LLNL or SNL, Livermore. Waste generator responsibilities are discussed in section B.3.1.1.

Waste Isolation Pilot

Plant (WIPP)

A facility in southeastern New Mexico being developed as the disposal site for transuranic and transuranic mixed waste, not yet approved for operation.

Waste Management Facilities

One or more of the waste management units for LLNL Livermore site, LLNL Site 300, and SNL, Livermore respectively.

Waste Management Staff

Group of individuals whose sole responsibility is to manage wastes generated at the Laboratories (including offsite leased properties) and perform tasks associated with the management of those wastes.