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Appendix H. Alternative Approaches to Low-Level Waste Regulation

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) received comments during the scoping process requesting several analyses and comparisons of potential alternative regulatory regimes for low-level radioactive wastes. Among these was the suggestion that DOE consider the regulation of its low-level radioactive waste disposal activities by an independent organization, presumably the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which regulates disposal of low-level radioactive wastes from their licensees. Comparison of current DOE low-level radioactive waste vault designs with a vault designed to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirement and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal standards, and comparison of DOE's current low-level radioactive waste vault design with its current methods for shallow land disposal were also requested. DOE is bound by existing law (Atomic Energy Act) to regulate its low-level radioactive waste disposal activities. A change in regulatory authority for these activities would constitute a major change in approach, including changes in legislation. Such considerations are well beyond the scope of this eis and are not discussed further. This appendix focuses instead on the comparison of alternative regulatory regimes as requested by the commentor.

The first analysis identifies the similarities and differences in the requirements established by DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste. This comparison permits an assessment of the potential for substantive differences in the impacts of such disposal operations. This section also presents a description of the RCRA hazardous waste landfill design requirements (40 CFR 264.301) to which Savannah River Site (SRS) vault designs can be compared. Comparisons of the performance of existing shallow land disposal at SRS with alternative engineered disposal systems were presented in an earlier eis [Waste Management Activities for Groundwater Protection, Savannah River Plant (DOE 1987)] and are not repeated here.

H.1 DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Regulatory Requirements for Low­Level Radioactive Waste

The basic DOE requirements for low-level radioactive waste management are established in DOE Order 5820.2A (9/26/88), and those of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 10 CFR 61 (12/27/82). Several basic factors shape the nature and extent of the respective sets of requirements:

DOE is a major generator of low-level radioactive waste at a number of its operating facilities and has substantial technical and research and development resources and expertise in its staff and those of its operating contractor/waste generator organizations. DOE's requirements extend to the waste generator as well as to the operator of disposal facilities which, for its major sites, are staffed by the same contractor organization and are under DOE's direction.

DOE's requirements implicitly recognize that its major waste-generating sites tend to be diverse in the scope of their activities, materials handled, and wastes produced. DOE's requirements also recognize that these sites tend to be large in size and relatively isolated in location (compared to typical commercial, industrial, or academic licensees of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission). As a result, DOE's policy explicitly requires that low-level radioactive waste be disposed of at its site of origin to the extent possible.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations are more detailed, prescriptive, and process-oriented than those of DOE, consistent with the legal role of the agency as a purely regulatory organization, and the adversarial nature of its licensing and hearing processes. The regulations are also supported by such other documents as Regulatory Guides, Standard Review Plans, and Technical Positions that further expand the direction of and guidance to applicants and licensees.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations recognize the responsibility of the States for disposal of low-level radioactive waste under the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, their likely role as site owners and landlords of the operating licensees, and eventual responsibility for institutional control. Thus, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations provide a role for the host and affected States in the licensing process.

A side-by-side comparison of the requirements of DOE Order 5820.2A and the corresponding requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Part 61 is presented in Table H-1. Selecting this basis for comparison has eliminated from the table the substantial portions of Part 61 that deal with

the licensing process requirements (e.g., the contents of the license application, financial responsibility, etc.) that are judged not to affect the substantive requirements that determine waste disposal impacts. The two sets of requirements were divided for comparison into eight major categories: performance objectives; performance assessment; waste characterization and acceptance criteria; disposal site selection; facility and site design; disposal facility operation; disposal site closure/post-closure; and environmental monitoring.

Table H-1. Low-level radioactive waste regulations: DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements.

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

Table H-1. (continued).

H.2 DOE - Nuclear Regulatory Commission Requirement Comparisons

H.2.1 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

The basic performance objectives for the protection of the general public in DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations are essentially identical: requiring maintenance of releases as low as reasonably achievable, and setting a limit of 25 millirem/year to any individual from all exposure pathways as a consequence of releases from the disposal site. In addition, the DOE Order limits atmospheric releases of radioactivity from a site to no more than 10 millirem/year as stipulated in the EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulation, 40 CFR 61.

An apparent difference exists in the approaches specified for protection of a hypothetical future inadvertent intruder by each of the agencies. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for intruder protection are to be met by a combination of defined concentration limits on those wastes that will not decay to acceptable levels within 100 years (Class C wastes) and emplacement at depths greater than 5 meters or with 500­year-effective intruder barriers. DOE requires assurance that the specified dose limits will not be exceeded after the 100-year institutional control period and requires the specification of the quantities/concentrations of wastes in waste acceptance criteria for each treatment, storage and disposal facility.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission initially proposed a rule that included both a 500-millirem intruder dose limit and concentration limits conservatively calculated to achieve that dose. In the final rule, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission removed the dose limit as a requirement for future performance because a licensee could not demonstrate compliance or monitor that future performance; however, that dose value was used as the basis for calculating the concentration limits for Class C wastes. Thus, the apparent difference between the requirements is only superficial and more a consequence of the formal nature of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulatory process than a substantive difference in protection afforded the hypothetical future inadvertent intruder, since both agencies use the same dose as a basis for protection features.

H.2.2 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Both agencies require a radiological performance assessment to demonstrate the compliance of proposed disposal activities with the performance objectives. DOE also requires a performance assessment for the overall waste management system at each site covering activities from the reduction of wastes generated through treatment to their disposal. In keeping with their nature as licensing requirements, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations are more explicit in the details of the performance assessment to be provided. Both DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission require monitoring to assess actual and prospective performance.

H.2.3 WASTE CHARACTERIZATION AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Nuclear Regulatory Commission waste characterization and classifications apply only to the wastes delivered to the disposal site, whereas DOE characterization applies to all aspects of waste management, from its initial segregation at the waste generator, through treatment and interim storage, to its final disposal. The transfer documents, or manifests, specified by each agency (by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Appendix F to Part 20) require essentially the same information.

Characteristics of waste packages acceptable for disposal are essentially the same for the two agencies, although the requirements set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 10 CFR 61 Part 56 are specified by DOE in two parts of DOE 5820.2A [3.e.(5) Waste Characterization and 3.i.(5) Disposal]. Because of the nature of the materials handled by DOE in the course of its diverse missions, DOE also requires waste acceptance criteria for criticality safety and for (security) classified low-level radioactive waste not applicable to Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensees.

H.2.4 DISPOSAL SITE SELECTION

For new disposal sites, DOE requires the development of selection criteria that recognize the intended confinement technology, and the selection of a site considering both site and confinement technology characteristics. DOE requirements include consideration of natural hazards and of environmental impacts as well as protection of groundwater resources. Nuclear Regulatory Commission site-selection requirements focus exclusively on site characteristics and require their evaluation for at least a 500-year time frame, reflecting the greater reliance for protection placed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on site (as opposed to facility design) features.

H.2.5 FACILITY AND SITE DESIGN

DOE requires facility and site design criteria, the specifications for which (including such factors as stabilization, packaging, burial depth, and barriers) are left for definition by each disposal site [3.i.(2)]; design criteria are to be based on site features as well as expected waste volumes and characteristics [3.i.(8)]. Nuclear Regulatory Commission site design requirements are general with respect to their objectives, except for the specification of the effective life of intruder barriers as 500 years where
Class C wastes cannot be buried at depths greater than 5 meters. In addition to the fundamental site specifications common to both DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, the latter also identifies as requirements the ability of a site to be characterized, modeled, analyzed, and monitored, and the avoidance of areas where nearby activities could adversely impact achievement of performance objectives or substantially mask the monitoring program.

H.2.6 DISPOSAL FACILITY OPERATION

DOE requirements under this title are similar to but less specific than those of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, particularly with respect to the segregation of Class A wastes (determined by concentration of short- and long-lived radionuclides) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirement for deeper disposal of Class C wastes or the use of a 500-year effective intruder barrier. Both are intended to limit worker and public exposures to those specified in the performance objectives (identical for both agencies) and to promote long-term site stability.

H.2.7 DISPOSAL SITE CLOSURE/POST-CLOSURE

DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for closure and post/closure activities are similar. Both require site-specific closure plans; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires plans for corrective measures, while the DOE requirement is for their application if the attainment of performance objectives is threatened or occurs.

H.2.8 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for environmental monitoring are quite similar in substance and objectives; both require programs that will demonstrate compliance with public health and safety standards and provide early warning of migration of radioactivity from the disposal sites.

H.3 Nuclear Regulatory Commission - DOE Comparison Summary

Apart from the licensing procedural elements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, the most substantial distinctions between the requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DOE affecting the disposal of low-level radioactive waste are in the specificity of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations in 10 CFR 61, which are not reflected in DOE Order 5820.2A. To a considerable extent that is the result of the formal regulatory process prescribed for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its licensees. Additionally, the more general nature of the DOE Order reflects the greater flexibility required to manage the diversity of waste materials and forms which are produced by the wide variety of missions and activities carried out by and for DOE, as well as the broad range of existing DOE site characteristics that are not reflected at likely licensed disposal sites.

Despite these distinctions, the performance objectives specified for the protection of the public and workers from the operation of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities are essentially identical, and the means specified for demonstrating compliance (i.e., performance assessments) are also essentially identical in approach. Accordingly, there are no substantive differences in the degree of protection afforded public health and safety inherent in the different agency regulations.

H.4 EPA Hazardous Waste Landfill Requirements

As indicated in the previous discussion, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DOE design requirements for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities are prescribed in terms of their performance requirements (i.e., basically their ability to limit radiological dose to meet the respective regulations). In contrast, the EPA regulations governing landfill facilities for hazardous wastes under RCRA (40 CFR 264.301), although not applicable to low-level radioactive waste disposal, prescribe facility design features themselves. These include, for example:

Each new landfill must have two or more liners and a leachate collection and removal system between the liners. The liners must be designed and constructed to prevent migration of wastes out of the landfill to the adjacent subsurface soil or groundwater or surface water during the active period of the landfill (including the closure period).

The liners must be constructed of materials that have appropriate chemical properties and sufficient strength and thickness to prevent failure, be placed upon a foundation or base capable of providing support to the liner and resistance to pressure gradients, and must be installed to cover surrounding earth likely to be in contact with the waste or leachate.

The liner system must include a top and bottom liner. The bottom liner must include two components, the lower of which must be constructed of at least 90 cm (3 feet) of compacted soil material with a hydraulic conductivity of no more than 1 ¥ 10-7 cm/sec (2 ¥ 10-7 ft/min).

The leachate collection and removal system immediately above the top liner must be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to collect and remove leachate from the landfill during the active life and post-closure care period to ensure the leachate depth over the liner does not exceed 30 cm (1 foot).

The leachate collection and removal system between the liners is also a leak detection system. The requirements for a leak detection system include: constructed of granular drainage materials with a hydraulic conductivity of 1 ¥ 10-2 cm/sec (2 ¥ 10-2 ft/min) or more and a thickness of 30 cm (1 foot) or constructed of synthetic or geonet drainage materials with a transmissivity of 3 ¥ 10-5 m2/sec (2 ¥ 10-2 ft2/min); constructed of materials that are chemically resistant to the waste and leachate and of expected strength and thickness to prevent collapse; and designed and operated to minimize clogging; constructed with sumps and liquid removal methods.

A run-on control system capable of preventing flow into the active portion of the landfill during peak discharge from at least a 25-year storm, and a runoff management system to collect and control at least the water volume resulting from a 24-hour, 25-year storm must be in place.

Thus, the EPA requirements for a hazardous waste landfill do not specify or require "vaults" as such, nor do they specify performance requirements (e.g., environmental exposure or concentration limits), or appear to contemplate that such landfills would consist of more than a trench excavated in the earth with relatively sophisticated engineered systems for leachate collection and infiltration protection. The vaults proposed for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at SRS, as described in Appendix B, greatly surpass the EPA hazardous waste landfill requirements described above.

H.5 Reference

DOE (U.S. Department of Energy), 1987, Waste Management Activities for Groundwater Protection, Savannah River Plant, DOE/eis-0120, Savannah River Operations Office, Aiken, South Carolina, December.