94-30696. Generic Dose Assessment for Disposal of Incinerator Ash in a Landfill; Notice of Availability

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 239 (Wednesday, December 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30696]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 14, 1994]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 

Generic Dose Assessment for Disposal of Incinerator Ash in a 
Landfill; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of generic dose assessment for disposal 
of incinerator ash in a landfill.

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SUMMARY: The NRC is noticing the availability and soliciting comments 
on a Generic Dose Assessment for Disposal of Incinerator Ash in a 
Landfill. NRC has assessed potential doses associated with disposal of 
incinerator ash containing low concentrations of radioactive material 
in sanitary landfills. The NRC intends to use this assessment as the 
technical basis for developing guidance that would be applied in 
authorizing disposal of incinerator ash generated by licensed 
radioactive materials facilities.

DATES: Written comments on the Generic Dose Assessment received by 
February 13, 1995 will be considered in determining whether revisions 
to the dose assessment are appropriate and in developing regulatory 
guidance based on the dose assessment. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but NRC is able to 
assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Generic Dose Assessment should be 
sent to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001. ATTN: Docketing and Services Branch. Hand deliver comments 
to 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:45 a.m. 
and 4:15 p.m., on Federal workdays.
    Copies of the Generic Dose Assessment may be obtained by contacting 
Janette Copeland, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T7F27, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Phone [phone]; Fax [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Boby Eid, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T7F27, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Phone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 
and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 assign to the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission the responsibility for licensing and regulating 
commercial nuclear facilities. Over the past several decades, NRC has 
allowed licensees to dispose of incinerator ash containing low 
concentrations of radioactive materials in sanitary landfills. In the 
absence of specific criteria for determining acceptable concentrations 
of radionuclides in the ash, NRC applied the liquid effluent 
concentration values from Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 20. In this 
application, NRC assumed that the unit microCurie per milliliter of 
liquid was approximately equivalent to microCurie per gram of 
incinerator ash.

    Public concerns about disposal of slightly radioactive wastes in 
unlicensed disposal facilities prompted the NRC staff to assess 
potential doses to the members of the public that may be associated 
with disposal of the incinerator ash. NRC staff initiated this generic 
dose assessment to determine whether continued application of the 
effluent concentration values in Appendix B of Part 20 ensure that the 
public doses from ash disposal remain a small fraction of the public 
dose limit in Sec. 20.1301(a). Action has been delayed on several tens 
of license renewal and amendment requests pending completion of the 
assessment.
    NRC staff recently documented the results of the assessment in a 
draft report entitled ``Generic Dose Assessment for Disposal of 
Incinerator Ash in a Landfill.'' Based on the assessment, the staff 
concluded that continued disposal of incinerator ash at the Appendix B 
levels should be acceptable for most radionuclides, provided the sum of 
the fractions of the concentration of each radionuclide and its 
respective value in Appendix B does not exceed unity. For ash 
containing the radionuclides C-14, Cl-36, Tl-204, Ag-108m, Al-26, Tc-
99, Nb-94, H-3, or I-129, the assessment shows the concentrations in 
the ash should generally be less than one-tenth of the Appendix B 
values. However, higher concentrations may be acceptable if site-
specific radiological analysis demonstrates that ash with higher 
concentrations will not result in doses that are a significant fraction 
of the public dose limit in 10 CFR 20.1301. In addition, the assessment 
indicates that disposal of ash containing P-32, S-35, Tc-99m, Fe-59, or 
Ca-45 in solid waste landfills should only by authorized on the basis 
of site-specific analysis.
    Based on these conclusions, NRC is developing guidance on 
acceptable approaches for demonstrating compliance with 10 CFR 20.2002 
for disposal of incinerator ash containing low concentrations of 
radioactive material as ordinary municipal waste.
    NRC will review the written comments provided in response to this 
notice in considering whether to revise the dose assessment and in 
developing the guidance based on the dose assessment.

    Dated on Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of December 1994.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John H. Austin,
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of 
Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 94-30696 Filed 12-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M