Risk-based regulation urged for some waste

The National Research Council says wastes that contain small concentrations of radioactive material should be regulated based on the actual risk they pose rather than the type of industry that produced them. Although low-activity wastes present much less of a radiation hazard than spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive wastes, NRC says they can cause health risks if controlled improperly. Low-activity wastes are generated where nuclear material is used, such as at defense installations, but also by nonnuclear enterprises such as mining and water treatment. In a March 9 report, NRC says the current patchwork of regulations that governs the management and disposal of low-activity wastes gives federal and state agencies adequate authority to protect the public, but the rules are inconsistent. Regulations for some low-activity wastes are overly restrictive, which limits disposal options. Other wastes that pose equal or greater risk are less strictly regulated, according to the report. For example, NRC notes that low-activity wastes from nuclear utilities often must be sent along lengthy shipping routes to one of only three licensed disposal sites, even though these wastes may be less radioactive than low-activity wastes from other industries that are allowed to use local landfills for waste disposal.