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Environment

DOE to assess new radioactivity class

July 30, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 31

The fate of "greater-than-Class C" radioactive waste generated through commercial activities will be determined through a review process announced by the Department of Energy last week. Some 5,600 m3 of radioactive waste from decommissioned commercial nuclear power plants, medical activities, and nuclear research will be affected as DOE prepares an environmental impact statement. The waste is more radioactive and has a longer half-life than Class C low-level waste, which is disposed of in near-surface impoundments, DOE says. In all, DOE estimates some 145 million curies of greater-than-Class C waste will be addressed in this determination. The radionuclides include cesium-137, plutonium-239, americium-241, cobalt-60, nickel-63, magnesium-54, and others. DOE is considering geologic disposal at the planned Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada or at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, which currently handles only defense-related waste. It also is considering "enhanced" near-surface disposal or disposal in "intermediate" depth boreholes at several DOE sites that currently handle large quantities of radioactive material or have done so in the past.

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