Disposition of Cesium-137 Contaminated Emission Control Dust and Other Incident-Related Material; Final Staff Technical Position

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing guidance, in the form of a technical position, that may be used, in case-by-case requests, by appropriate licensees, to dispose of a specific incident- related mixed waste. Mixed waste is a waste that not only is radioactive, but also is classified as hazardous under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The specific mixed waste addressed in this position is emission control dust from electric arc furnaces (EAFs) or foundries that has been contaminated with cesium-137 (\137\Cs). The contamination results from the inadvertent melting of a \137\Cs source that: (1) Has been improperly disposed of by an NRC or Agreement State licensee; (2) has been commingled with the steel scrap supply; (3) has not been detected as it progresses to the steel- producing process; and (4) is volatilized in the production process and thereby can and has contaminated large volumes of emission control dust and the emission control systems at steel-producing facilities. The position, which has been coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides the possibility of a public health-protective, environmentally sound, and cost-effective alternative for the disposal of a large part of this mixed waste, much of which contains \137\Cs in concentrations similar to values that frequently occur in the environment. The position provides the bases that, with the approval of appropriate regulatory authorities (e.g., State-permitting agencies) and others (e.g., disposal site operators), and with possible public input, could be used to allow disposal of stabilized waste at Subtitle C, RCRA-permitted, hazardous waste disposal facilities. NRC believes that disposal, under the provisions of the position or other acceptable alternatives, is preferable to allowing this mixed waste to remain indefinitely at steel company sites. The position has been developed through an open public process in which working draft documents have been routinely shared with EPA, and also placed in NRC's Public Document Room to allow interested party access. NRC published the proposed position in the Federal Register for comment (61 FR 1608, dated January 22, 1996). NRC is now publishing the entire final position, together with its responses to the comments received.