Radioactive waste

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Radioactive Waste
Find the locations of low-level waste disposal, high-level waste disposal , and uranium milling facilities.
Regulated Waste

Low-level waste (LLW) includes radioactively contaminated protective clothing, tools, filters, rags, medical tubes, and many other items
High-level waste (HLW) is "irradiated" or used nuclear reactor fuel
Uranium mill tailings are the residues remaining after the processing of natural ore to extract uranium and thorium
NRC does not regulate all sources of radioactivity; see Who Regulates Radioactive Materials and Radiation Exposure for details.
Regulated Activities
For general information, see the How We Regulate page. For details, see the following:



Low-Level Waste Disposal
High-Level Waste Disposal
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Regulation of some activities associated with radioactive waste is covered under either the Nuclear Materials or Nuclear Reactors regulatory programs. For example, regulation of uranium mill waste is covered under the Nuclear Materials program. (See Uranium Milling under Fuel Cycle Facilities .)
Responsibilities
The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards has overall responsibility for NRC’s radioactive waste regulation program and NRC's Regional Offices (Region I - Northeast, Region II - Southeast, Region III - Midwest, and Region IV - West/Southwest) implement these programs in the states for which they are responsible. Regulation of low-level waste disposal is regulated by both the NRC and Agreement States . Waste regulation is also supported by a Radioactive Waste Safety Research program and by independent advice from the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste.
Related Information


NRC Strategic Plan (Waste Section)
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities
Nuclear Security and Safeguards
Quality Assurance Program

Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are sometimes the products of a nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission. However, other industries not directly connected to the nuclear industry can produce large quantities of radioactive waste. For instance, over the past 20 years it is estimated that just the oil-producing endeavors of the US have accumulated 8 million tons of radioactive wastes.[1] The majority of radioactive waste is "low-level waste", meaning it has low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume. This type of waste often consists of used protective clothing, which is only slightly contaminated but still dangerous in case of radioactive contamination of a human body through ingestion, inhalation, absorption, or injection.

In the United States alone, the Department of Energy states that there are "millions of gallons of radioactive waste" as well as "thousands of tons of spent nuclear fuel and material" and also "huge quantities of contaminated soil and water".[2] Despite these copious quantities of waste, the DOE has a goal of cleaning all presently contaminated sites successfully by 2025.[2] The Fernald, Ohio site for example had "31 million pounds of uranium product", "2.5 billion pounds of waste", "2.75 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris", and a "223 acre portion of the underlying Great Miami Aquifer had uranium levels above drinking standards".[2] The United States currently has at least 108 sites it currently designates as areas that are contaminated and unusable, sometimes many thousands of acres[3][2] The DOE wishes to try and clean or mitigate many or all by 2025, however the task can be difficult and it acknowledges that some will never be completely remediated, and just in one of these 108 larger designations, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, there were for example at least "167 known contaminant release sites" in one of the three subdivisions of the 37,000-acre (150 km²) site.[2] Some of the U.S. sites were smaller in nature, however, and cleanup issues were simpler to address, and the DOE has successfully completed cleanup, or at least closure, of several sites.[2]

The issue of disposal methods for nuclear waste was one of the most pressing current problems the international nuclear industry faced when trying to establish a long term energy production plan, yet there was hope it could be safely solved. In the U.S., the DOE acknowledged much progress in addressing the waste problems of the industry, and successful remediation of some contaminated sites, yet also major uncertainties and sometimes complications and setbacks in handling the issue properly, cost effectively, and in the projected time frame.[2] In other countries with lower ability or will to maintain environmental integrity the issue would be more problematic.