Radioactive "Recycling" Update July 9, 2001
US Department of Transportation (DOT)
DOT sneaks in codification of "BRC" or radioactive "release and recycling" levels, denying the significance of this action…
The US Department of Transportation published on February 1, 2001, its final rule on international radioactive transport (on water or involving water), which exempts quantities and concentrations of hundreds of radionuclides from DOT regulatory control. On June 21, 2001, DOT adopted the rule for international air transport. The upshot is that DOT will no longer regulate international shipments into, out of or through the US (if any leg of the journey is via waterway), if the shipper claims that the radioactive materials are less concentrated or in amounts less than those listed in the new rule. The exempt concentrations were intentionally inserted to be the same as those that the pro-nuclear International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to use to "clear" or "release" radioactive wastes and materials into general commerce and recycling. With the adoption of this code, existing uniform international nuclear transport regulations which require labeling and regulation of radioactive materials, are being changed to allow deregulated radioactive waste to move into and through commerce unimpeded and without public knowledge. The new regulations introduce the concept of exempt amounts of radioactivity per ‘consignment’ and increase exempt concentrations for most of the hundreds of radionuclides. In a few months the US DOT and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plan to adopt the same or similar regulations for all domestic nuclear materials transportation and for international air transport. Internationally, the IAEA, through its affiliation with the United Nations and its transport organizations (International Maritime Organization and International Civil Aeronautics Organization), is working to get all UN member nations to adopt the standard (referred to as TS-R-1 or ST-1), which will open the doors between nations for international commerce in radioactively contaminated materials and consumer goods. If the exemption tables in the IAEA recommendations are adopted internationally, preventing the spread of contaminated household items and raw materials will be even more difficult than it is now.
US Department of Energy (DOE)
The DOE quietly continues to release and "recycle" radioactive materials (and properties) into general commerce, according to its self-made, internal orders "authorizing" the releases. The moratorium or temporary ban on release for recycling of potentially contaminated metals from "radiological areas" of DOE sites is officially still in place for now. An Environmental Impact Statement is reportedly being developed by DOE’s Environmental Management Office of Integration and Disposition to review some aspects of the DOE radioactive "release" and "recycling" policy. The scope of the Environmental Impact Statement has not been announced yet. It might address the DOE’s internal orders (DOE Order 5400.5) that allow radioactive materials including metals, and contaminated sites and buildings, to be released, as if not radioactive, as regular sites, buildings, garbage or for reuse or "recycling" in commerce, without public knowledge or meaningful record-keeping. DOE has a "Center for Excellence" in radioactive recycling based in and funded through the DOE at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which has been facilitating the recycling into unrestricted commerce of radioactively contaminated materials from throughout the DOE complex.
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
The NRC has hired the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to provide credibility and recommendations on streamlining the release of radioactive materials from regulatory control. The NRC currently allows radioactively contaminated materials to be released, reused, recycled, or otherwise treated as if they were not radioactive through provisions in licenses and case-by-case evaluations. States, like Tennessee, have given over a dozen permits to companies to "process" and release radioactive materials into regular commerce. So, as with DOE sites, commercial nuclear licensees can do either or both:
The NAS contract essentially has the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission provide and summarize all documents and meet twice monthly to help NAS staff to put out the report. Since the public and environmental groups generally boycotted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s skewed process to set legal contamination levels, the National Academy of Sciences needs to hear directly from those interested parties in the next few months.
CONTACTS:
Secretary Mineta Secretary Abraham Bruce Alberts, President
US Dept of Transportation US Dept of Energy Nat’l Academy of
Sciences
400 Seventh St. SW 1000 Independence Ave. 2101 Constitution Ave.
NW
Washington, DC 20590 Washington, DC 20585 Washington, DC 20418
Norman.mineta@ost.dot.gov
The.Secretary@hq.doe.gov
BAlberts@nas.edu
Public can comment to NAS on NAS website http://www4.nas.edu/weber.nsf/ProjectScopeDisplay/BEES-J-00-002-A?OpenDocument
For more information contact Nuclear Information and Resource Service, 1424 16th St NW suite 404 Washington, DC 20036, www.nirs.org, 202-328-0002 or dianed@nirs.org.