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Title: Anomalies in Proposed Regulations for the Release of Redundant Material from Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries

Abstract

Now that increasing numbers of nuclear power stations are reaching the end of their commercially useful lives, the management of the large quantities of very low level radioactive material that arises during their decommissioning has become a major subject of discussion, with very significant economic implications. Much of this material can, in an environmentally advantageous manner, be recycled for reuse without radiological restrictions. Much larger quantities--2-3 orders of magnitude larger--of material, radiologically similar to the candidate material for recycling from the nuclear industry, arise in non-nuclear industries like coal, fertilizer, oil and gas, mining, etc. In such industries, naturally occurring radioactivity is artificially concentrated in products, by-products or waste to form TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). It is only in the last decade that the international community has become aware of the prevalence of T ENORM, specially the activity levels and quantities arising in so many nonnuclear industries. The first reaction of international organizations seems to have been to propose ''double'' standards for the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, with very stringent release criteria for radioactive material from the regulated nuclear industry and up to a hundred times more liberal criteria for the release/exemption of TENORM from the asmore » yet unregulated non-nuclear industries. There are, however, many significant strategic issues that need to be discussed and resolved. An interesting development, for both the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, is the increased scientific scrutiny that the populations of naturally high background dose level areas of the world are being subject to. Preliminary biological studies have indicated that the inhabitants of such areas, exposed to many times the permitted occupational doses for nuclear workers, have not shown any differences in cancer mortality, life expectancy, chromosome aberrations or immune function, in comparison with those living in normal background areas. The paper discusses these and other strategic issues regarding the management of nuclear and non-nuclear radioactive material, underlining the need for consistency in regulatory treatment.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
OECD/NEA Co-operative Programme on Decommissioning (US)
Sponsoring Org.:
none (US)
OSTI Identifier:
828445
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: Waste Management 2002 Symposium, Tucson, AZ (US), 02/24/2002--02/28/2002; Other Information: PBD: 26 Feb 2002
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; 21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; ACTIVITY LEVELS; CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS; INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; MANAGEMENT; NEOPLASMS; NUCLEAR INDUSTRY; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS; REGULATIONS; WASTE MANAGEMENT; WASTES

Citation Formats

Menon, S. Anomalies in Proposed Regulations for the Release of Redundant Material from Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries. United States: N. p., 2002. Web.
Menon, S. Anomalies in Proposed Regulations for the Release of Redundant Material from Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries. United States.
Menon, S. 2002. "Anomalies in Proposed Regulations for the Release of Redundant Material from Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/828445.
@article{osti_828445,
title = {Anomalies in Proposed Regulations for the Release of Redundant Material from Nuclear and Non-nuclear Industries},
author = {Menon, S},
abstractNote = {Now that increasing numbers of nuclear power stations are reaching the end of their commercially useful lives, the management of the large quantities of very low level radioactive material that arises during their decommissioning has become a major subject of discussion, with very significant economic implications. Much of this material can, in an environmentally advantageous manner, be recycled for reuse without radiological restrictions. Much larger quantities--2-3 orders of magnitude larger--of material, radiologically similar to the candidate material for recycling from the nuclear industry, arise in non-nuclear industries like coal, fertilizer, oil and gas, mining, etc. In such industries, naturally occurring radioactivity is artificially concentrated in products, by-products or waste to form TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). It is only in the last decade that the international community has become aware of the prevalence of T ENORM, specially the activity levels and quantities arising in so many nonnuclear industries. The first reaction of international organizations seems to have been to propose ''double'' standards for the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, with very stringent release criteria for radioactive material from the regulated nuclear industry and up to a hundred times more liberal criteria for the release/exemption of TENORM from the as yet unregulated non-nuclear industries. There are, however, many significant strategic issues that need to be discussed and resolved. An interesting development, for both the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, is the increased scientific scrutiny that the populations of naturally high background dose level areas of the world are being subject to. Preliminary biological studies have indicated that the inhabitants of such areas, exposed to many times the permitted occupational doses for nuclear workers, have not shown any differences in cancer mortality, life expectancy, chromosome aberrations or immune function, in comparison with those living in normal background areas. The paper discusses these and other strategic issues regarding the management of nuclear and non-nuclear radioactive material, underlining the need for consistency in regulatory treatment.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/828445}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 26 00:00:00 EST 2002},
month = {Tue Feb 26 00:00:00 EST 2002}
}

Conference:
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