Radioactive Waste Characteristics

Section 340 Section 340.1055  Radioactive Waste Characteristics a)         The following are minimum requirements for all classes of waste and are intended to facilitate handling and provide protection of health and safety of personnel at the disposal site. 1)         Wastes shall be packaged in conformance with the conditions of the license issued to the site operator to which the waste will be shipped.  Where the conditions of the site license are more restrictive than the provisions of this Part, the site license conditions shall govern. 2)         Wastes shall not be packaged for disposal in cardboard or fiberboard boxes. 3)         Liquid waste shall be packaged in sufficient absorbent material to absorb twice the volume of the liquid. 4)         Solid waste containing liquid shall contain as little free-standing and non-corrosive liquid as is reasonably achievable, but in no case shall the liquid exceed 1% of the volume. 5)         Waste shall not be readily capable of detonation or of explosive decomposition or reaction at normal pressures and temperatures, or of explosive reaction with water. 6)         Waste shall not contain, or be capable of generating, quantities of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes harmful to persons transporting, handling, or disposing of the waste.  This does not apply to radioactive gaseous waste packaged in accordance with subsection (a)(8). 7)         Waste must not be pyrophoric.  Pyrophoric materials contained in wastes shall be treated, prepared, and packaged to be nonflammable. 8)         Wastes in a gaseous form shall be packaged at an absolute pressure that does not exceed 1.5 atmospheres at 20°C (68°F).  Total activity shall not exceed 100 Ci per container. 9)         Wastes containing hazardous, biological, pathogenic, or infectious material shall be treated to reduce to the maximum extent practicable the potential hazard from the non-radiological materials. b)         The following requirements are intended to provide stability of the waste. Stability is intended to ensure that the waste does not degrade and affect overall stability of the site through slumping, collapse, or other failure of the disposal unit and thereby lead to water infiltration.  Stability is also a factor in limiting exposure to an inadvertent intruder, since it provides a recognizable and nondispersible waste. 1)         Waste shall have structural stability.  A structurally stable waste form will generally maintain its physical dimensions and its form, under the expected disposal conditions such as weight of overburden and compaction equipment, the presence of moisture, and microbial activity, and internal factors such as radiation effects and chemical changes.  Structural stability can be provided by the waste form itself, processing the waste to a stable form, or placing the waste in a disposal container or structure that provides stability after disposal. 2)         Notwithstanding the provisions in subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4), liquid wastes, or wastes containing liquid, shall be converted into a form that contains as little free-standing and non-corrosive liquid as is reasonably achievable, but in no case shall the liquid exceed 1% of the volume of the waste when the waste is in a disposal container designed to ensure stability, or 0.5% of the volume of the waste for waste processed to a stable form. 3)         Void spaces within the waste and between the waste and its package shall be reduced to the extent practicable.