CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFENSE NUCLEAR WASTE USING HAZARDOUS WASTE GUIDANCE

摘要

Federal hazardous waste management regulations were developed with the intent of addressing industrial waste generation and disposal. These same regulations are now applicable for much of the nation's defense nuclear wastes. At the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeast Washington State, one of the nation's largest inventories of nuclear waste remains in storage in large underground tanks. Detailed identification of the waste's composition and the requirements driven by its designations present many challenges in planning for its acceptable treatment and disposal. An approach to resolving the interferences and limitations inherent in characterizing these high-level mixed wastes will be discussed in the context of environmental guidance, permitting, and compliance under the hazardous waste regulations.