Plans for Dealing with Loss of Access to the Midwest Compact Regional Disposal Facility: Regional Management Plan

摘要

A sudden and unexpected cessation of operations at the Midwest Compact's regional disposal facility could have dire consequences for the hospitals, universities and industries that generate low-level waste. To avoid interrupting important activities at these institutions, the Compact Commission must review alternatives available for managing low-level waste should the Midwest disposal facility become unavailable. Section 2 describes events that could lead to the premature closure of a disposal facility and the prospects that the closed facility could eventually be reopened. Section 3 discusses possible courses of action leading to disposal outside the Midwest region while the Midwest Compact works to reestablish a regional disposal capability. Section 4 presents a likely division of responsibilities between the Compact Commission and the individual member states, with emphasis on managing low-level waste after a loss of access when disposal outside the Midwest is not possible. Section 5 describes key elements in an agreement between compacts to accept each other's waste when one compact has experienced an unexpected interruption of its disposal operation. Section 6 summarizes key points of the report. 4 refs.