Approach and issues toward development of risk-based release standards for radioactive scrap metal recycle and reuse.

摘要

The decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities is expected to generate large amounts of slightly radioactive scrap metal (RSM). It is likely that some of these materials will be suitable for recycling and reuse. The amount of scrap steel from DOE facilities, for instance, is estimated to be more than one million tons (Hertzler 1993). However, under current practice and without the establishment of acceptable recycling standards, the RSM would be disposed of primarily as radioactive low-level waste (LLW). In the United States, no specific standards have been developed for the unrestricted release of bulk contaminated materials. Although standards for unrestricted release of radioactive surface contamination (NRC 1974) have existed for about 20 years, the release of materials is not commonly practiced because of the lack of risk-based justifications. Recent guidance from international bodies (IAEA 1988) has established a basis for deriving risk-based release limits for radioactive materials. It is important, therefore, to evaluate the feasibility of recycling and associated issues necessary for the establishment of risk-based release limits for the radioactive metals.