Regulatory Impact Analysis of Environmental Standards for Uranium Mill Tailings at Active Sites

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency was directed by Congress, under PL 95-604, the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, to set standards of general application that provide protection from the hazards associated with uranium mill tailings. Title I of the Act pertains to tailings at inactive sites for which the Agency has developed standards as part of a separate rulemaking. Title II of the Act requires standards covering the processing and disposal of byproduct materials at mills which are currently licensed by the appropriate regulatory authorities. This Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) addresses the standards developed under Title II. There are two major parts of the standards for active mills: standards for control of releases from tailings during processing operations and prior to final disposal, and standards for protection of the public after the disposal of tailings. This report presents a detailed analysis of standards for disposal only, since the analysis required for the operations standards is very limited.