# Presentation: 214584

- HOW WILL WE DEAL WITH THE CLEANUP WASTE FROM AN RDD EVENT?
- Jerome B. Martin and Daniel J. Strom
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- 48th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, San Diego, CA
- July 20-24, 2003

**Notes:**
Martin JB and DJ Strom. 2003. "How Will We Deal With The Cleanup Waste From An RDD? Abstract. PNNL-SA-38550. Paper TAM-A.5 presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, July 20-24, 2003, San Diego, California." Health Physics 84(6):S201.
How Will We Deal with the Cleanup Waste From an RDD? 
J. B. Martin and D. J. Strom, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory   
Radiological dispersion devices (RDDs) may or may not be based on an explosive.  In any case, RDDs may cause widespread contamination and may affect densely populated areas, valuable real estate, and commerce.  If an explosion is involved, people with trauma will need immediate attention from qualified medical and radiation protection personnel.  Contaminated people will require less urgent attention, and the “worried-well” will potentially overwhelm the healthcare system.  Waste from decontaminating people may be solid or may go to sanitary or storm sewer systems, but will not comprise the majority of waste.  Decontamination of facilities and real estate will generate a relatively larger volume of low-level radioactive waste and decontamination will need to be completed in a minimum amount of time.  Decontamination may generate liquid waste that enters storm sewers.  In localities in which storm and sanitary sewers are combined, sewage treatment plants need to be prepared and need to continue to operate during and after contamination arrives.  Solid radioactive waste disposal sites must be established and approved in advance, and government agencies should agree in advance to take the waste without delay.  Decontamination plans and procedures must be developed, trained staff must be identified and organized, and equipment and supplies must be pre-staged in advance or obtainable on short notice. Before an RDD is used, it is important to establish disposal sites, plans, and arrangements that are needed for waste management.  We call for a larger effort to expeditiously complete waste management preparedness for an RDD event.
*Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830.
PNNL-SA-38550. Accepted for presentation as Paper TAM-A.5 at 9:30 am Tuesday, July 22, 2003, at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, San Diego, California.
Jerome B. (Jerry) Martin, CHP
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
PO Box 999, M/S K3-54
Richland, WA  99352
jerry.martin@pnl.gov
(509) 372-4788

## HOW WILL WE DEAL WITH THE CLEANUP WASTE FROM A RDD EVENT?

- Introduction
- Characterization of RDD contamination
- Characterization of RDD ***de***contamination
- Comparison to other decontamination waste
- Existing disposal sites for low-level rad waste
- Storage sites needed for decontamination waste
- Conclusion/Recommendations

## INTRODUCTION

- RDD may be explosive or dispersed by other means
- RDD will be disruptive and expensive to cleanup
- Contamination may be widespread
- The first “D” in RDD is dispersal
**large volume of waste may result**

## CHARACTERIZATION OF RDD CONTAMINATION/DECONTAMINATION

- Human consequences:  injuries, uptakes, skin and clothing contamination; but manageable waste
- Physical consequences:  large areas of surface contamination on buildings, streets, and vegetation
- Contaminated rinse water to sewers (e.g., TOPOFF2)
- Contaminated soil stripping and movement
- Cleanup standards (ANSI N13.12)
- Volume and cost is dependent on “How clean is clean enough?”

## Activity vs. Volume

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- RDD Source Activity (Ci)

**RDD Source Activity (Bq)**

**Waste Volume (m****3****)**

**Activity vs. Volume**

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## Iso-concentration Lines

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- Lines of Equal Concentration

- Waste Volume (m3)

**Iso-concentration Lines**

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## SI Units

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- RDD Source Activity (Ci)

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- Waste Volume (m3)

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- 1 TBq/m3

- 1 GBq/m3

- 1 MBq/m3

- 1 EBq/m3

**SI Units**

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## SI and Traditional Units

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- RDD Source Activity (Ci)

- RDD Source Activity (Bq)

- Waste Volume (m3)

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- 1 TBq/m3

- 1 GBq/m3

- 1 MBq/m3

- 1 EBq/m3

- 1 kCi/m3

- 1 Ci/m3

- 1 mCi/m3

- 1 Ci/m3

- 1 MCi/m3

**SI ****and Traditional**** Units**

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## Waste Types and U.S. Soil Concentration

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- 1 MBq/m3

- 1 EBq/m3

- U + Th in USA soils

- LLRW

- HLRW

- Non-RW

**Waste Types and U.S. Soil Concentration**

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## Disposal Costs

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**Disposal Costs**

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## Multi-kilocurie RDD Sources

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- U + Th in USA soils

- LLRW

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- Non-RW

- 131I

- 239Pu

- 90Sr

- 137Cs

**Multi-kilocurie RDD *****Sources***

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## COMPARISON TO OTHER DECON WASTE

- Goiânia accident:  1375 Ci (51TBq)
-  - 	112,000 people monitored, 249 contaminated (4 deaths, 28 with radiation burns)
-  - Decon required 550 workers, 4 months
-  - 	159 houses monitored, 85 deconned,   7 demolished
-  - Waste volume was 3500 m3
-  - Temporary storage site was critical to expedited clean-up

## COMPARISON TO OTHER CLEANUP WASTE

- World Trade Center (9/11/2001)
-  - 1.6 million tons of steel and debris
-  - Waste volume ~500,000 m3
-  - Moved to 160 acre site on Staten Island
-  - Disposal site quickly approved
-  - Required 1.7 million person-hours
-  - Cleanup took almost 1 year
-  - Cost $72 million
-  - **But waste was not radioactive!**

## Goiânia, World Trade Center, and Potential RDD Waste

- Non-RW

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- 1 EBq/m3

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- Rad. Waste Disposal Costs ($)

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- U + Th in USA soils

- LLRW

- HLRW

**WTC debris**

**Goiânia waste**

**Goiânia source**

**RDD waste**

**Goiânia, World Trade Center, and Potential RDD Waste**

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## EXISTING DISPOSAL SITES FOR LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

- Commercial Sites
**Chem-Nuclear in Barnwell, SC**
**Envirocare in Clive, UT**
**US Ecology in Richland, WA**
- Commercial sites can’t handle 500,000 m3
- Only US Dept. of Energy has large sites (e.g., ERDF at Hanford)

## Hanford’s ERDF: > 1,000,000 m3 Capacity

## EXISTING DISPOSAL SITES FOR LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

- Commercial Sites
**Chem-Nuclear in Barnwell, SC**
**Envirocare in Clive, UT**
**US Ecology in Richland, WA**
- Commercial sites can’t handle 500,000 m3
- Only US Dept. of Energy has large sites (e.g., ERDF at Hanford)
- No new sites have been approved in years
- Temporary storage sites should be approved before an RDD event occurs

## TEMPORARY STORAGE SITES NEEDED FOR RDD DECONTAMINATION WASTE

- New approach is needed:
- 	Dept. of Homeland Security
- 	Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- 	State and local governments
- HPS assistance:
- 	Governmental Relations Program
- 	Scientific and Public Issues Committee
- 	*ad hoc* Committee on Homeland Security

## CONCLUSIONS / RECOMMENDATIONS

- Preparations for cleanup of RDD waste
-  - Decontamination plans and procedures
-  - Identify and organize trained staff
-  - Acquisition of supplies and equipment
- ...other recommendations?