United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 97-043 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Wednesday, March 19, 1997)

NRC ISSUES FINAL TECHNICAL POSITION ON DISPOSAL

OF RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED BAGHOUSE DUST

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing guidance for

the disposal of furnace dust and other related wastes at steel

mills that have accidentally been contaminated with cesium-137, a

radioactive material.

Over the past decade, several incidents have occurred in

which radioactive material used in industrial devices has been

inadvertently mixed with scrap metal that was being recycled as

part of the steel production process. If this radioactive

material is not removed before the melting process, it can

contaminate the steel facility's emission control system and the

dust, which is collected in bag-type filters.

The mixture of radioactive cesium with scrap material is

caused by improper disposal of an industrial device containing

radioactive material. Although many steel producers have

installed radiation monitors to scan incoming shipments, the

monitors do not always detect the cesium because of the shielding

provided by its container or by the scrap metal.

If the radioactive cesium slips through to the steel

production process, some of it is converted to a gaseous form

which, as it condenses, becomes part of the emission control

dust.

Altogether, steel producers across the country currently are

storing more than 10,000 tons of contaminated dust and other

incident-related materials. In most cases, this material is

classified as mixed waste because it contains radioactive and

other hazardous materials such as lead, cadmium and chromium that

are common to the recycle metal supply.

Disposal options for the incident-related materials have

been limited, principally because of their mixed-waste

classification and the costs associated with the disposal of

large volumes of mixed or radioactive waste. The NRC believes

that appropriate disposal of the existing waste is preferable to

indefinite storage on site.
The guidance that the NRC is issuing has been coordinated

with the Environmental Protection Agency. It establishes the

bases under which the NRC or a so-called Agreement State could

permit, in conjunction with other applicable regulatory

authorities and the disposal facility operator, disposal of this

waste in a hazardous waste disposal facility. (Agreement States

are states that have assumed, by mutual agreement, part of the

NRC's regulatory authority.)

Because of higher concentrations of radioactive cesium, some

incident-related material may not be suitable for disposal at a

hazardous waste facility. Such material could be disposed of at

a licensed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, after

appropriate treatment of its hazardous constituents, or at a

mixed waste disposal facility, if certain criteria are met.

A draft version of the NRC staff technical position was

issued for public comment on January 22, 1996. The final

position reflects consideration of those comments.

In addition, the NRC is studying ways to prevent the

inadvertent entry of radioactive material into the country's

scrap metal supply. The agency is also cooperating with steel

manufacturers to identify the magnitude and nature of the problem

and improve the capability to detect radioactive material before

it is melted with the scrap metal.

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