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a \~~ UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

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FEB 3 2009 

OFFICE OF 

AIR AND RADIATION 

David C. Moody, Ph.D. 

Manager, Carlsbad Field Office 

U.S. Department of Energy 

P.O. Box 3090 

Carlsbad, NM 88221-3090 

Dear Dr. Moody: 

This letter approves remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste characterization 

activities implemented by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Central Characterization 

Project (CCP) to characterize RH TRU waste. The letter also approves a specific RH TRU 

debris waste stream generated from the operation of the Radiochemical Engineering 

Development Center (REDC) hot cell laboratory at the ORNL for the disposal at the Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). 

Between June 30-July 2, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

conducted a baseline inspection of CCP's demonstration to characterize ORNL's RH TRU debris 

waste (Inspection Number EPA-ORNL-CCP-RH-06.08-8). During this inspection, EPA 

assessed the technical adequacy of the characterization performed through acceptable knowledge 

(AK), visual examination (VE), dose-to-curie (DTC), and the WIPP Waste Information System 

(WWIS) for TRU waste tracking from characterization to disposal. 

In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, EPA issued a Federal Register notice on November 

26, 2008, announcing EPA's proposed approval of the RH TRU waste characterization program 

at ORNL-CCP (73 FR 72043-72047). This Federal Register notice also opened a 45-day public 

comment period on our proposed approval and announced the availability of the inspection report 

(Air pocket No: A-98-49; II-A4-105). The comment period ended January 12, 2009. EPA 

received no public comment on the proposed approval and the accompanying ORNL-CCP 

inspection report. The enclosed inspection report (Air pocket No: A-98-49; II-A4-111), is 

EPA's Final baseline approval report for ORNL-CCP RH. 

Approval Summary 

EPA determined that the records documenting ORNL-CCP's RH WC program 

implemented to characterize certain RH debris waste stream from REDC Hot Cell Laboratory 

Intemet Address (URL) • http://www.epa.gov 

Recycted/Recyclable ® Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper 
(Waste Stream O`R-REDC-RH-HET) were technically adequate. The approval discussed in the 

enclosed report, is limited to the portion of this waste stream generated between November 1991 

and February 2007 and stored at ORNL. This RH approval is neither limited to a specific 

number of RH waste canisters (e.g., Los Alamos National Laboratory RH) nor a specific number 

of RH waste drum liners (e.g., Savannah River Site RH) as was done previously. This approval 

applies to a subset of a waste stream, but does not include the pre-November 1991 ORNL RH 

debris waste because ORNL-CCP did not provide objective evidence to demonstrate its full 

characterization. In the future, ORNL-CCP can request EPA approval of other RH waste 

categories, pre-1991 RH debris waste, or additional waste streams as a Tier 1(T1) change as 

discussed in the enclosed inspection report. 

EPA is approving the following WC activities: 

(1) The AK process implemented to characterize the RH retrievably-stored TRU debris 

waste stream designated as Waste Stream OR-REDC-RH-HET, and was generated 

between November 1991 and February 2007. This waste is currently stored at ORNL 

and requires repackaging into 55-gallon drums for disposal at the WIPP. 

(2) The radiological characterization process using DTC and scaling factors to assign 

radionuclide values to Waste Stream OR-REDC-RH-HET. This process is 

documented in CCP-AK-ORNL-501, Revisions 0 and 1, and detailed in this report. 

(3) The VE process to identify waste material parameters and the physical form of the 

waste. 

(4) The WWIS to submit data for both characterization and certification for RH TRU 

waste. 

(5) The attainment of pertinent data quality objectives (DQOs). 

Changes to the approved waste characterization program that are designated in the 

enclosed table as Tier 1 must be reported to EPA prior to implementation. DOE may implement 

Tier 2 changes prior to EPA approval; however, DOE must provide EPA with notification 

suminarizing these changes at the end of each fiscal year quarter. The enclosed table (excerpted 

from the report) identifies the types of activities that are considered Tier 1 and Tier 2. 

This letter and the final inspection report have been placed in the EPA docket (Air 

Docket No. A-98-49, II-A4-111) and posted on the EPA website at www.epa.tov/radiation/wipp. 
If you have any questions, please contact Rajani Joglekar at (202) 343-9462 or Ed 

Feltcorn at (202) 343-9422. 

an D. Edwards, Director 

ion Protection Division 

Enclosures 

cc: Electronic Distribution 

Frank Marcinowski, DOE HQ 

Alton Harris, DOE HQ 

Bill McMillan, DOE OR 

Dan Goade, DOE OR 

Richard Farr, DOE OR 

Vernon Daub, CBFO 

Casey Gadbury, CBFO 

Ava Holland, CBFO 

Courtland Fesmire, CBFO 

J.R. Stroble, CBFO 

Martin Navarrete, CBFO 

Dennis Miehls, CBFO 

Steve Zappe, NMED 

David Haar, WTS/CCP 

David Ploetz, WTS/CCP 

Allison Pangle, CTAC 

Wayne Ledford, CTAC 

Patrick Kelly, SC&A 
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