We have issues related to protecting workers from unnecessary exposure to radioactivity. However, we also have larger issues to protect the public health and the environment from unnecessary exposures to hazardous waste and radioactivity. RCRA does not require testing. The RCRA regulations do not provide a standard as to whether AK is accurate, comprehensive, and reliable. AK can give reliable information on listed waste since it is source-specific.
Characteristic waste is a different situation.
AK works best when a known waste stream is produced over a long period of time. The DOE situation is very different from a commercial process. The burden on the DOE to produce reliable AK information is difficult to meet. For example, there was no liquid in the drum in the 1998 videotape of drum S815153, but there might have been liquid in the drum at an earlier point. Debris waste is not an authentic waste stream.