Nevada Administrative Code › Chapter 459 - Hazardous Materials › DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL › Licenses for Disposal in Soil of Radioactive Wastes › Section 459.8105 - Location and minimum characteristics of disposal area

Current
				  through June 11, 2024
1.
				  The primary objectives in assessing the location of a disposal area are to
				  determine that the characteristics of the proposed area will ensure the
				  isolation of wastes and the attainment of other long-term
				  requirements.
2. A proposed
				  disposal area must have the following minimum characteristics to be approved
				  for disposal near the surface of low-level radioactive waste:
(a) The disposal area must be capable of
				  being characterized, modeled, analyzed and observed.
(b) A site must be selected so that projected
				  growth of the population and other future developments within the region where
				  the disposal area is to be located are not likely to affect the capability of
				  the disposal area to meet the objectives of disposal.
(c) Geographical areas must be avoided which
				  contain valuable natural resources which are known to exist and which, if
				  exploited, would result in the eventual failure of the disposal area to meet
				  the objectives of disposal.
(d) The
				  disposal area must be generally well drained and free of areas of flooding or
				  frequent accumulations of water in ponds. The disposal of wastes will not be
				  allowed in a 100-year floodplain, coastal area with a high risk of flooding or
				  wetland, as those terms are defined in Executive Order No. 11,988, Floodplain
				  Management Guidelines in 43 FR 6030 (1978).
(e) Drainage areas which are upstream from
				  the site must be minimized to decrease the amount of runoff which could erode
				  or inundate disposal units.
(f)
				  Wastes, when buried, must be sufficiently above the water table so that the
				  intrusion of groundwater, perennial or otherwise, into the waste will not
				  occur. The disposal of waste will not be allowed in the zone of fluctuation of
				  the water table.
(g) The
				  hydrogeological unit in which the site is located must not discharge
				  groundwater to the surface within the disposal area.
(h) The disposal of wastes will not be
				  allowed in geographic areas where tectonic processes such as faulting, folding,
				  seismic activity or vulcanism may occur with a frequency and to an extent that
				  significantly affects the capability of the disposal area to meet the
				  objectives of disposal, or may preclude defensible modeling and the prediction
				  of long-term effects.
(i) The
				  disposal of wastes will not be allowed in geographical areas where surface
				  geologic processes such as mass wasting, erosion, slumping, landsliding or
				  weathering occur with a frequency and to an extent that significantly affects
				  the capability of the disposal area to meet the objectives of disposal, or may
				  preclude defensible modeling and prediction of long-term effects.
(j) The disposal area must not be located
				  where nearby facilities or activities could adversely affect the capability of
				  the area to meet the objectives of disposal or significantly interfere with the
				  detection of radionuclides migrating from the disposal area.