Nebraska Administrative Code › Topic - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SYSTEM › Title 180 - CONTROL OF RADIATION › Chapter 4 - STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION › Appendix 4-E - CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Current through June 17, 2024
I. Classification of Radioactive Waste for Land Disposal
a) Considerations. Determination of the classification of radioactive
	 waste involves two considerations. First, consideration must be given to the
	 concentration of long-lived radionuclides, and their shorter-lived precursors,
	 whose potential hazard will persist long after such precautions as
	 institutional controls, improved waste form, and deeper disposal have ceased to
	 be effective. These precautions delay the time when long-lived radionuclides
	 could cause exposures. In addition, the magnitude of the potential dose is
	 limited by the concentration and availability of the radionuclide at the time
	 of exposure. Second, consideration must be given to the concentration of
	 shorter-lived radionuclides for which requirements on institutional controls,
	 waste form, and disposal methods are effective.
b) Classes of waste.
1) Class A waste is waste that is usually segregated from other waste
	 classes at the disposal site. The physical form and characteristics of Class A
	 waste must meet the minimum requirements specified in Section II. (a). If Class
	 A waste also meets the stability requirements specified in Section II. (b), it
	 is not necessary to segregate the waste for disposal.
2) Class B waste is waste that must meet more rigorous requirements on
	 waste form to ensure stability after disposal. The physical form and
	 characteristics of Class B waste must meet both the minimum and stability
	 requirements specified in Section II.
3) Class C waste is waste that not only must meet more rigorous
	 requirements on waste form to ensure stability but also requires additional
	 measures at the disposal facility to protect against inadvertent intrusion. The
	 physical form and characteristics of Class C waste must meet both the minimum
	 and stability requirements specified in Section II.
c) Classification determined by long-lived radionuclides. If the
	 radioactive waste contains only radionuclides listed in Table I, classification
	 must be determined as follows:
1) If the concentration does not exceed
	 0.1 times the value in Table I, the waste
	 is Class A.
2) If the concentration exceeds
	 0.1 times the value in Table I, but does
	 not exceed the value in Table I, the waste is Class C.
3) If the concentration exceeds the value in Table I, the waste is not
	 generally acceptable for near surface disposal.
4) For wastes containing mixtures of radionuclides listed in Table I,
	 the total concentration must be determined by the sum of fractions rule
	 described in Section I. (g).
Table I
Concentration
Radionuclide
curie/cubic
				metera
nanocurie/gramb
C-14
8
C-14 in activated metal
80
Ni-59 in activated metal
220
Nb-94 in activated metal
0.2
Tc-99
3
I-129
0.08
Alpha emitting transuranic radionuclides with half-life
				greater than five years
100
Pu-241
3,500
Cm-242
20,000
Ra-226
100
aTo convert the
				Ci/m3 values to gigabecquerel (Gbq) per cubic meter,
				multiply the Ci/m3 value by 37.
bTo convert the nCi/g values to
				becquerel (Bq) per gram, multiply the nCi/g value by 37.
d) Classification determined by short-lived radionuclides. If the waste
	 does not contain any of the radionuclides listed in Table I classification must
	 be determined based on the concentrations shown in Table II. However, as
	 specified in Section I. (f), if radioactive waste does not contain any nuclides
	 listed in either Table I or II, it is Class A.
1) If the concentration does not exceed the value in Column 1, the
	 waste is Class A.
2) If the concentration exceeds the value in Column 1 but does not
	 exceed the value in Column 2, the waste is Class B.
3) If the concentration exceeds the value in Column 2 but does not
	 exceed the value in Column 3, the waste is Class C.
4) If the concentration exceeds the value in Column 3, the waste is not
	 generally acceptable for near-surface disposal.
5) For wastes containing mixtures of the radionuclides listed in Table
	 II, the total concentration must be determined by the sum of fractions rule
	 described in Section I. (g).
Table II
Concentration, curie/cubic meter*
Radionuclide
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Total of all radionuclides with less than 5-year
				half-life
700
-----
-----
H-3
40
-----
-----
Co-60
700
-----
-----
Ni-63
3.5
70
700
Ni-63 in activated metal
35
700
7000
Sr-90
0.04
150
7000
Cs-137
1
44
4600
*To convert the Ci/m3 value to
				gigabecquerel (Gbq) per cubic meter, multiply the curies
				(Ci)/m3 value by 37. There are no limits established
				for these radionuclides in Class B or C wastes. Practical considerations such
				as the effects of external radiation and internal heat generation on
				transportation, handling, and disposal will limit the concentrations for these
				wastes. These wastes shall be Class B unless the concentrations of other
				radionuclides in Table II determine the waste to be Class C independent of
				these radionuclides.
e) Classification determined by both long- and short-lived
	 radionuclides. If the radioactive waste contains a mixture of radionuclides,
	 some of which are listed in Table I and some of which are listed in Table II,
	 classification must be determined as follows:
1) If the concentration of a radionuclide listed in Table I is less
	 than
	 0.1 times the value listed in Table I, the
	 class must be that determined by the concentration of radionuclides listed in
	 Table II.
2) If the concentration of a radionuclide listed in Table I exceeds
	 0.1 times the value listed in Table I, but
	 does not exceed the value in Table I, the waste must be Class C, provided the
	 concentration of radionuclides listed in Table II does not exceed the value
	 shown in Column 3 of Table II.
f) Classification of wastes with radionuclides other than those listed
	 in Tables I and II. If the waste does not contain any radionuclides listed in
	 either Table I or II, it is Class A.
g) The sum of the fractions rule for mixtures of radionuclides. For
	 determining classification for waste that contains a mixture of radionuclides,
	 it is necessary to determine the sum of fractions by dividing each
	 radionuclide's concentration by the appropriate limit and adding the resulting
	 values. The appropriate limits must all be taken from the same column of the
	 same table. The sum of the fractions for the column must be less than
	 1.0 if the waste class is to be determined
	 by that column. Example: A waste contains Sr-90 in a concentration of
	 1.85 TBq/m3 (50
	 Ci/m3) and Cs-137 in a concentration of 814
	 GBq/m3 (22 Ci/m3). Since
	 the concentrations both exceed the values in Column 1, Table II, they must be
	 compared to Column 2 values. For Sr-90 fraction, 50/150 =
	 0.33., for Cs-137 fraction, 22/44 =
	 0.5; the sum of the fractions =
	 0.83. Since the sum is less than
	 1.0, the waste is Class B.
h) Determination of concentrations in wastes. The concentration of a
	 radionuclide may be determined by indirect methods such as use of scaling
	 factors which relate the inferred concentration of one radionuclide to another
	 that is measured, or radionuclide material accountability, if there is
	 reasonable assurance that the indirect methods can be correlated with actual
	 measurements. The concentration of a radionuclide may be averaged over the
	 volume of the waste, or weight of the waste if the units are expressed as
	 becquerel (nanocurie) per gram.
II. Radioactive Waste Characteristics
a) The following are minimum requirements for all classes of waste and
	 are intended to facilitate handling and provide protection of health and safety
	 of personnel at the disposal site.
1) Wastes must be packaged in conformance with the conditions of the
	 license issued to the site operator to which the waste will be shipped. Where
	 the conditions of the site license are more restrictive than the provisions of
	 180 NAC 4, the site license conditions shall govern.
2) Wastes must not be packaged for disposal in cardboard or fiberboard
	 boxes.
3) Liquid waste must be packaged in sufficient absorbent material to
	 absorb twice the volume of the liquid.
4) Solid waste containing liquid must contain as little free-standing
	 and non-corrosive liquid as is reasonably achievable, but in no case shall the
	 liquid exceed 1% of the volume.
5) Waste must not be readily capable of detonation or of explosive
	 decomposition or reaction at normal pressures and temperatures, or of explosive
	 reaction with water.
6) Waste must not contain, or be capable of generating, quantities of
	 toxic gases, vapors, or fumes harmful to persons transporting, handling, or
	 disposing of the waste. This does not apply to radioactive gaseous waste
	 packaged in accordance with Section II. (a)(8).
7) Waste must not be pyrophoric. Pyrophoric materials contained in
	 wastes must be treated, prepared, and packaged to be nonflammable.1
8) Wastes in a gaseous form shall be packaged at an absolute pressure
	 that does not exceed
	 1.5 atmospheres at 20µC. Total
	 activity must not exceed
	 3.7 TBq (100 Ci) per container.
9) Wastes containing hazardous, biological, pathogenic, or infectious
	 material must be treated to reduce to the maximum extent practicable the
	 potential hazard from the non-radiological materials.
b) The following requirements are intended to provide stability of the
	 waste. Stability is intended to ensure that the waste does not degrade and
	 affect overall stability of the site through slumping, collapse, or other
	 failure of the disposal unit and thereby lead to water infiltration. Stability
	 is also a factor in limiting exposure to an inadvertent intruder, since it
	 provides a recognizable and nondispersible waste.
1) Waste must have structural stability. A structurally stable waste
	 form will generally maintain its physical dimensions and its form, under the
	 expected disposal conditions such as weight of overburden and compaction
	 equipment, the presence of moisture, and microbial activity, and internal
	 factors such as radiation effects and chemical changes. Structural stability
	 can be provided by the waste form itself, processing the waste to a stable
	 form, or placing the waste in a disposal container or structure that provides
	 stability after disposal.
2) Notwithstanding the provisions in Section II. (a)(3) and (4), liquid
	 wastes, or wastes containing liquid, must be converted into a form that
	 contains as little free-standing and non-corrosive liquid as is reasonably
	 achievable, but in no case shall the liquid exceed 1% of the volume of the
	 waste when the waste is in a disposal container designed to ensure stability,
	 or
	 0.5% of the volume of the waste for waste
	 processed to a stable form.
3) Void spaces within the waste and between the waste and its package
	 must be reduced to the extent practicable.
III. Labeling
Each package of waste must be clearly labeled to identify whether it is
	 Class A, Class B, or Class C waste, in accordance with Section
	 I.