Industry considerations of concentration averaging

Disposal of low level radioactive waste (LLW) which meets the requirements of 10 CFR Part 61 for Class A, B, or C waste is currently permitted at commercial disposal facilities. Disposal packages containing metallic irradiated core components are typically classified Class B or C due to the high concentration of certain radionuclides. Should an individual component contain radionuclides that exceed Class C limitations, averaging of the component is permitted with the volume of the components contained within the same disposal package. Concentration averaging is utilized extensively to successfully dispose of irradiated hardware waste from nuclear power plants. Disposal of irradiated hardware waste at commercial low level radioactive waste disposal facilities accounts for the largest volume of Class C waste, as defined by 10 CFR Part 61,. Irradiated hardware waste shipments also contain the largest concentration of radioactivity when compared to all other low level waste shipments. A typical disposal liner may contain 10,000 to 20,000 curies and have a surface dose of a few thousand R/HR. The spent fuel pools at nuclear power plants were not typically designed to store large quantities of irradiated hardware waste. The impact on storage space for spent fuel therefore necessitates the removal and disposal of irradiated hardware waste. Different types of irradiated hardware waste are generated at commercial light water nuclear power plants and certain considerations are taken into account for the classification of these components to comply with 10 CFR Part 61. In addition, the concentration averaging alternative permitted by the disposal facility has a significant impact on the disposal of irradiated hardware waste components