Justification Of The Use Of Boreholes For Disposal Of Sealed Radiological Sources

Soon there will be only 14 states in two compacts that are able to dispose of Low Level Waste (LLW): the Northwest and Rocky Mountain compact with disposal options in Richland, Washington, and the Atlantic compact with disposal options in Barnwell, South Carolina. How do states not in one of the two compacts dispose of their LLW? The Off-Site Source Recovery Project can take possession and dispose of some of the unwanted transuranic sources at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). However, there will be no path forward for states outside of the two compacts for disposal of their non-transuranic LLW. A solution that has been much discussed, debated and researched, but has not been put into wide scale practice, is the borehole disposal concept. It is the author's position that companies that drill and explore for oil have been disposing of sources in borehole-like structures for years. It should be noted that these companies are not purposely disposing of these sources, but the sources are irretrievable and must be abandoned. Additionally, there are Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations that must be followed to seal the well that contains the lost and abandoned source. According to the NRC Event Notification Reports database, there were a minimum of 29 reports of lost and abandoned sources in oil wells between December 1999 and October 2006. The sources were lost at depths between 2,018-18,887 feet, or 600-5,750 meters. The companies that are performing explorations with the aid of sealed radiological sources must follow regulation 10 CFR Part 39. Subsection 15 outlines the procedures that must be followed if sources are determined to be irretrievable and abandoned in place. If the NRC allows and has regulations in place for oil companies, why can't states and/or companies be allowed to dispose of LLW in a similar fashion?