Below regulatory concern

This paper discusses how a new policy governing disposal of certain low-level radioactive wastes could affect the hazardous waste industry dramatically. A policy statement issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formalizes guidelines that would allow it to declare radioactive materials and waste streams generated by certain practices below regulatory concern (BRC), or exempt from regulatory oversight. Once a petition is approved, the exemption will apply to similarly generated wastes at nuclear facilities nationwide. According to an NRC statement issued with the policy, the exemptions would affect materials with levels of radioactivity so low that they do not warrant the same regulatory controls to ensure proper protection of the public and the environment as do higher levels of radioactive materials