Mixed waste: An alternative solution. The utility perspective

The issue of mixed waste is one of significant interest to the utility industry. The interest is focused on the current regulatory scheme of dual regulation. A fundamental concern of the commercial nuclear utilities resulting from dual regulation is that there are currently no facilities in the US to dispose of mixed low-level radioactive and hazardous waste. The lack of available sites renders mixed waste an orphan, requiring generators of such material to store the waste on-site. This in turn causes commercial nuclear power plants to be subjected to the full gamut of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulation in addition to the existing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations. Superimposing dual regulatory schemes will have impacts which extend far beyond the mere management of mixed waste. Certainly the burdens, complexities and costs of complying with the overlapping regulatory schemes will not have a commensurate increase in protection from the real risks being addressed. For these reasons, the commercial nuclear utility industry is working toward an alternative solution which will protect the public health and the environment from all hazards of mixed waste and will minimize the impacts on both the regulators and the regulated community