Dual regulation of Department of Energy mixed waste

The purposes of this paper are to discuss the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) experience with dual regulation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), as amended, of mixed waste and to describe one mechanism for the resolution of inconsistencies that may arise. To date, the department has not identified any unresolvable inconsistency between the AEA and RCRA, although technical differences are being discussed among DOE, EPA, and state regulators at several locations. As long as the flexibilities of RCRA are explored with careful consideration of the radiological hazard of each mixed-waste stream, the potential for inconsistencies between AEA and RCRA that DOE must resolve is expected to remain small