Radiological waste management at Texas A ampersand M University

One of the greatest political and technological challenges facing our society today is the safe long term storage and disposal of radioactive waste. While many people automatically associate all radioactive waste with the nuclear power industry, many other sources of this waste exist. Chief among these other sources of radioactive waste are major research universities and hospitals. At the present time Texas A ampersand M University is temporarily storing the vast majority of the radioactive waste it generates until the Texas low-level radioactive waste disposal facility becomes fully operational later this decade. A comprehensive effort has been made at the University, through a series of programs, to better manage and control the volume of waste generated. It is hoped that these measures will be adequate to ensure that the volume of waste generated will not exceed storage capacity prior to shipment to the Texas low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. With the increasing cost of radioactive waste disposal and a shrinking budget, the management and control of the University's low-level radioactive waste stream is a major concern