Supplemental information related to risk assessment for the off-site transportation of low-level waste for the U.S. Department of Energy waste management programmatic environmental impact statement

Abstract

The WM PEIS assessment of LLW considers LLW generated from WM activities. A description of the LLW inventory, characteristics, and treatment options is presented in Goyette and Dolak (1996). This analysis does not include the updated LLW volumes that are presented in Appendix I of the WM PEIS. This report includes definitions of the LLW alternatives considered in the WM PEIS and presents data related to the inventory and to the physical and radiological characteristics of WM LLW that are used in the transportation assessment (Section 2). An overview of the risk assessment method is provided in Section 3. In addition, supplemental assumptions and parameters for the risk assessment calculations are provided (Section 4), and detailed results of the assessment are presented for each W M LLW alternative considered (Section 5). ___-------------------- _______--___ ----------- Activity R a d i o n u c l i d e ( C i / y r ) -------------------____ ----------------------_ ----------------------- __--------------------- ----------------------- ----------------------- _____-------_____------ ______-_--------------- LOW-LEVEL WASTE CHARACTERISTICS, ALTERNATIVES, AND ASSESSMENT SCOPEThe risks of transporting LLW have been assessed for 14 WM alternatives in the WM PEIS. The transportation risks for each case depend on the amount of waste transported, the physical form of the waste, and the quantity of radioactivity (curies) in each shipment. This section of the report describes the alternatives considered for WM LLW in the WM PEIS, presents important LLW inventory and characterization data used in the transportation assessment, and defines the scope of the human health risk assessment. DEFINITION OF LOW-LEVEL WASTELow-level waste is radioactive waste that is not high-level waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste (greater than 100 nCi/g), or by-product material as defined in Section 1 le(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Low-level waste is produced in a variety of forms by defense and research activities. The DOE LLW results from daily handling and processing of radioactive materials by DOE defense activities, uranium enrichment operations, the naval nuclear propulsion program, and various research-and-development activities. Low-level waste can contain many different radionuclides in activities ranging from trace quantities to several thousand curies. Low-level waste is present in several physical forms as well, including liquids, wet solids or sludge, and dry solids. Dry solids range from contaminated compactible and combustible materials to contaminated equipment and irradiated hardware. Solid LLW can also consist of soil and sediment and concrete, brick, and rock. Liquid LLW is treated to produce a sludge or solid that may also require packaging before disposal. LOW-LEVEL WASTE ALTERNATIVES FOR THE W M PEISFor the purposes of the WM PEIS, the DOE is considering a range of alternatives for the configuration of new or expanded WM facilities and the potential consolidation of existing facilities. In general...