Branch Technical Position on Concentration Averaging and

Encapsulation

Maurice HeathLow-Level Waste Branch

Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection

Topics• Background• Revisions to 1995 BTP• Stakeholder feedback on

August 20, 2011 draft• Path Forward

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Background – What is the BTP?

• Guidance document for waste generators and processors– classifying low-level waste for disposal under

10 CFR Part 61

– provides a method for averaging and classifying radionuclide concentrations in waste over a volume or mass of waste package

Background• Explains use of 10 CFR 61.55(a)(8)

– “. . . the concentration of a radionuclide may be averaged over the volume of the waste . . .”

• Used by waste generators, processors, disposal facility operators, and regulators of these facilities

• Ensures that appropriate safety measures are employed when waste is disposed

• First published in 1983• Significantly expanded in 1995

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Regulatory Requirements Applicable to BTP

• § 61.42, “Protection of individuals from inadvertent intrusion”

• § 61.55, “Waste classification”– Tables 1 and 2 – define Class A, B, and C

waste– Concentration based (Ci/cubic meter, e.g.)– § 61.55(a)(8) - Allows for concentration

averaging in determining waste class• 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix G

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Drivers for Revising the BTP

• Adoption of risk-informed, performance-based regulatory approach by NRC

• Sealed source security• Closure of Barnwell facility to out-of compact

waste in 2008– Industry proposal for LLW blending– EPRI research and presentation to NRC

June 2008• More transparent text

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Major Changes to 1995 BTP

• Added new section on “Alternative Approaches,” to allow for site- and waste-specific approaches

• Replaced factor of 10 constraint on inputs for blended waste with more performance-based test on outputs

• Increased activity limit for Cs-137 sealed source disposal and other sources

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Major Changes to 1995 BTP

• Tied constraints on mixtures of discrete items in a container (factors of 2 and 10) to class limit, not average of the mixture

• Rewritten to increase clarity

Alternative Approaches• New philosophy:

− BTP provides broadly applicable “look up” guidance & sets uniform level of safety

− Alternative Approaches provides Licensees / Agreement States with specific NRC guidance on factors to consider in submitting / approving alternative guidance

• 1995 BTP significantly constrained use of alternatives

• Intruder protection, with flexibility

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Mixable and Homogeneous Waste

• Certain wastes are homogeneous waste types without a specific demonstration of homogeneity

• Homogeneous waste have no averaging constraints

• New term, “mixable waste”

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Mixable and Homogeneous Waste

• BTP defines concentrations and volumes of mixable wastes below which no specific demonstration of homogeneity is needed

• Mixability is a physical characteristic, while homogeneity (used in the BTP), is a radiological property of the waste

Sealed Source Activity Limit for Cs-137

Class A0

0.001

0.002

0.003

0.004

0.005

0.006

0.007

0.008

Act

ivity

Lim

it (C

i)

Class B0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Class C0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1995 BTPRevised Draft BTP

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Stakeholder Outreach• Public comment period on CA BTP - January 2011• Public workshop on CA BTP - February 2011• Public workshop on CA BTP - October 2011• Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

October 2011• ACRS December 2011• Meeting Disused Source Working Group - February

2012• Public comment period on CA BTP - June 2012• Meeting Disused Source Working Group

July 2012

State and LLW Forum Comments

• NRC staff met with LLW Forum’s Disused Sources Working Group on February 9 and July 17, 2012

• Formal comments from sited States and LLW Forum in mid-February

• Some issues– NRC participation in public meetings to explain

revisions– Greater assurance of generator/processor

classification adequacy– BTP as guidance

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Path Forward• Published June 11, 2012 (77 FR 34411)

• Comment period closes October 8, 2012

• Staff expects to make further revisions

• Final BTP expected in Spring 2013

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Acknowledgements• James Kennedy, Senior Project Manager

(NRC)

• Dr. Christianne Ridge , SPM (NRC)

• Donald Lowman, Project Manager (NRC)• John Cochran, Principal member of

Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratory

Questions

• www.regulations.gov – Docket ID: NRC–2011–0022

• Maurice.heath@nrc.gov– 301-415-3137