&EPA Unrted States Environmental Protector Agency Air Ana Radiation (6602-J) 4G2-F-93-QG8 December 1993 ENVIRONMENTAL FACT SHEET Final Amendments To Environmental Radiation For The And Of Fuel, High-level And Transuranic (40CFR Part 191) INTRODUCTION The Environmental Protection Agency - (EPA) regulates the release of radioactivity from the management, storage, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive wastes in order to protect public health and the environment from the harmful effects of ~ radiation exposure. On December 3, 1993, the EPA Administrator signed the amendments to its 40 CFR Pan 191 radioactive waste standards. "Hie standards limits on of radiation from the management, storage, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level and transuranie radioactive wastes. Sources of spent nuclear fuel include fuel discharged from commercial nuclear power and nuclear defense production reactors, High-level radioactive waste is created when spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed in order to recover unflssiotted uranium and plutonium for use in weapons programs. Current plans envision it mixed with a form of glass. Most transuranie waste consists of that have become contaminated during activities with the production of nuclear weapons, e.g., rags, equipment, tools, md contaminated organic or inorganic These will apply to the storage, and disposal of radioactive at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, which the Department of Energy is developing in New Mexico, They will not apply, however, to disposal of radioactive waste at the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada repository, according to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act. Yucca Mountain will be addressed in a separate set of standards as required by the Energy Policv Act of 1992. The amendments address only two disposal provisions of a larger set of standards for the management, storage, and disposal of radioactive wastes. The Agency originally issued the entire set of standards in 1985, Following a legal challenge to the standards, the court directed EPA to reconsider the disposal provisions. The court left the provisions dealing with management and storage of the wastes intact, The disposal standards consist of four requirements that are designed to set limits on the of radiation that may result from the disposal of the wastes. The four types of requirements are; Containment Requirements; Assurance Requirements; Individual Protection Requirements; and Ground Water Protection Requirements. THE In the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act of 1992 LWA), Congress all disposal that the court had not found fault with, i.e., all but the Individual Requirements and the Ground Water Protection Requirements; EPA's amendments only those two disposal provisions. ------- be at die WPP, EPA certify the facility will comply the EPA the WIPP every five years. The apply to the Facility which is on the Tot Site, For of the of ttiis on EPA's role the WIPP LWA, the EPA at flie & U.S. Agency of and Ak 401 M S.W. DC Hhe EPA hw an No. R-89-01, that on this The is at-; U.S. EPA Ak 401M S.W. DC are is in and Fe, NM. For die on sad as well as the of EPA the WIPP, call EPA*s Line M ------- |