Waste Disposal - doe-std-1128-98

DOE-STD-1128-98

Depending on the treatment methods available, waste streams may be tailored to be

amenable to treatment. Some facilities are able to incinerate TRU waste. Facilities

with this capability may need to eliminate halogenated, nitrogenated, or sulfur-

containing materials to maximize incinerator acceptance and minimize hazardous

effluents from the incinerator.

8.1.3

Waste Disposal

Waste classifications and treatability groups are important because they determine

waste disposal options.

Sanitary waste is by far the least costly and easiest to dispose of. Liquid sanitary

waste is disposed of in sanitary sewerage systems or septic systems. Sanitary solid

waste is nearly always disposed of by landfill disposal or by incineration with

landfill disposal of ash. Because sanitary waste disposal facilities still face various

siting and permitting requirements, it is desirable to minimize waste volumes.

Hazardous waste is second in ease of disposal for most DOE facilities. Hazardous

waste can be treated to eliminate the hazard only if a permit for the particular waste

stream has been granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Hazardous waste treatments permitted in DOE facilities are usually limited to pH

adjustment, precipitation, and ion exchange for liquid waste and compaction or

incineration for solid waste. Combustible liquids may be incinerated either onsite

or offsite, as conditions permit.

Low-level waste is still disposable at most sites. For NRC and state-licensed

facilities, commercial disposal is an option, but subject to the requirements of the

Low-Level Waste Policy Amendments Act (USC, 1985), which requires individual

states or groups of states, called compacts, to develop local disposal facilities. In

general, local facilities have not been developed, so disposal volumes are severely

limited and/or significant surcharges are imposed in addition to the already high

disposal cost.

Several DOE sites are currently permitted to dispose of their own low-level waste

by burial. Other DOE sites have long-term storage facilities. In some cases, DOE

waste is being placed in retrievable storage in the hopes that the classification of

the facility can be changed and the waste allowed to remain permanently.

Mixed waste disposal facilities require all of the permitting for radioactive waste

disposal facilities plus all of the permitting for hazardous waste disposal facilities.

For this reason, there are very few such facilities in operation, and in general they

are rather restricted in the type of waste they can accept. If possible, it is generally

better to treat the waste than to destroy or chemically alter the hazardous

component. In some cases, mixed waste may be treated to encapsulate the

hazardous component so that it no longer has the leachability or other

characteristics that cause it to exhibit hazardous properties. Mixed waste requires

special permits for treatment, so it is generally preferable to avoid generating it or

to treat it in connection with some other process while it is a useful material (before

it becomes a waste). For example, if the hazardous component is a metal with some

recycle value, or it there are recycle metals in the material, it may be best to alter

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