Uranium - sdmp-00330147

DOE-HDBK-XXXX-2005

06/30/2005

recognized Type B packages are the massive casks used for transporting spent nuclear fuel.

Large-capacity cranes and mechanical lifting equipment are usually needed to handle Type B

packages. (See Type A packaging.)

Note: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission calls this "Type B packaging" and defines a "Type

B package" as "a Type B packaging together with its radioactive contents." Draft DOE M

435.1 defines "packaging" similarly to the NRC, as "A receptacle and any other components

or materials necessary for the receptacle to perform its required containment function," and

defines "package" as "Any packaging plus its contents."

[Derived from 10 CFR 71, 49 CFR 173 Subpart I]

174. URANIUM. A radioactive, metallic element with the atomic number 92; the heaviest naturally

occurring element. Uranium has 14 known isotopes, of which uranium-238 is the most

abundant in nature. Uranium-235 is commonly used as a fuel for nuclear fission. (See natural

uranium, enriched uranium, and depleted uranium.) [Derived from AHD, UI, NRC Glossary]

175. WASTE CHARACTERIZATION. The identification of waste composition and properties by

reviewing process knowledge, nondestructive examination, nondestructive assay, or sampling

and analysis. Characterization provides the basis for determining appropriate storage,

treatment, handling, transportation, and disposal requirements. [Derived from DOE Glossary]

176. WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT (WIPP). A U.S. Department of Energy facility

designed and authorized to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste in a mined

underground facility in deep geologic salt beds. It is located in southeastern New Mexico, 26

miles (42 km) east of the city of Carlsbad.[Derived from DOE CAO]

177. WASTE MINIMIZATION. Actions that economically avoid or decrease waste production by

reducing waste generation at the source, reducing the toxicity of hazardous waste, improving

efficiency of energy usage, or recycling wastes. [Derived from DOE P4]

178. WEIGHTING FACTOR. Generally, a method of attaching different importance values to

different items or characteristics. In the context of radiation protection, the proportion of the

risk of effects resulting from irradiation of a particular organ or tissue to the total risk of effects

when the whole body is irradiated uniformly (e.g., the organ dose weighting factor for the lung

is 0.12, compared to 1.0 for the whole body). Weighting factors are used for calculating the

effective dose equivalent. [Derived from 10 CFR 20.1003]

179. WETLANDS. Those areas that are inundated by surface or groundwater with a frequency

sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do or would support, a prevalence of

vegetative or aquatic life that requires saturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions for

growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar

areas (e.g., sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, river overflow areas, mudflats, natural ponds).

[10 CFR 1022.4 ]

A-34