Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
GENERAL Sec.
236.1. Purpose and scope.
236.2. Definitions.
DISPOSAL SITE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
236.11. Scope.
236.12. General requirement.
236.13. Protection of the general population and environment from releases of radioactivity.
236.14. Protection of individuals from inadvertent intrusion.
236.15. Protection of individuals during operations.
236.16. Stability of the disposal site.
Cross References This subchapter cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.108 (relating to site justification); 25 Pa. Code § 236.141 (relating to general requirements); 25 Pa. Code § 236.143 (relating to demography and land use); 25 Pa. Code § 236.145 (relating to meteorology and climatology); 25 Pa. Code § 236.146 (relating to seismology); 25 Pa. Code § 236.147 (relating to surface geology and hydrology); 25 Pa. Code § 236.148 (relating to subsurface geology and hydrology); 25 Pa. Code § 236.149 (relating to natural resources); 25 Pa. Code § 236.208 (relating to specific technical information); 25 Pa. Code § 236.209 (relating to technical analyses); 25 Pa. Code § 236.245 (relating to content of license application for closure); 25 Pa. Code § 236.246 (relating to application and transfer of license to the Commonwealth); 25 Pa. Code § 236.301 (relating to scope and purpose); 25 Pa. Code § 236.311 (relating to general requirements); 25 Pa. Code § 236.312 (relating to compatibility with site); 25 Pa. Code § 236.315 (relating to recoverability); 25 Pa. Code § 236.326 (relating to remedial measures); 25 Pa. Code § 236.330 (relating to performance assessment); 25 Pa. Code § 236.403 (relating to facility operation plan); and 25 Pa. Code § 236.409 (relating to monitoring plan).
GENERAL
§ 236.1. Purpose and scope.
(a) This chapter establishes procedures, criteria and terms and conditions upon which the Department issues a license for the disposal of low-level radioactive wastes received from other persons. The requirements of this chapter are in addition to other applicable requirements of this article.
(b) This chapter establishes performance objectives, and technical and procedural requirements which are applicable to any method of disposal except shallow land burial, as defined in § 236.2 (relating to definitions).
(c) This chapter does not apply to disposal of byproduct material, as defined in section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2014(e)(2)) in quantities greater than 10,000 kilograms containing more than 5 millicuries of radium-226.
§ 236.2. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Account—The Long Term Care Account.
Act—The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Act (35 P. S. § § 7130.101—7130.905).
Active fault—A fault along which there is recurrent movement that is demonstrated by measurable periodic displacements or seismic activity.
Active institutional control period—See the definition of time periods.
Active maintenance—Significant activity needed during the long term care period to maintain reasonable assurance that the performance objectives in this subchapter are met. The term includes major remedial actions such as replacement of disposal unit covers. The term does not include custodial activities, such as repair of fencing, repair or replacement of monitoring equipment, revegetation, minor repair of disposal unit covers and general disposal site upkeep such as mowing grass.
Affected municipality—A unit of local government other than the host municipality designated as an affected municipality under section 318 of the act (35 P. S. § 7130.318). The term may include a county, city, borough, township or school district.
Broker—An intermediate person who collects, consolidates, handles, treats, processes, stores, packages, ships or otherwise has responsibility for or possesses low-level radioactive waste.
Buffer zone—A portion of the disposal site that is controlled by the licensee and that lies under the disposal units and between the disposal units and the boundary of the site.
Capable fault—A fault which exhibited movement at or near the ground surface within the past 35,000 years.
Carrier—A person who transports low-level radioactive waste from or to a generator or waste management facility or to the regional disposal facility.
Chelating agent—An organic chemical that bonds with a central metal atom or ion at two or more points such as amine polycarboxylic acids, hydroxycarboxylic acids, gluconic acids and polycarboxylic acids.
Commencement of construction—Clearing of land, excavation or other substantial action that would adversely affect the environment of the disposal facility. The term does not include disposal site exploration, necessary roads for disposal site exploration, borings to determine foundation conditions or other preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background information related to the suitability of the disposal site or the protection of environmental values.
Commission—The Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission.
Compact—The Compact entered into by the Commonwealth under the terms of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.A. § § 2021b—2021j) and as contained in the act of December 22, 1985 (P. L. 539, No. 120), known as the Appalachian State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Law (35 P. S. § § 7125.1—7125.4).
Compact states—The combined states, including the Commonwealth, which have entered into the Compact.
Container—The first enclosure which encompasses the radioactive waste.
Containment—The function of isolating radioactive waste from the biosphere by emplacement of the waste within a container, waste module or disposal unit.
Custodial agency—An agency of the government designated by the Governor to act on behalf of the government owner of the disposal site. The agency is responsible for the long term monitoring and care of the disposal site. The term does not include the Department.
Disposal—The isolation of low-level radioactive wastes from the biosphere.
Disposal facility—The buildings, equipment and other engineered features, including disposal units and temporary holding facilities, within the disposal site which are used for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
Disposal site—The property, including improvements thereon, which is used for disposal of low-level radioactive waste. The term consists of the disposal units and the buffer zone.
Disposal Unit—A discrete portion of the disposal site into which waste is placed for disposal.
Disqualifying criteria—Conditions which would eliminate an area from further consideration for disposal.
Engineered barrier—A manmade structure or device that is intended to improve the disposal facility’s ability to meet the performance objectives in this chapter.
Engineered cover—A manmade structure constructed over the disposal facility.
Engineered structure—A manmade state-of-the-art barrier designed to:(i) Provide additional measures for containment of radioactive waste from the environment.
(ii) Provide protection for an inadvertent intruder.
(iii) Provide stability of the disposal facility.
(iv) Prevent radioactive release.
Enhanced containment—Additional isolation of the radioactive waste from the environment as provided by engineered structures.
Explosive material—A chemical compound, mixture or device which produces a substantial instantaneous release of gas and heat spontaneously or by contact with sparks or flame.
Fund—The Low-Level Waste Fund.
Generate—To produce low-level radioactive waste requiring disposal.
Generator—A person whose activity results in the production of low-level radioactive waste requiring disposal.
Groundwater—The part of the subsurface water that is in the zone of saturation, perennial or otherwise.
Hazardous life—The time required for radioactive materials to decay to safe levels of radioactivity, as defined by the time period for the concentration of radioactive materials within a given container or package to decay to maximum permissible concentrations as defined by Federal law or by standards to be set by the host state, whichever is more restrictive.
Hazardous wastes—Wastes as defined in section 103 of the Solid Waste Management Act (35 P. S. § 6018.103) and regulations thereunder.
Host municipality—A city, borough, incorporated town or township, excluding a county, in which the low-level waste disposal facility will be constructed, as designated by the Department under section 318 of the act (35 P. S. § 7130.318).
Inadvertent intruder—A person who might occupy the disposal site after closure and engage in normal activities, such as agriculture, dwelling construction or other pursuits in which an individual might be unknowingly exposed to radiation from the waste.
Intruder barrier—A manmade structure or sufficient depth of cover over the waste that inhibits contact with waste and helps to ensure that radiation exposures to an inadvertent intruder will meet the requirements under § 236.320 (relating to protection from inadvertent intruders) and the performance objectives in this subchapter.
Isolation—Protection of the public and the environment from inadvertent intrusion or direct release of radioactive material from the disposal site.
Leak resistance—The material properties of the disposal facility design which retard or prevent migration of water.
Long term care period—See the definition of time periods.
Low-level radioactive waste—Radioactive waste that meets one of the following criteria:(i) Is not high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel or by-product material as defined in section 11(e)(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2014(e)(2)), waste generated as a result of atomic energy defense activities of the Federal government and waste for which the Federal government is responsible under section 3(b)(1) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2021c(b)(1)).
(ii) Is classified by the Federal government as low-level waste, consistent with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 or waste that contains naturally occurring or accelerator produced radioactive material which is not excluded by subparagraph (i).
Management—The reduction, collection, consolidation, storage, processing, incineration, separation, minimization, compaction, segregation, solidification, evaporation, packaging or treatment of low-level radioactive waste.
Mixed waste—Waste that is low-level radioactive waste, as defined in this subchapter, and either contains a hazardous waste or exhibits a hazardous characteristic as contained in the Solid Waste Management Act (35 P. S. § § 6018.101—6018.1003).
Monitoring—Observing and making measurements to provide data to evaluate the performance and characteristics of the disposal site.
Municipality—A county, city, borough, home rule or incorporated town or township as defined in 1 Pa.C.S. § 1991 (relating to definitions).
Passive institutional control period—See the definition of time periods.
Person—Includes the following:(i) The definition contained in § 215.2 (relating to definitions).
(ii) An individual, corporation, partnership, association, public or private institution, cooperative enterprise, municipal authority, public utility, trust, estate, group, Federal government or agency, other than the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or a successor thereto, State institution and agency or other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties. The term includes officers and directors of a corporation or other legal entity having officers and directors.
Postclosure observation and maintenance period—See the definition of time periods.
Potentially suitable site—An area containing approximately 500 acres, for the disposal site, that meets the screening requirements in Subchapter B (relating to requirements for siting the regional disposal facility) and would reasonably be expected to meet the performance objectives in this subchapter and site suitability requirements in Subchapter B.
Protection fund—The Regional Facility Protection Fund.
Public water system—A water system which provides water to the public for human consumption and which has at least 15 service connections or regularly services an average of at least 25 individuals daily, at least 60 days out of the year.
Pyrophoric material—aterial that ignites spontaneously. The term includes any liquid that ignites spontaneously in dry or moist air at or below 130° F (54.5°C), or a solid, other than one classed as an explosive, which under normal conditions is liable to cause fires through friction, retained heat from manufacturing or processing, or which can be ignited readily and when ignited burns so vigorously and persistently as to create a serious transportation, handling or disposal hazard. The term also includes spontaneously combustible and water reactive materials.
Shallow land burial—The disposal of low-level radioactive waste directly in subsurface trenches without additional confinement in engineered structures and in proper packaging as determined in the act.
Site closure and stabilization—Actions that are taken upon completion of operations that prepare the disposal site for custodial care and that assure that the disposal site will remain stable and will not need ongoing active maintenance.
Stability—Structural stability.
Surveillance—onitoring and observation of the disposal site for purposes of visual detection of need for maintenance, custodial care, evidence of intrusion and compliance with other license, permit and regulatory requirements.
Time periods—Specific periods of time associated with the life of the disposal facility. The term includes the following time periods presented in chronological order:
(i) Postclosure observation and maintenance period—The period of time following site closure during which the site operator is preparing the site for transfer to the custodial agency.
(ii) Long term care period—The period of time which includes both the active and passive institutional control periods.
(iii) Active institutional control period—The period of time following site closure and the postclosure observation and maintenance period during which active access control, surveillance, monitoring and custodial care is maintained. This period will last for a minimum of 100 years.
(iv) Passive institutional control period—The period of time after the active institutional control period during which monitoring and passive access control of the facility is maintained. This period will be at least as long as the hazardous life of the radioactive waste.
Waste—Low-level radioactive waste.
Waste module—A discrete assembly of waste containers within a disposal unit.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.1 (relating to purpose and scope); 25 Pa. Code § 236.311 (relating to general requirements); and 25 Pa. Code § 237.2 (relating to definitions).
DISPOSAL SITE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
§ 236.11. Scope.
The disposal site performance objectives establish the minimum overall level of safety that the disposal facility is required to meet. Operation within these levels will provide protection of public health, safety and the environment.
§ 236.12. General requirement.
The disposal facility shall be sited, designed, operated, closed and controlled after closure so that reasonable assurance exists that exposures to individuals are within the requirements established in the performance objectives in § § 236.13—236.16.
§ 236.13. Protection of the general population and environment from releases of radioactivity.
Concentrations of radioactive material which may be released to the general environment in groundwater, surface water, air, soil, plants or animals may not result in an annual dose exceeding an equivalent of 25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid and 25 millirems to any other organ of any member of the public. Releases of radioactivity in effluents to the general environment shall be as low as reasonably achievable and within the most restrictive Federal and Commonwealth regulations and standards which are applicable.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.12 (relating to general requirement); 25 Pa. Code § 236.15 (relating to protection of individuals during operations); 25 Pa. Code § 236.225 (relating to requirements for issuance of a license); 25 Pa. Code § 236.314 (relating to enhanced containment); and 25 Pa. Code § 236.603 (relating to assurance for onsite cleanup during operation).
§ 236.14. Protection of individuals from inadvertent intrusion.
Design, operation and closure of the disposal facility shall ensure protection of an individual from inadvertently intruding into the disposal site and occupying the site or contacting the waste after active institutional controls over the disposal site have been removed.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.12 (relating to general requirement); and 25 Pa. Code § 236.225 (relating to requirements for issuance of a license).
§ 236.15. Protection of individuals during operations.
Operations at the disposal facility shall be conducted in compliance with the standards for radiation protection in Chapter 219 (relating to standards for protection against radiation), except for releases of radioactivity in effluents from the disposal facility, which shall be governed by § 236.13 (relating to protection of the general population and environment from releases of radioactivity). Effort shall be made to maintain radiation exposures as low as is reasonably achievable.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.12 (relating to general requirement); and 25 Pa. Code § 236.603 (relating to assurance for onsite cleanup during operation).
§ 236.16. Stability of the disposal site.
The disposal facility shall be sited, designed, used, operated and closed to achieve long term stability of the disposal site and to eliminate to the extent practicable the need for ongoing active maintenance of the disposal site following closure so that only surveillance, monitoring or minor custodial care are required.
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 236.12 (relating to general requirement); and 25 Pa. Code § 236.314 (relating to enhanced containment).
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