Wash. Admin. Code § 246-250-010

Current through Register Vol. 24-23, December 1, 2024

Section 246-250-010 - Definitions

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Active maintenance" means any significant activity needed during the period of institutional control to maintain a reasonable assurance that the performance objectives of WAC 246-250-170 and 246-250-180 are met. Such active maintenance includes ongoing activities such as the pumping and treatment of water from a disposal unit or one-time measures such as replacement of a disposal unit cover. Active maintenance does not include custodial activities such as repair of fencing, repair or replacement of monitoring equipment, revegetation, minor additions to soil cover, minor repair of disposal unit covers, and general disposal site upkeep such as mowing grass.

(2) "Buffer zone" means a portion of the disposal site that is controlled by the licensee or by the United States Department of Energy and that lies under the disposal units and between the disposal units and the boundary of the site.

(3) "By-product material" means:

(a) Any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in, or made radioactive by, exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or using special nuclear material;

(b) The tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from ore processed primarily for its source material content, including discrete surface wastes resulting from uranium solution extraction processes. Underground ore bodies depleted by these solution extraction operations do not constitute "by-product material" within this definition;

(c)

(i) Any discrete source of radium-226 that is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; or

(ii) Any material that:

(A) Has been made radioactive by use of a particular accelerator; and

(B) Is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; and

(d) Any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that:

(i) The commission, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other appropriate federal agency determines would pose a threat similar to the threat posed by a discrete source of radium-226 to the public health and safety or the common defense and security; and

(ii) Before, on, or after August 8, 2005, is extracted or converted after extraction for use in a commercial, medical, or research activity.

(4) "Chelating agent" means amine polycarboxylic acids, hydroxy-carboxylic acids, gluconic acid, and polycarboxylic acids.

(5) "Commencement of construction" means any clearing of land, excavation, or other substantial action that would adversely affect the environment of a land disposal facility. The term does not mean 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.

(6) "Custodial agency" means an agency of the government designated to act on behalf of the government owner of the disposal site.

(7) "Disposal" means the isolation of wastes from the biosphere inhabited by man and his food chains by emplacement in a land disposal facility.

(8) "Disposal site" means that portion of a land disposal facility which is used for disposal of waste. It consists of disposal units and a buffer zone.

(9) "Disposal unit" means a discrete portion of the disposal site into which waste is placed for disposal. For near-surface disposal, the unit is usually a trench.

(10) "Engineered barrier" means a man-made structure or device that is intended to improve the land disposal facility's ability to meet the performance objectives in this chapter.

(11) "Explosive material" means any chemical compound, mixture, or device which produces a substantial instantaneous release of gas and heat spontaneously or by contact with sparks or flame.

(12) "Hazardous waste" means those wastes designated as hazardous by United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations in 40 C.F.R. Part 261.

(13) "Hydrogeologic unit" means any soil or rock unit or zone which by virtue of its porosity or permeability, or lack thereof, has a distinct influence on the storage or movement of groundwater.

(14) "Inadvertent intruder" means 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.

(15) "Intruder barrier" means a 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 performance objectives set forth in this chapter, or engineered structures that provide equivalent protection to the inadvertent intruder.

(16) "Land disposal facility" means the land, buildings, and equipment which are intended to be used for the disposal of wastes into the subsurface of the land. For purposes of this chapter, a land disposal facility does not include a geologic repository.

(17) "Monitoring" means observing and making measurements to provide data to evaluate the performance and characteristics of the disposal site.

(18) "Near-surface disposal facility" means a land disposal facility in which waste is disposed within approximately the upper thirty meters of the earth's surface.

(19) "Pyrophoric liquid" means any liquid that ignites spontaneously in dry or moist air at or below 130°F (54.4°C).

(20) "Pyrophoric solid" means any solid material, 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. Included are spontaneously combustible and water-reactive materials.

(21) "Site closure and stabilization" means those 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.

(22) "Stability" means structural stability.

(23) "Surveillance" means monitoring 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 and regulatory requirements.

(24) "Waste" means those low-level radioactive wastes containing source, special nuclear, or by-product material that are acceptable for disposal in a land disposal facility. For the purposes of this definition, low-level radioactive waste means radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or by-product material as defined in WAC 246-250-010(3)(b), (c), and (d).

Wash. Admin. Code § 246-250-010

Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.050 and 70.98.080. 11-03-020, § 246-250-010, filed 1/7/11, effective 2/7/11; 97-02-014, § 246-250-010, filed 12/20/96, effective 1/20/97; 91-16-109 (Order 187), § 246-250-010, filed 8/7/91, effective 9/7/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040. 91-02-049 (Order 121), recodified as § 246-250-010, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.98.080. 87-01-031 (Order 2450), § 402-61-020, filed 12/11/86.