Managing the Disposition of Potentially Radioactive Scrap Metal

Abstract

In 2002, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) issued Report No. 141, Managing Potentially Radioactive Scrap Metal. The report evaluates management policy and related issues regarding scrap metal generated in regulated facilities that have been under radiological control or have radiological concerns. It has been estimated that more than 9 million metric tons of scrap metal of all types that have been associated with the production or use of radioactive materials will be generated during the coming decades at various facilities across the United States. Currently, disposition of such metal has encountered particular obstacles, primarily because of the lack of a consistent disposition policy, systematic regulatory provisions, and, above all, public understanding. Without clarity in the regulatory passage, much of the scrap metal, including metal that has not been contaminated, could be mischaracterized as low-level radioactive waste, resulting in a costly disposition operation. NCRP Report No. 141 identifies this general category of metal as "potentially radioactive scrap metal" (PRSM) and discusses the viable disposition options for facilitating its management. Because much of the PRSM has been found to contain very low residual radioactivity or even none at all, one consideration is to release such metal outside of the radiological control framework. This would require the development and implementation of a set of strict release standards in the United States that would necessarily be risk-based and supported by a comprehensive management scheme. Developing a policy of this kind, however, would entail the resolution of many issues, not the least of which would be public acceptance, including that of the metal industry, of the possible recycling of PRSM in the general commerce.