Key Issues
Disposal of Commercial Low-Level Radioactive Waste
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September 2009
Key Facts
Beneficial Activities Create Low-Level Waste
Many socially beneficial activities use radioactive materials, producing low-level radioactive waste as an unavoidable byproduct. These activities include:
The 104 operating nuclear power plants produce about one-fifth of U.S. electricity, without producing greenhouse gases or emissions regulated by the Clean Air Act. As a byproduct of their operation, these plants produce LLW.
The LLW from nuclear power plants accounts for half the volume and most of the radioactivity in LLW produced in the United States.
The remaining LLW is produced by several thousand other industrial facilities and institutions that use radioactive materials. They include medical research laboratories, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, government and industrial research and development facilities, universities and manufacturing facilities.
September 2009
Key Facts
- Modern society uses ionizing radiation, a form of energy abundant in nature, to provide hundreds of beneficial uses, ranging from smoke detectors and industrial gauges to nuclear medicine technologies and electricity generation. Many beneficial uses of radioactive materials result in the production of commercial low-level radioactive waste (LLW).
- LLW is solid material. It includes such items as gloves and other protective clothing, glass and plastic laboratory supplies, machine parts and tools, nuclear power plant equipment, water purification filters and resins, and disposable medical items that have come in contact with radioactive materials. Commercial LLW does not include used fuel from nuclear power plants or any waste from U.S. defense programs.
- As its name indicates, LLW contains low levels of radioactivity. The radioactive material in low-level waste emits the same types of radiation that everyone receives from nature. The radioactivity in most low-level waste fades to natural background levels in months or years. Virtually all of it diminishes to natural levels in less than 500 years.
- Regulations established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ensure that LLW is isolated from people and the environment.
- LLW is safely transported under strict regulations established by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the NRC.
- Under the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, each state is required to provide disposal facilities for LLW generated within its borders. Disposal may be provided by the state alone or in cooperation with other states.
Beneficial Activities Create Low-Level Waste
Many socially beneficial activities use radioactive materials, producing low-level radioactive waste as an unavoidable byproduct. These activities include:
- electricity generation
- diagnosis and treatment of disease
- medical research
- testing of new pharmaceuticals
- nondestructive testing of airplanes and bridges
- hardening of materials like hardwood flooring
- breeding of new varieties of seed with higher crop yields
- eradication of insect pests
- food preservation
- smoke detectors.
The 104 operating nuclear power plants produce about one-fifth of U.S. electricity, without producing greenhouse gases or emissions regulated by the Clean Air Act. As a byproduct of their operation, these plants produce LLW.
The LLW from nuclear power plants accounts for half the volume and most of the radioactivity in LLW produced in the United States.
The remaining LLW is produced by several thousand other industrial facilities and institutions that use radioactive materials. They include medical research laboratories, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, government and industrial research and development facilities, universities and manufacturing facilities.