DIVERSE USES OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS PRODUCE LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN THE SOUTHWESTERN COMPACT REGION

Tables 1 and 2 report low-level radioactive waste generated in the Southwestern Compact region (Arizona, California, North Dakota, and South Dakota) by volume (cubic feet) and activity (curies) for the five-year period 1988-1992. Note that whether counted by volume or activity, utility waste accounts for less than half of the low-level waste produced in the region. Industrial users of radioactive materials, including pharmaceutical and biomedical companies, are major generators of low-level waste in California and the Southwestern Compact region.

Since January, 1993, options for disposal of LLRW have been severely limited, and many corporations and institutions that use radioactive materials in the Southwestern Compact region are storing their wastes on-site awaiting the opening of the proposed Ward Valley disposal facility. Therefore, shipments of waste to disposal facilities since 1993 do not accurately reflect the waste that is actually being generated. Data for waste shipments for the period 1988-1992 provide a better representation of the sources of LLRW in the four-state compact region.

Table 1. Volumes of LLRW Shipped from Southwestern Compact States, 1988-1992
(Cubic feet)
STATE Academic Government Industrial Medical Utility TOTAL
Arizona 4,375.84 547.31 1,372.59 48.82 119,206.71 125,551.27
California 62,704.55 37,929.54 193,725.98 27,692.89 120,132.16 442,185.12
North Dakota 44.95 8.35 102.66 16.36 76.01 248.33
South Dakota 3.75 4.0 85.38 0.54 12,518.18 12,611.85
TOTAL 67,129.09 38,489.20 195,286.61 27,758.61 251,933.06 580,596.57
11.6% 6.6% 33.6% 4.8% 43.4% 100.0%




Table 2. Activities of LLRW Shipped from Southwestern Compact States, 1988-1992
(Curies)
STATE Academic Government Industrial Medical Utility TOTAL
Arizona 26.92 484.68 61.51 2.1 3,529.03 4,104.24
California 363.79 4,112.57 44,269.24 276.51 14,857.69 63,879.8
North Dakota .28 116.55 .75 .17 6.09 123.84
South Dakota .01 32.43 9.74 .05 561.31 603.54
TOTAL 391.0 4,746.23 44,341.24 278.83 18,954.12 68,711.42
.6% 6.9% 64.5% .4% 27.6% 100.0%
Data Source: 1988-1992 State-by-State Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive Wastes Received at Commercial Disposal Sites (DOE/LLW-87, 107, 132, 152, and 181). Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management.
Wastes from university medical centers and medical research facilities are reported as "Academic," and wastes generated by pharmaceutical and biomedical companies are reported as "Industrial."

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