Disposal of waste containing technologically enhanced concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials — When is it a concern?”, paper presented at Waste Management 2000

Relatively consistent radioactive waste disposal criteria have been developed on an international basis [1]. This has resulted in a variety of different practices being accepted for disposal of short-lived radioactive wastes, primarily resulting from the nuclear fuel cycle. However, in the past 15 to 20 years increased attention has been drawn to a special category of radioactive wastes for which international agreement on regulation does not yet exist. This involves the large quantities of long-lived radioactive wastes contaminated with technologically enhanced concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials (TE-NORM). These wastes result from the extraction and processing of natural resources, such as oil and gas, coal and mineral resources as well as other activities. Different regulatory criteria are applied for TE-NORM in different countries and even in different States within a country (e.g., USA). Given the widespread occurrence of TE-NORM, it is desirable to have international consensus on appropriate technologies for disposal of these wastes. This paper includes examples of TE-NORM wastes and different requirements which are being applied. Results of some simple calculations are provided to illustrate the potential hazards associated with disposal of TE-NORM and the dependence of those hazards on the method of disposal and the assumed habits of people living where the wastes are disposed of. External dose was chosen as the basis for the example calculations, because it is sufficient to provide an indication of the potential doses associated with disposal of TE-NORM waste while requiring minimal assumptions about environmental conditions and human habits