Fundamental Principles of and Reactions to the June 2001 Enviromental Radiation Protection Standards for the Yucca Mountain Site

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Monroe ◽  
Dan Schultheisz
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
The United States ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Radiation ◽  
Energy Policy Act ◽  
Mountain Site ◽  
High Level

Abstract On June 13, 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued final public health and environmental radiation protection standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EnPA) had directed USEPA to develop these standards for the Yucca Mountain site.

Amendments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (40 CFR Part 197)

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond L. Clark ◽  
Kenneth Czyscinski ◽  
Reid J. Rosnick ◽  
Daniel Schultheisz
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Radiation Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Federal Court ◽  
The United States ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Environmental Radiation

In 2001, as directed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued public health and environmental radiation protection standards for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Several parties sued the Agency on numerous aspects of the rule. A Federal Court upheld EPA on all counts except for the compliance period associated with the individual-protection standard, which the Agency had limited to 10,000 years for a number of technical and policy reasons. However, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) had recommended that the standard be set for the time of peak risk, within the limits imposed by the long-term stability of the geologic environment, which NAS estimated at 1 million years. EPA’s standards required that the Department of Energy (DOE) project doses to the time of peak dose but did not apply a compliance standard to these longer term projections. The Court ruled that EPA’s 10,000-year compliance period was inconsistent with the NAS recommendation. This aspect of the rule was vacated and remanded to the Agency for revision. In 2005, EPA proposed amendments to the standards. Following public hearings and a public review period, the final amendments were issued in September 2008. This paper discusses the new requirements.

The Transport of Uranium and Technetium Through The unsaturated Tuffs, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

1986 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail A. Cederberg ◽  
L. Eric Greenwade ◽  
Bryan J. Travis
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Geologic Storage ◽  
Geophysical Model ◽  
Mountain Site ◽  
40 Cfr 191 ◽  
High Level

AbstractAn area containing unsaturated fractured tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is one of the potential sites for geologic storage of high-level radioactive waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 40 CFR 191 Regulation limits the cumulative releases of many radionuclides from the repository to the accessible environment for 10,000 years after disposal [I]. Numerical models can be used to determine if the EPA containment requirement is met.In this paper a preliminary set of transport calculations for uranium and technetium is discussed. First, a foundation for the calculations, a comprehensive, referenced geochemical/geophysical model containing the current stratigraphic, petrologic, hydrogeologic, geochemical, and material data for the Yucca Mountain site was compiled. Second, the integrated transport of uranium and technetium from the repository to the water table was modeled. An expected-case flow scenario and a worse-case flow scenario were used in the calculations. The sorption of technetium was neglected in the worse-case scenario. Results show that in the case of uranium, the estimated transport was only moderately sensitive to the magnitude of the flow because sorption had a significant effect on the retardation. In the case of technetium, when sorption was neglected, the flow dominated the transport. The EPA contain- ment requirements were met for all cases. These preliminary calculations will be used as a basis to investigate the effects of physical and geochemi- cal processes on the long-term transport of radionuclides at Yucca Mountain.

Yucca Mountain Project Status

2002 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Kiess ◽  
Stephen H. Hanauer
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Regulatory Standard ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACTThe Yucca Mountain site was designated in July 2002 as the United States' location for a geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive wastes. This site designation was a watershed event in the history of the project, enabling the U.S. Department of Energy to seek a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct and operate a geologic repository. Summarized below are the history and technical basis for this site designation and some key anticipated future events. Many of the significant events to date have been framed by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (and Amendments) and the requirements of the regulatory standard.

Scanning electron microscopy of asbestos-containing material where the asbestos fibers are considered locked in a binder

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 472-473
Author(s):  
J. R. Millette ◽  
R. S. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Asbestos Fibers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Binder Material ◽  
Scanning Electron

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled as “friable” those building materials that are likely to readily release fibers. Friable materials when dry, can easily be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder using hand pressure. Other asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) where the asbestos fibers are in a matrix of cement or bituminous or resinous binders are considered non-friable. However, when subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or other forms of abrasion, these non-friable materials are to be treated as friable asbestos material. There has been a hypothesis that all raw asbestos fibers are encapsulated in solvents and binders and are not released as individual fibers if the material is cut or abraded. Examination of a number of different types of non-friable materials under the SEM show that after cutting or abrasion, tuffs or bundles of fibers are evident on the surfaces of the materials. When these tuffs or bundles are examined, they are shown to contain asbestos fibers which are free from binder material. These free fibers may be released into the air upon further cutting or abrasion.

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Technology Transfer Activities of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 685-698
Author(s):  
J. J. Convery ◽  
J. F. Kreissl ◽  
A. D. Venosa ◽  
J. H. Bender ◽  
D. J. Lussier
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Transfer Programs

Technology transfer is an important activity within the ll.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Specific technology transfer programs such as the activities of the Center for Environmental Research Information, the Innovative and Alternative Technology Program, as well as the Small Community Outreach Program are used to encourage the utilization of cost-effective municipal pollution control technology. Case studies of three technologies including a plant operations diagnostic/remediation methodology, alternative sewer technologies and ultraviolet disinfection are presented. These case studies are presented retrospectively in the context of a generalized concept of how technology flows from science to utilization which was developed in a study by Allen (1977). Additional insights from this study are presented on the information gathering characteristics of engineers and scientists which may be useful in designing technology transfer programs. The recognition of the need for a technology or a deficiency in current practice are important stimuli other than technology transfer for accelerating the utilization of new technology.

Abstract 16822: Dust Storms in the United States are Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Mortality

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
James L Crooks ◽  
Wayne Cascio ◽  
Madelyn Percy ◽  
Jeanette Reyes ◽  
Lucas Neas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Cardiovascular Mortality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Ambient Particulate Matter ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
The U.S

Introduction: Extreme weather events such as dust storms are predicted to become more frequent as the global climate warms through the 21st century. Studies of Asian, Saharan, Arabian, and Australian dust storms have found associations with cardiovascular and total non-accidental mortality and hospitalizations for stroke. However, the only population-level epidemiological work on dust storms in the United States was focused on a single small metropolitan area (Spokane, WA), and it is uncertain whether its null results are representative of the country as a whole. Hypothesis: Dust storms in the United States are associated with daily cardiovascular mortality. Methods: Dust storm incidence data (N=141), including date and approximate location, as well as meteorological station observations, were taken from the U.S. National Weather Service. County-level mortality data for the years 1993-2005 were acquired from the National Center for Health Statistics. Ambient particulate matter monitor concentrations were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Inference was performed used conditional logistic regression models under a case-crossover design while accounting for the nonlinear effect of temperature. Results: We found a 9.5% increase in cardiovascular mortality at a two-day lag (95% CI: [0.31%,19.5%], p = 0.042). The results were robust to adjusting for heat waves and ambient particulate matter concentrations. Analysis of storms occurring only on days with <0.1 inches of precipitation strengthened these results and in addition yielded a mean daily increase of 4.0% across lags 0-5 (95% CI: [0.07%,20.8%], p = 0.046). In Arizona, the U.S. state with the largest number of storms, we observed a 13.0% increase at a three-day lag (CI: [0.40%,27.1%], p = 0.043). Conclusions: Dust storms in the U.S. are associated with increases in lagged cardiovascular mortality. This has implications for the development of public health advisories and suggests that further public health interventions may be needed. Disclaimer: This work does not represent official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy.

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