PART 191—ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL AND TRANSURANIC RADIOACTIVE WASTES Authority: The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2011-2296; Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970, 5 U.S.C. app. 1; the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 10101-10270; and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act, Pub. L. 102-579, 106 Stat. 4777. Source: 50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—Environmental Standards for Management and Storage § 191.01 Applicability. This subpart applies to: (a) Radiation doses received by members of the public as a result of the management (except for transportation) and storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic radioactive wastes at any facility regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or by Agreement States, to the extent that such management and storage operations are not subject to the provisions of part 190 of title 40; and (b) Radiation doses received by members of the public as a result of the management and storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic wastes at any disposal facility that is operated by the Department of Energy and that is not regulated by the Commission or by Agreement States. § 191.02 Definitions. Unless otherwise indicated in this subpart, all terms shall have the same meaning as in Subpart A of Part 190. (a) Agency (b) Administrator (c) Commission (d) Department (e) NWPA (f) Agreement State (g) Spent nuclear fuel (h) High-level radioactive waste, (i) Transuranic radioactive waste, (j) Radioactive waste, (k) Storage (l) Disposal (m) Management (n) Site (o) General environment (p) Member of the public (q) Critical organ § 191.03 Standards. (a) Management and storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic radioactive wastes at all facilities regulated by the Commission or by Agreement States shall be conducted in such a manner as to provide reasonable assurance that the combined annual dose equivalent to any member of the public in the general environment resulting from: (1) Discharges of radioactive material and direct radiation from such management and storage and (2) all operations covered by Part 190; shall not exceed 25 millirems to the whole body, 75 millirems to the thyroid, and 25 millirems to any other critical organ. (b) Management and storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic radioactive wastes at all facilities for the disposal of such fuel or waste that are operated by the Department and that are not regulated by the Commission or Agreement States shall be conducted in such a manner as to provide reasonable assurance that the combined annual dose equivalent to any member of the public in the general environment resulting from discharges of radioactive material and direct radiation from such management and storage shall not exceed 25 millirems to the whole body and 75 millirems to any critical organ. § 191.04 Alternative standards. (a) The Administrator may issue alternative standards from those standards established in § 191.03(b) for waste management and storage activities at facilities that are not regulated by the Commission or Agreement States if, upon review of an application for such alternative standards: (1) The Administrator determines that such alternative standards will prevent any member of the public from receiving a continuous exposure of more than 100 millirems per year dose equivalent and an infrequent exposure of more than 500 millirems dose equivalent in a year from all sources, excluding natural background and medical procedures; and (2) The Administrator promptly makes a matter of public record the degree to which continued operation of the facility is expected to result in levels in excess of the standards specified in § 191.03(b). (b) An application for alternative standards shall be submitted as soon as possible after the Department determines that continued operation of a facility will exceed the levels specified in § 191.03(b) and shall include all information necessary for the Administrator to make the determinations called for in § 191.04(a). (c) Requests for alternative standards shall be submitted to the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 65 FR 47325, Aug. 2, 2000] § 191.05 Effective date. The standards in this subpart shall be effective on November 18, 1985. Subpart B—Environmental Standards for Disposal § 191.11 Applicability. (a) This subpart applies to: (1) Radioactive materials released into the accessible environment as a result of the disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic radioactive wastes; (2) Radiation doses received by members of the public as a result of such disposal; and (3) Radioactive contamination of certain sources of ground water in the vicinity of disposal systems for such fuel or wastes. (b) This subpart does not apply to: (1) Disposal directly into the oceans or ocean sediments; (2) Wastes disposed of before November 18, 1985; and (3) The characterization, licensing, construction, operation, or closure of any site required to be characterized under section 113(a) of Public Law 97-425, 96 Stat. 2201. [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993] § 191.12 Definitions. Unless otherwise indicated in this subpart, all terms shall have the same meaning as in subpart A of this part. Accessible environment Active institutional control Annual committed effective dose Aquifer Barrier Controlled area Disposal system Dose equivalent Effective dose Ground water Heavy metal Implementing agency (1) The Commission for facilities licensed by the Commission; (2) The Agency for those implementation responsibilities for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, under this part, given to the Agency by the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act (Pub. L. 102-579, 106 Stat. 4777) which, for the purposes of this part, are: (i) Determinations by the Agency that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is in compliance with subpart A of this part; (ii) Issuance of criteria for the certifications of compliance with subparts B and C of this part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's compliance with subparts B and C of this part; (iii) Certifications of compliance with subparts B and C of this part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's compliance with subparts B and C of this part; (iv) If the initial certification is made, periodic recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's continued compliance with subparts B and C of this part; (v) Review and comment on performance assessment reports of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; and (vi) Concurrence by the Agency with the Department's determination under § 191.02(i) that certain wastes do not need the degree of isolation required by subparts B and C of this part; and (3) The Department of Energy for any other disposal facility and all other implementation responsibilities for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, under this part, not given to the Agency. International System of Units Lithosphere Passive institutional control Performance assessment Radioactive material SI unit Sievert Undisturbed performance Waste, Waste form [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993] § 191.13 Containment requirements. (a) Disposal systems for spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic radioactive wastes shall be designed to provide a reasonable expectation, based upon performance assessments, that the cumulative releases of radionuclides to the accessible environment for 10,000 years after disposal from all significant processes and events that may affect the disposal system shall: (1) Have a likelihood of less than one chance in 10 of exceeding the quantities calculated according to Table 1 (appendix A); and (2) Have a likelihood of less than one chance in 1,000 of exceeding ten times the quantities calculated according to Table 1 (appendix A). (b) Performance assessments need not provide complete assurance that the requirements of § 191.13(a) will be met. Because of the long time period involved and the nature of the events and processes of interest, there will inevitably be substantial uncertainties in projecting disposal system performance. Proof of the future performance of a disposal system is not to be had in the ordinary sense of the word in situations that deal with much shorter time frames. Instead, what is required is a reasonable expectation, on the basis of the record before the implementing agency, that compliance with § 191.13 (a) will be achieved. § 191.14 Assurance requirements. To provide the confidence needed for long-term compliance with the requirements of § 191.13, disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or transuranic wastes shall be conducted in accordance with the following provisions, except that these provisions do not apply to facilities regulated by the Commission (see 10 CFR Part 60 for comparable provisions applicable to facilities regulated by the Commission): (a) Active institutional controls over disposal sites should be maintained for as long a period of time as is practicable after disposal; however, performance assessments that assess isolation of the wastes from the accessible environment shall not consider any contributions from active institutional controls for more than 100 years after disposal. (b) Disposal systems shall be monitored after disposal to detect substantial and detrimental deviations from expected performance. This monitoring shall be done with techniques that do not jeopardize the isolation of the wastes and shall be conducted until there are no significant concerns to be addressed by further monitoring. (c) Disposal sites shall be designated by the most permanent markers, records, and other passive institutional controls practicable to indicate the dangers of the wastes and their location. (d) Disposal systems shall use different types of barriers to isolate the wastes from the accessible environment. Both engineered and natural barriers shall be included. (e) Places where there has been mining for resources, or where there is a reasonable expectation of exploration for scarce or easily accessible resources, or where there is a significant concentration of any material that is not widely available from other sources, should be avoided in selecting disposal sites. Resources to be considered shall include minerals, petroleum or natural gas, valuable geologic formations, and ground waters that are either irreplaceable because there is no reasonable alternative source of drinking water available for substantial populations or that are vital to the preservation of unique and sensitive ecosystems. Such places shall not be used for disposal of the wastes covered by this part unless the favorable characteristics of such places compensate for their greater likelihood of being disturbed in the future. (f) Disposal systems shall be selected so that removal of most of the wastes is not precluded for a reasonable period of time after disposal. § 191.15 Individual protection requirements. (a) Disposal systems for waste and any associated radioactive material shall be designed to provide a reasonable expectation that, for 10,000 years after disposal, undisturbed performance of the disposal system shall not cause the annual committed effective dose, received through all potential pathways from the disposal system, to any member of the public in the accessible environment, to exceed 15 millirems (150 microsieverts). (b) Annual committed effective doses shall be calculated in accordance with appendix B of this part. (c) Compliance assessments need not provide complete assurance that the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section will be met. Because of the long time period involved and the nature of the processes and events of interest, there will inevitably be substantial uncertainties in projecting disposal system performance. Proof of the future performance of a disposal system is not to be had in the ordinary sense of the word in situations that deal with much shorter time frames. Instead, what is required is a reasonable expectation, on the basis of the record before the implementing agency, that compliance with paragraph (a) of this section will be achieved. (d) Compliance with the provisions in this section does not negate the necessity to comply with any other applicable Federal regulations or requirements. (e) The standards in this section shall be effective on January 19, 1994. [58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993] § 191.16 Alternative provisions for disposal. The Administrator may, by rule, substitute for any of the provisions of subpart B alternative provisions chosen after: (a) The alternative provisions have been proposed for public comment in the Federal Register (b) A public comment period of at least 90 days has been completed, during which an opportunity for public hearings in affected areas of the country has been provided; and (c) The public comments received have been fully considered in developing the final version of such alternative provisions. [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985. Redesignated at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993] § 191.17 Effective date. The standards in this subpart shall be effective on November 18, 1985. [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985; 50 FR 40003, Oct. 1, 1985. Redesignated at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993] Subpart C—Environmental Standards for Ground-Water Protection Source: 58 FR 66415, Dec. 20, 1993, unless otherwise noted. § 191.21 Applicability. (a) This subpart applies to: (1) Radiation doses received by members of the public as a result of activities subject to subpart B of this part; and (2) Radioactive contamination of underground sources of drinking water in the accessible environment as a result of such activities. (b) This subpart does not apply to: (1) Disposal directly into the oceans or ocean sediments; (2) Wastes disposed of before the effective date of this subpart; and (3) The characterization, licensing, construction, operation, or closure of any site required to be characterized under section 113(a) of Public Law 97-425, 96 Stat. 2201. § 191.22 Definitions. Unless otherwise indicated in this subpart, all terms have the same meaning as in subparts A and B of this part. Public water system (1) Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system; and (2) Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. Total dissolved solids Underground source of drinking water (1) Supplies any public water system; or (2) Contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system; and (i) Currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or (ii) Contains fewer than 10,000 milligrams of total dissolved solids per liter. § 191.23 General provisions. (a) Determination of compliance with this subpart shall be based upon underground sources of drinking water which have been identified on the date the implementing agency determines compliance with subpart C of this part. (b) [Reserved] § 191.24 Disposal standards. (a) Disposal systems. (1) General. (2) Disposal systems above or within a formation which within one-quarter ( 1/4 (b) Compliance assessments need not provide complete assurance that the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section will be met. Because of the long time period involved and the nature of the processes and events of interest, there will inevitably be substantial uncertainties in projecting disposal system performance. Proof of the future performance of a disposal system is not to be had in the ordinary sense of the word in situations that deal with much shorter time frames. Instead, what is required is a reasonable expectation, on the basis of the record before the implementing agency, that compliance with paragraph (a) of this section will be achieved. § 191.25 Compliance with other Federal regulations. Compliance with the provisions in this subpart does not negate the necessity to comply with any other applicable Federal regulations or requirements. § 191.26 Alternative provisions. The Administrator may, by rule, substitute for any of the provisions of this subpart alternative provisions chosen after: (a) The alternative provisions have been proposed for public comment in the Federal Register (b) A public comment period of at least 90 days has been completed, during which an opportunity for public hearings in affected areas of the country has been provided; and (c) The public comments received have been fully considered in developing the final version of such alternative provisions. § 191.27 Effective date. The standards in this subpart shall be effective on January 19, 1994. Appendix A to Part 191—Table for Subpart B Table 1—Release Limits for Containment Requirements [Cumulative releases to the accessible environment for 10,000 years after disposal] Radionuclide Release limit per 1,000 MTHM or other unit of waste (see notes) (curies) Americium-241 or -243 100 Carbon-14 100 Cesium-135 or -137 1,000 Iodine-129 100 Neptunium-237 100 Plutonium-238, -239, -240, or -242 100 Radium-226 100 Strontium-90 1,000 Technetium-99 10,000 Thorium-230 or -232 10 Tin-126 1,000 Uranium-233, -234, -235, -236, or -238 100 Any other alpha-emitting radionuclide with a half-life greater than 20 years 100 Any other radionuclide with a half-life greater than 20 years that does not emit alpha particles 1,000 Application of Table 1 Note 1: Units of Waste. (a) An amount of spent nuclear fuel containing 1,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) exposed to a burnup between 25,000 megawatt-days per metric ton of heavy metal (MWd/MTHM) and 40,000 MWd/MTHM; (b) The high-level radioactive wastes generated from reprocessing each 1,000 MTHM exposed to a burnup between 25,000 MWd/MTHM and 40,000 MWd/MTHM; (c) Each 100,000,000 curies of gamma or beta-emitting radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years but less than 100 years (for use as discussed in Note 5 or with materials that are identified by the Commission as high-level radioactive waste in accordance with part B of the definition of high-level waste in the NWPA); (d) Each 1,000,000 curies of other radionuclides ( i.e. (e) An amount of transuranic (TRU) wastes containing one million curies of alpha-emitting transuranic radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years. Note 2: Release Limits for Specific Disposal Systems. (a) If a particular disposal system contained the high-level wastes from 50,000 MTHM, the Release Limits for that system would be the quantities in Table 1 multiplied by 50 (50,000 MTHM divided by 1,000 MTHM). (b) If a particular disposal system contained three million curies of alpha-emitting transuranic wastes, the Release Limits for that system would be the quantities in Table 1 multiplied by three (three million curies divided by one million curies). (c) If a particular disposal system contained both the high-level wastes from 50,000 MTHM and Note 3: Adjustments for Reactor Fuels with Different Burnup. For example, if a particular disposal system contained only high-level wastes with an average burnup of 3,000 MWd/MTHM, the unit of waste for that disposal system would be: If that disposal system contained the high-level wastes from 60,000 MTHM (with an average burnup of 3,000 MWd/MTHM), then the Release Limits for that system would be the quantities in Table 1 multiplied by ten: which is the same as: Note 4: Treatment of Fractionated High-Level Wastes. Note 5: Treatment of Wastes with Poorly Known Burnups or Original MTHM. Note 6: Uses of Release Limits to Determine Compliance with § 191.13 For example, if radionuclides A, B, and C are projected to be released in amounts Q a b c a b c [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 58 FR 66415, Dec. 20, 1993] Appendix B to Part 191—Calculation of Annual Committed Effective Dose I. Equivalent Dose The calculation of the committed effective dose (CED) begins with the determination of the equivalent dose, H T where D T, R R Table B.1—Radiation Weighting Factors, w R 1 Radiation type and energy range 2 w R Photons, all energies 1 Electrons and muons, all energies 1 Neutrons, energy <10 keV 5 10 keV to 100 keV 10 >100 keV to 2 MeV 20 >2 MeV to 20 MeV 10 >20 MeV 5 Protons, other than recoil protons, >2 MeV 5 Alpha particles, fission fragments, heavy nuclei 20 1 2 II. Effective Dose The next step is the calculation of the effective dose, E. The probability of occurrence of a stochastic effect in a tissue or organ is assumed to be proportional to the equivalent dose in the tissue or organ. The constant of proportionality differs for the various tissues of the body, but in assessing health detriment the total risk is required. This is taken into account using the tissue weighting factors, w T T Table B.2—Tissue Weighting Factors, w T 1 Tissue or organ w T Gonads 0.25 Breast 0.15 Red bone marrow 0.12 Lung 0.12 Thyroid 0.03 Bone surfaces 0.03 Remainder 2 1 2 E III. Annual Committed Tissue or Organ Equivalent Dose For internal irradiation from incorporated radionuclides, the total absorbed dose will be spread out in time, being gradually delivered as the radionuclide decays. The time distribution of the absorbed dose rate will vary with the radionuclide, its form, the mode of intake and the tissue within which it is incorporated. To take account of this distribution the quantity committed equivalent dose, HΤ(τ) where is the integration time in years following an intake over any particular year, is used and is the integral over time of the equivalent dose rate in a particular tissue or organ that will be received by an individual following an intake of radioactive material into the body. The time period, τ, is taken as 50 years as an average time of exposure following intake: for a single intake of activity at time t 0 T IV. Annual Committed Effective Dose If the committed equivalent doses to the individual tissues or organs resulting from an annual intake are multiplied by the appropriate weighting factors, w T [58 FR 66415, Dec. 20, 1993] Appendix C to Part 191—Guidance for Implementation of Subpart B [ Note: The Agency believes that the implementing agencies must determine compliance with §§ 191.13, 191.15, and 191.16 of subpart B by evaluating long-term predictions of disposal system performance. Determining compliance with § 191.13 will also involve predicting the likelihood of events and processes that may disturb the disposal system. In making these various predictions, it will be appropriate for the implementing agencies to make use of rather complex computational models, analytical theories, and prevalent expert judgment relevant to the numerical predictions. Substantial uncertainties are likely to be encountered in making these predictions. In fact, sole reliance on these numerical predictions to determine compliance may not be appropriate; the implementing agencies may choose to supplement such predictions with qualitative judgments as well. Because the procedures for determining compliance with subpart B have not been formulated and tested yet, this appendix to the rule indicates the Agency's assumptions regarding certain issues that may arise when implementing §§ 191.13, 191.15, and 191.16. Most of this guidance applies to any type of disposal system for the wastes covered by this rule. However, several sections apply only to disposal in mined geologic repositories and would be inappropriate for other types of disposal systems. Consideration of Total Disposal System. Scope of Performance Assessments. Compliance with § 191.13. Compliance with §§ 191.15 and 191.16. Institutional Controls. Consideration of Inadvertent Human Intrusion into Geologic Repositories. Frequency and Severity of Inadvertent Human Intrusion into Geologic Repositories. [50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985. Redesignated and amended at 58 FR 66415, Dec. 20, 1993]