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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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129<br />

RISK PERSPECTIVES<br />

Repositories are designed with the expectation that radionuclides will not reenter the<br />

bioshpere. Reference to " ... isolate ... for several millenia ...one millenia" is super-<br />

fluous and has been removed.<br />

Draft p. 1.16<br />

Issue<br />

The hazard indices discussed in Section 3.1.3.4 and mentioned here are at best crude<br />

estimates. The hazard <strong>of</strong> a material is based on three factors: 1) the quantity <strong>of</strong> the<br />

materials available, 2) the toxicity <strong>of</strong> the materials, and 3) the pathways between the<br />

materials and human beings. Hazard indices which do not consider all <strong>of</strong> these (and it is<br />

difficult to think <strong>of</strong> a generic hazard index which would be useful for specific pathways)<br />

are not particularly useful. (113-EPA)<br />

Response<br />

While the hazard indices used are not refined estimates, they do provide some insights<br />

to the hazards <strong>of</strong> the wastes.<br />

Draft p. 1.16<br />

Issue<br />

The following statement is made--"The conclusion is that the available lethal doses<br />

in radioactive waste are far less than the available lethal doses in toxic nonradioactive<br />

chemicals now being handled routinely by society as shown in draft Table 1.3. Further,<br />

radioactive wastes decay with time whereas toxic chemicals have no half-lives and hence<br />

their quantities remain unchanged with time."<br />

* Is the value in Table 1.3 for radioactive waste based on deaths caused by the<br />

radiotoxicity or the chemical toxicity?<br />

* How does this value behave with time?<br />

* Provide references for Table 1.3.<br />

* Available lethal dose is defined as (the number <strong>of</strong>) potential deaths if dose is<br />

uniformly administered.<br />

- What does this mean?<br />

- What "dose" is uniformly administered?<br />

- Administered to what populations?<br />

* How many available lethal doses result from the eventual stable daughter products<br />

<strong>of</strong> the radioactive waste? (208-NRC)

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