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

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Non-Radiological Environmental Effects<br />

6.175<br />

Non-radiological environmental effects considered to be <strong>of</strong> potential significance in<br />

the comparison <strong>of</strong> waste management concepts include health effects from non-radiological<br />

causes, socioeconomic effects, aesthetic effects, and effects on ecosystems.<br />

Health effects from non-radiological causes include injuries and deaths occurring to<br />

both occupational workers and to the general public from routine operations and from acci-<br />

dental conditions.<br />

Socioeconomic effects include impacts on the well-being <strong>of</strong> communities in the vicinity<br />

<strong>of</strong> waste management facilities.<br />

Potential aesthetic effects include noise, odor and impacts on visual resources.<br />

Both natural and managed ecosystems would be affected by waste management operations.<br />

Potential impacts include those on ecosystem productivity, stability, and diversity.<br />

No standards <strong>of</strong> judgement have been advanced for non-radiological environmental<br />

effects, although all concepts would be expected to comply with standards established by<br />

responsible Federal and state regulatory agencies. The proposed DOE Performance<br />

Objective 4 asserts the importance <strong>of</strong> minimizing non-radiation-related environmental<br />

effects.<br />

6.2.2.2 Status <strong>of</strong> Development<br />

This factor is intended to assess the waste management concepts on the basis <strong>of</strong> the<br />

maturity <strong>of</strong> the concepts. Two issues are <strong>of</strong> concern: 1) availability <strong>of</strong> technology<br />

required to implement the concept, including that required for site characterization,<br />

repository development, waste treatment, handling, emplacement, and monitoring; and,<br />

2) ability to predict performance <strong>of</strong> the waste management system. A third issue, cost <strong>of</strong><br />

research and development, is considered under the factor <strong>of</strong> cost.<br />

Three standards <strong>of</strong> judgement relating to status <strong>of</strong> development can be derived from the<br />

proposed DOE Performance Objective 6. First the technology must be implemented within a<br />

reasonable period <strong>of</strong> time where "reasonable period <strong>of</strong> time" implies that those currently<br />

responsible can complete the major part <strong>of</strong> implementing a concept and not pass an unresolved<br />

problem on to future generations. Consequently, Objective 6 also states that scientific<br />

breakthroughs should not be required to permit implementation <strong>of</strong> a concept. Further capa-<br />

bilities for assessing the performance <strong>of</strong> any particular waste management concept must be<br />

available at the time that a decision is made to place emphasis on the development <strong>of</strong> any<br />

particular concept.<br />

6.2.2.3 Conformance with Federal Law and International Agreements<br />

The purpose <strong>of</strong> this factor is to identify and compare potential conflicts with Federal<br />

legislation and international treaties, conventions, and understandings to which this nation<br />

is a party that would prevent implementation <strong>of</strong> a proposed option. The DOE proposed Perfor-<br />

mance Objective 7 states that waste management systems "should be compatible with national

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