Or. Admin. Code § 345-092-0031

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024

Section 345-092-0031 - Standards Relating to Public Health and Safety of Uranium Mill Operation, Decommissioning and Waste Disposal

In determining whether a proposed facility satisfies the requirements of this rule, the Council will accept, where applicable, the assumptions and methods used or approved by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in evaluating compliance with their respective regulations, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence that the use of such assumptions and methods will not adequately protect the health and safety of the public. To issue a site certificate for a uranium mill, the Council must find that:

(1) The facility can be designed, constructed and operated such that there is reasonable assurance that:

(a) During normal operations of the facility, the annual radiation dose equivalent to any member of the public will not exceed the limits specified in OAR 345-095-0090(l).

(b) The release of airborne effluents will not result in ambient levels exceeding the limits in OAR 345-095-0090(2).

(c) The facility shall be located at a remote site. To be considered remote, the calculated population doses within a 50-mile radius of the mill resulting from all exposure pathways will not exceed:

(A) Whole Body -- 50 person rem/year;

(B) Lung -- 500 person rem/year;

(C) Bone -- 1250 person rem/year.

(2)

(a) The site selected for final disposal is suitable for disposal of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill and the proposed amount thereof intended for disposal at the site. In order for the Council to find the site to be suitable, the Council must find that the applicant has evaluated reasonable disposal methods for the site including, but not limited to, below ground disposal, fixation of tailings with asphalt or cement, single tailings dam and multiple dams or dikes.

(b) In the evaluation required under (a), the applicant must provide the data needed to determine the effect of the alternate disposal method on the economic viability of the facility. The applicant must demonstrate that reasonably expected wind and water erosion will not uncover uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill and that surface and ground waters will not become contaminated with chemicals or radioactivity in excess of those levels specified in OAR 345-092-0040(4). The applicant must demonstrate that water contamination will not occur by use of a transport model that uses the existing aquifer boundaries, hydrogeologic flow rates, soil absorption phenomena (e.g., filtration, ion exchange, precipitation, etc.) and the leachability of materials from the uranium mill tailings under reasonably expected natural conditions at the site. The applicant must consider perturbations caused by reasonably expected hydrogeologic changes at the site.

(3) The amount of uranium mill tailings and waste that would result from decommissioning the uranium mill must be disposed of at the site in Oregon, rather than permitting their uncontrolled abandonment, to protect the environment and the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state from such wastes.

(4) There is no available, economically feasible alternative to the applicant's proposal for disposal of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill, in the proposed amounts, inside or outside of the state. The applicant must evaluate alternatives including, but not limited to return of tailings to the mine, creation of a regional disposal facility, disposal in an out-of-state commercial disposal site and at least 2 alternative sites within 20 miles. The Council will not consider an alternative to be available unless such alternative provides superior protection to the public health and safety than the proposed site.

(5) The proposed amount of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill can be disposed of at the site in a manner compatible with the regulatory programs of the federal government in existence on the date of adoption of these standards for disposal of such wastes.

(6) The proposed amount of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill can be disposed of at the site in a manner that is coordinated with the regulatory programs of adjacent states in existence on the date of adoption of these standards for disposal of such wastes. To support a Council finding that the manner of disposal can be coordinated with regulatory programs of adjacent states, the applicant must demonstrate that radiological impacts in adjacent states from disposal of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill are not likely to exceed the applicable standards for disposal of these wastes that are in effect in the adjacent state on the effective date of this standard.

(7) After disposal of uranium mill tailings and wastes from decommissioning the uranium mill, the calculated radon emanation rates at the site are likely to be no greater than 2 picocuries per square meter per second above natural background levels that existed at the site prior to disposal of any wastes, and calculated gamma radiation levels are not likely to be statistically different from background levels that existed at the site prior to disposal of any wastes.

(8) The applicant has identified all reasonably expected loads, including but not limited to seismic events and liquification, hydrostatic, flood, wind and ice loads expected to be placed on any dike or dams associated with the facility, and the applicant has demonstrated that such dikes and dams can withstand these loads without failure.

Or. Admin. Code § 345-092-0031

EFSC 2-1980, f. & ef. 2-28-80; EFSC 3-1981, f. & ef. 3-20-81; EFSC 1-2007, f. & cert. ef. 5-15-07

Stat. Auth.: ORS 469.556

Stats. Implemented: ORS 469.553