(1) A waste generator, collector or processor
who transports, or offers for transportation LLW intended for ultimate disposal
at a licensed low-level radioactive waste land disposal facility must prepare a
manifest reflecting information requested on applicable NRC forms 540
(
uniform low-level radioactive waste manifest (shipping paper)
and 541 (u
niform low-level radioactive waste manifest
(container and waste description)) and, if necessary, on an applicable NRC form
542 (u
niform low-level radioactive waste manifest (manifest
index and regional compact tabulation)). NRC forms 540 and 540A must be
completed and must physically accompany the pertinent low-level waste shipment.
Upon agreement between shipper and consignee, NRC forms 541, 541A, 542 and 542A
may be completed, transmitted and stored in electronic media with the
capability for producing legible, accurate and complete records on the
respective forms. Licensees are not required by NRC to comply with the
manifesting requirements of this part when they ship the following:
(a) LLW for processing and expect its return
(i.e., for storage under their license) prior to disposal at a licensed land
disposal facility;
(b) LLW that is
being returned to the licensee who is the "waste generator" or "generator", as
defined in this part; or
(c)
radioactively contaminated material to a "waste processor" that becomes the
processor's "residual waste" unless regulated by other applicable federal or
state regulations;
(d) these
exclusions from manifesting requirements do not, however, exempt the licensee
from complying with applicable DOT requirements for shipments referencing 49
CFR, including the preparation of shipping papers.
(2) For guidance in completing these forms,
refer to the instructions that accompany the forms. Copies of manifests
required by this section may be legible carbon copies, photocopies or computer
printouts that reproduce the data in the format of the uniform
manifest.
(3) NRC forms 540, 540A,
541, 541A, 542 and 542A, and the accompanying instructions, in hard copy, may
be obtained by writing or calling the Office of the Chief information Officer,
United States nuclear regulatory commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
telephone (301) 415-5877, or by visiting the NRC's web site at
http://www.nrc.gov and selecting forms from the index found on the home
page.
(4) This section includes
information requirements of the DOT, as codified in 49 CFR part 172 .
Additional 49 CFR requirements may be applicable. Information on hazardous,
medical or other waste, required to meet EPA regulations, as codified in 40 CFR
Parts 259, 261 or elsewhere, is not addressed in this section, and must be
provided on the required EPA forms. However, any required EPA forms must
accompany the uniform low-level radioactive waste manifest
required by this chapter.
(5) As
used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)
"chelating agent" has the
same meaning as that given in
20.3.13.7
NMAC;
(b)
"chemical
description" means a description of the principal chemical
characteristics of a low-level radioactive waste;
(c)
"computer-readable medium"
means that the department's computer can transfer the information from the
medium into its memory;
(d)
"consignee" means the designated receiver of the shipment of
low-level radioactive waste;
(e)
"decontamination facility" means a facility operating under a
department, NRC or agreement state license whose principal purpose is
decontamination of equipment or materials to accomplish recycle, reuse or other
waste management objectives, and, for purposes of this part, is not considered
to be a consignee for LLW shipments;
(f)
"disposal container" means a
container principally used to confine low-level radioactive waste during
disposal operations at a land disposal facility (also see "high integrity
container"); note that for some shipments, the disposal container may be the
transport package;
(g)
"EPA
identification number" means the number received by a transporter
following application to the administrator of EPA as required by 40 CFR Part
263;
(h)
"generator"
means a licensee operating under a department, NRC or agreement state license
who (1) is a waste generator as defined in this part, or
(2) is the licensee to whom waste can be attributed within the
context of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (e.g., waste
generated as a result of decontamination or recycle activities);
(i)
"high integrity container"
(HIC) means a container commonly designed to meet the structural stability
requirements of
20.3.13.1325
NMAC, and to meet DOT requirements for a type A package;
(j)
"land disposal facility" has
the same meaning as that given in
20.3.13.7
NMAC;
(k)
"NRC forms 540,
540A, 541, 541A, 542 and 542A" are official NRC forms referenced in this
section; licensees need not use originals of these NRC forms as long as any
substitute forms are equivalent to the original documentation in respect to
content, clarity, size and location of information; upon agreement between the
shipper and consignee, NRC forms 541 (and 541A) and NRC forms 542 (and 542A)
may be completed, transmitted and stored in electronic media; the electronic
media must have the capability for producing legible, accurate and complete
records in the format of the uniform manifest;
(l)
"package" means the assembly
of components necessary to ensure compliance with the packaging requirements of
DOT regulations, together with its radioactive contents, as presented for
transport;
(m)
"physical
description" means the items called for on NRC form 541 to describe a
LLW;
(n)
"residual
waste" means LLW resulting from processing or decontamination activities
that cannot be easily separated into distinct batches attributable to specific
waste generators; this waste is attributable to the processor or
decontamination facility, provided that other federal laws or regulations, such
as those of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), are not
applicable;
(o)
"shipper" means the licensed entity (i.e., the waste generator,
waste collector or waste processor) who offers low-level radioactive waste for
transportation, typically consigning this type of waste to a licensed waste
collector, waste processor or land disposal facility operator;
(p)
"shipping paper" means NRC
form 540 and, if required, NRC form 540A which includes the information
required by DOT in 49 CFR part 172;
(q)
"source material" has the
same meaning as that given in
20.3.3.7
NMAC;
(r)
"special nuclear
material" has the same meaning as that given in
20.3.3.7
NMAC;
(s)
"uniform low-level
radioactive waste manifest" or "uniform manifest" means the
combination of NRC forms 540, 541 and, if necessary, 542, and their respective
continuation sheets as needed, or equivalent;
(t)
"waste collector," including
"waste broker," means an entity, operating under a department, NRC or agreement
state license, whose principal purpose is to collect and consolidate waste
generated by others, and to transfer this waste, without processing or
repackaging the collected waste, to another licensed waste collector, licensed
waste processor or licensed land disposal facility;
(u)
"waste description" means
the physical, chemical and radiological description of a low-level radioactive
waste as called for on NRC form 541;
(v)
"waste generator" means an
entity, operating under a department, NRC or agreement state license, who
(1) possesses any material or component that contains
radioactivity or is radioactively contaminated for which the licensee foresees
no further use, and (2) transfers this material or component
to a licensed land disposal facility or to a licensed waste collector or
processor for handling or treatment prior to disposal; a licensee performing
processing or decontamination services may be a "waste generator" if the
transfer of low-level radioactive waste from its facility is defined as
"residual waste";
(w)
"waste
processor" means an entity, operating under a department, NRC or
agreement state license, whose principal purpose is to process, repackage or
otherwise treat low-level radioactive material or waste generated by others
prior to eventual transfer of waste to a licensed low-level radioactive waste
land disposal facility; and
(x)
"waste type" means a waste within a disposal container having a
unique physical description (i.e., a specific waste descriptor code or
description; or a waste sorbed on or solidified in a specifically defined
media).
(6)
Information requirements.(a)
General information.The shipper of the radioactive waste shall
provide the following information on the uniform manifest:
(i) the name, facility address and telephone
number of the licensee shipping the waste;
(ii) an explicit declaration indicating
whether the shipper is acting as a waste generator, collector, processor or a
combination of these identifiers for purposes of the manifested shipment;
and
(iii) the name, address and
telephone number, or the name and EPA identification number for the carrier
transporting the waste.
(b)
Shipment information.The
shipper of the radioactive waste shall provide the following information
regarding the waste shipment on the uniform manifest:
(i) the date of the waste shipment;
(ii) the total number of packages or disposal
containers;
(iii) the total
disposal volume and disposal weight in the shipment;
(iv) the total radionuclide activity in the
shipment;
(v) the activity of each
of the radionuclides H-3, C-14, Tc-99 and I-129 contained in the shipment;
and
(vi) the total masses of U-233,
U-235 and plutonium in special nuclear material, and the total mass of uranium
and thorium in source material.
(c)
Disposal container and waste
information. The shipper of the radioactive waste shall provide the
following information on the uniform manifest regarding the waste and each
disposal container of waste in the shipment:
(i) an alphabetic or numeric identification
that uniquely identifies each disposal container in the shipment;
(ii) a physical description of the disposal
container, including the manufacturer and model of any high integrity
container;
(iii) the volume
displaced by the disposal container;
(iv) the gross weight of the disposal
container, including the waste;
(v)
for waste consigned to a disposal facility, the maximum radiation level at the
surface of each disposal container;
(vi) a physical and chemical description of
the waste;
(vii) the total weight
percentage of chelating agent for any waste containing more than 0.1% chelating
agent by weight, plus the identity of the principal chelating agent;
(viii) the approximate volume of waste within
a container;
(ix) the sorbing or
solidification media, if any, and the identity of the solidification media
vendor and brand name;
(x) the
identities and activities of individual radionuclides contained in each
container, the masses of U-233, U-235 and plutonium in special nuclear
material, and the masses of uranium and thorium in source material, including
fissile category classification; for discrete waste types (i.e., activated
materials, contaminated equipment, mechanical filters, sealed source/devices
and wastes in solidification/stabilization media), the identities and
activities of individual radionuclides associated with or contained on these
waste types within a disposal container shall be reported;
(xi) the total radioactivity within each
container;
(xii) for wastes
consigned to a disposal facility, the classification of the waste pursuant to
20.3.13.1324
NMAC; waste not meeting the structural stability requirements of Subsection B
of
20.3.13.1325
NMAC; and
(xiii) any other
information required on a manifest or shipping paper by the DOT, the NRC or
other regulatory agencies.
(d)
Uncontainerized waste
information. The shipper of the radioactive waste shall provide the
following information on the uniform manifest regarding a waste shipment
delivered without a disposal container:
(i)
the approximate volume and weight of the waste;
(ii) a physical and chemical description of
the waste;
(iii) the total weight
percentage of chelating agent if the chelating agent exceeds 0.1% by weight,
plus the identity of the principal chelating agent;
(iv) for waste consigned to a disposal
facility, the classification of the waste pursuant to
20.3.13.1324
NMAC; waste not meeting the structural stability requirements of Subsection B
of
20.3.13.1325
NMAC must be identified;
(v) the
identities and activities of individual radionuclides contained in the waste,
the masses of U-233, U-235 and plutonium in special nuclear material, and the
masses of uranium and thorium in source material; and
(vi) for wastes consigned to a disposal
facility, the maximum radiation levels at the surface of the
waste.
(e)
Multi-generator disposal container information. This section
applies to disposal containers enclosing mixtures of waste originating from
different generators. (Note: The origin of the LLW resulting from a processor's
activities may be attributable to one or more "generators," including "waste
generators," as defined in this section). It also applies to mixtures of wastes
shipped in an uncontainerized form, for which portions of the mixture within
the shipment originate from different generators.
(i) For homogeneous mixtures of waste, such
as incinerator ash, provide the waste description applicable to the mixture and
the volume of the waste attributed to each generator.
(ii) For heterogeneous mixtures of waste,
such as the combined products from a large compactor, identify each generator
contributing waste to the disposal container, and, for discrete waste types
(i.e., activated materials, contaminated equipment, mechanical filters, sealed
source/devices and wastes in solidification/stabilization media), the
identities and activities of individual radionuclides contained on these waste
types within the disposal container. For each generator, provide the following:
(1) the volume of waste within the disposal
container;
(2) a physical and
chemical description of the waste, including the solidification agent, if any;
(3) the total weight percentage of
chelating agents for any disposal container containing more than 0.1% chelating
agent by weight, plus the identity of the principal chelating agent;
(4) the sorbing or solidification media, if
any, and the identity of the solidification media vendor and brand name if the
media is claimed to meet stability requirements in Subsection B of
20.3.13.1325
NMAC; and
(5) radionuclide
identities and activities contained in the waste, the masses of U-233, U-235
and plutonium in special nuclear material, and the masses of uranium and
thorium in source material if contained in the waste.