[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 24]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR191]
[Page 6-8]
TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
PART 191_ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR MANAGEMENT AND
Subpart A_Environmental Standards for Management and Storage
DISPOSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL AND TRANSURANIC RADIOACTIVE
WASTES--Table of Contents
Subpart A_Environmental Standards for Management and Storage
Sec.
191.01 Applicability.
191.02 Definitions.
191.03 Standards.
191.04 Alternative standards.
191.05 Effective date.
Subpart B_Environmental Standards for Disposal
191.11 Applicability.
191.12 Definitions.
191.13 Containment requirements.
191.14 Assurance requirements.
191.15 Individual protection requirements.
191.16 Alternative provisions for disposal.
191.17 Effective date.
Subpart C_Environmental Standards for Ground-Water Protection
191.21 Applicability.
191.22 Definitions.
191.23 General provisions.
191.24 Disposal standards.
191.25 Compliance with other Federal regulations.
191.26 Alternative provisions.
191.27 Effective date.
Appendix A to Part 191--Table for Subpart B
Appendix B to Part 191--Calculation of Annual Committed Effective Dose
Appendix C to Part 191--Guidance for Implementation of Subpart B
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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.
Sec. 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.
Sec. 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 means the Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(c) Commission means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(d) Department means the Department of Energy.
(e) NWPA means the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-
425).
(f) Agreement State means any State with which the Commission or the
Atomic Energy Commission has entered into an effective agreement under
subsection 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat.
919).
(g) Spent nuclear fuel means fuel that has been withdrawn from a
nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent elements of which
have not been separated by reprocessing.
(h) High-level radioactive waste, as used in this part, means high-
level radioactive waste as defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982 (Pub. L. 97-425).
(i) Transuranic radioactive waste, as used in this part, means waste
containing more than 100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting transuranic
isotopes, with half-lives greater than twenty years, per gram of waste,
except for: (1) High-level radioactive wastes; (2) wastes that the
Department has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator, do
not need the degree of isolation required by this part; or (3) wastes
that the Commission has approved for disposal on a case-by-case basis in
accordance with 10 CFR Part 61.
(j) Radioactive waste, as used in this part, means the high-level
and transuranic radioactive waste covered by this part.
(k) Storage means retention of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive
wastes with the intent and capability to readily retrieve such fuel or
waste for subsequent use, processing, or disposal.
(l) Disposal means permanent isolation of spent nuclear fuel or
radioactive waste from the accessible environment with no intent of
recovery, whether or not such isolation permits the recovery of such
fuel or waste. For example, disposal of waste in a mined geologic
repository occurs when all of the shafts to the repository are
backfilled and sealed.
(m) Management means any activity, operation, or process (except for
transportation) conducted to prepare spent nuclear fuel or radioactive
waste for storage or disposal, or the activities associated with placing
such fuel or waste in a disposal system.
(n) Site means an area contained within the boundary of a location
under the effective control of persons possessing or using spent nuclear
fuel or radioactive waste that are involved in any activity, operation,
or process covered by this subpart.
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(o) General environment means the total terrestrial, atmospheric,
and aquatic environments outside sites within which any activity,
operation, or process associated with the management and storage of
spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste is conducted.
(p) Member of the public means any individual except during the time
when that individual is a worker engaged in any activity, operation, or
process that is covered by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
(q) Critical organ means the most exposed human organ or tissue
exclusive of the integumentary system (skin) and the cornea.
Sec. 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
manage ment 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.
Sec. 191.04 Alternative standards.
(a) The Administrator may issue alternative standards from those
standards established in Sec. 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 Sec.
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 Sec.
191.03(b) and shall include all information necessary for the
Administrator to make the determinations called for in Sec. 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]
Sec. 191.05 Effective date.
The standards in this subpart shall be effective on November 18,
1985.