[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 24]
[Revised as of July 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR191]
[Page 8-12]
TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
PART 191_ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR MANAGEMENT
AND DISPOSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL AND TRANSURANIC
RADIOACTIVE WASTES--Table of Contents
Subpart B_Environmental Standards for Disposal
Sec. 191.11 Applicability.
(a) This subpart applies to:
(1) Radioactive materials released into the accessible environment
as a result of the disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level or
transuranic radioactive wastes;
(2) Radiation doses received by members of the public as a result of
such disposal; and
(3) Radioactive contamination of certain sources of ground water in
the vicinity of disposal systems for such fuel or wastes.
[[Page 9]]
(b) This subpart does not apply to:
(1) Disposal directly into the oceans or ocean sediments;
(2) Wastes disposed of before November 18, 1985; and
(3) The characterization, licensing, construction, operation, or
closure of any site required to be characterized under section 113(a) of
Public Law 97-425, 96 Stat. 2201.
[50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993]
Sec. 191.12 Definitions.
Unless otherwise indicated in this subpart, all terms shall have the
same meaning as in subpart A of this part.
Accessible environment means: (1) The atmosphere; (2) land surfaces;
(3) surface waters; (4) oceans; and (5) all of the lithosphere that is
beyond the controlled area.
Active institutional control means: (1) Controlling access to a
disposal site by any means other than passive institutional controls;
(2) performing maintenance operations or remedial actions at a site, (3)
controlling or cleaning up releases from a site, or (4) monitoring
parameters related to disposal system performance.
Annual committed effective dose means the committed effective dose
resulting from one-year intake of radionuclides released plus the annual
effective dose caused by direct radiation from facilities or activities
subject to subparts B and C of this part.
Aquifer means an underground geological formation, group of
formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a
significant amount of water to a well or spring.
Barrier means any material or structure that prevents or
substantially delays movement of water or radionuclides toward the
accessible environment. For example, a barrier may be a geologic
structure, a canister, a waste form with physical and chemical
characteristics that significantly decrease the mobility of
radionuclides, or a material placed over and around waste, provided that
the material or structure substantially delays movement of water or
radionuclides.
Controlled area means: (1) A surface location, to be identified by
passive institutional controls, that encompasses no more than 100 square
kilometers and extends horizontally no more than five kilometers in any
direction from the outer boundary of the original location of the
radioactive wastes in a disposal system; and (2) the subsurface
underlying such a surface location.
Disposal system means any combination of engineered and natural
barriers that isolate spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste after
disposal.
Dose equivalent means the product of absorbed dose and appropriate
factors to account for differences in biological effectiveness due to
the quality of radiation and its spatial distribution in the body; the
unit of dose equivalent is the ``rem'' (``sievert'' in SI units).
Effective dose means the sum over specified tissues of the products
of the dose equivalent received following an exposure of, or an intake
of radionuclides into, specified tissues of the body, multiplied by
appropriate weighting factors. This allows the various tissue-specific
health risks to be summed into an overall health risk. The method used
to calculate effective dose is described in appendix B of this part.
Ground water means water below the land surface in a zone of
saturation.
Heavy metal means all uranium, plutonium, or thorium placed into a
nuclear reactor.
Implementing agency means:
(1) The Commission for facilities licensed by the Commission;
(2) The Agency for those implementation responsibilities for the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, under this part, given to the Agency by the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act (Pub. L. 102-579, 106
Stat. 4777) which, for the purposes of this part, are:
(i) Determinations by the Agency that the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant is in compliance with subpart A of this part;
(ii) Issuance of criteria for the certifications of compliance with
subparts B and C of this part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's
compliance with subparts B and C of this part;
(iii) Certifications of compliance with subparts B and C of this
part of
[[Page 10]]
the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's compliance with subparts B and C of
this part;
(iv) If the initial certification is made, periodic recertification
of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's continued compliance with subparts
B and C of this part;
(v) Review and comment on performance assessment reports of the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; and
(vi) Concurrence by the Agency with the Department's determination
under Sec. 191.02(i) that certain wastes do not need the degree of
isolation required by subparts B and C of this part; and
(3) The Department of Energy for any other disposal facility and all
other implementation responsibilities for the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant, under this part, not given to the Agency.
International System of Units is the version of the metric system
which has been established by the International Bureau of Weights and
Measures and is administered in the United States by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology. The abbreviation for this system
is ``SI.''
Lithosphere means the solid part of the Earth below the surface,
including any ground water contained within it.
Passive institutional control means: (1) Permanent markers placed at
a disposal site, (2) public records and archives, (3) government
ownership and regulations regarding land or resource use, and (4) other
methods of preserving knowledge about the location, design, and contents
of a disposal system.
Performance assessment means an analysis that: (1) Identifies the
processes and events that might affect the disposal system; (2) examines
the effects of these processes and events on the performance of the
disposal system; and (3) estimates the cumulative releases of
radionuclides, considering the associated uncertainties, caused by all
significant processes and events. These estimates shall be incorporated
into an overall probability distribution of cumulative release to the
extent practicable.
Radioactive material means matter composed of or containing
radionuclides, with radiological half-lives greater than 20 years,
subject to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
SI unit means a unit of measure in the International System of
Units.
Sievert is the SI unit of effective dose and is equal to 100 rem or
one joule per kilogram. The abbreviation is ``Sv.''
Undisturbed performance means the predicted behavior of a disposal
system, including consideration of the uncertainties in predicted
behavior, if the disposal system is not disrupted by human intrusion or
the occurrence of unlikely natural events.
Waste, as used in this subpart, means any spent nuclear fuel or
radioactive waste isolated in a disposal system.
Waste form means the materials comprising the radioactive components
of waste and any encapsulating or stabilizing matrix.
[50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985, as amended at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993]
Sec. 191.13 Containment requirements.
(a) Disposal systems for spent nuclear fuel or high-level or
transuranic radioactive wastes shall be designed to provide a reasonable
expectation, based upon performance assessments, that the cumulative
releases of radionuclides to the accessible environment for 10,000 years
after disposal from all significant processes and events that may affect
the disposal system shall:
(1) Have a likelihood of less than one chance in 10 of exceeding the
quantities calculated according to Table 1 (appendix A); and
(2) Have a likelihood of less than one chance in 1,000 of exceeding
ten times the quantities calculated according to Table 1 (appendix A).
(b) Performance assessments need not provide complete assurance that
the requirements of Sec. 191.13(a) will be met. Because of the long
time period involved and the nature of the events and processes of
interest, there will inevitably be substantial uncertainties in
projecting disposal system performance. Proof of the future performance
of a disposal system is not to be had in the ordinary sense of the word
in situations that deal with much shorter time frames. Instead, what is
required is a reasonable expectation, on the basis of the record before
the implementing
[[Page 11]]
agency, that compliance with Sec. 191.13 (a) will be achieved.
Sec. 191.14 Assurance requirements.
To provide the confidence needed for long-term compliance with the
requirements of Sec. 191.13, disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-
level or transuranic wastes shall be conducted in accordance with the
following provisions, except that these provisions do not apply to
facilities regulated by the Commission (see 10 CFR Part 60 for
comparable provisions applicable to facilities regulated by the
Commission):
(a) Active institutional controls over disposal sites should be
maintained for as long a period of time as is practicable after
disposal; however, performance assessments that assess isolation of the
wastes from the accessible environment shall not consider any
contributions from active institutional controls for more than 100 years
after disposal.
(b) Disposal systems shall be monitored after disposal to detect
substantial and detrimental deviations from expected performance. This
monitoring shall be done with techniques that do not jeopardize the
isolation of the wastes and shall be conducted until there are no
significant concerns to be addressed by further monitoring.
(c) Disposal sites shall be designated by the most permanent
markers, records, and other passive institutional controls practicable
to indicate the dangers of the wastes and their location.
(d) Disposal systems shall use different types of barriers to
isolate the wastes from the accessible environment. Both engineered and
natural barriers shall be included.
(e) Places where there has been mining for resources, or where there
is a reasonable expectation of exploration for scarce or easily
accessible resources, or where there is a significant concentration of
any material that is not widely available from other sources, should be
avoided in selecting disposal sites. Resources to be considered shall
include minerals, petroleum or natural gas, valuable geologic
formations, and ground waters that are either irreplaceable because
there is no reasonable alternative source of drinking water available
for substantial populations or that are vital to the preservation of
unique and sensitive eco systems. Such places shall not be used for
disposal of the wastes covered by this part unless the favorable char
acter is tics of such places com pen sate for their greater likelihood
of being dis turbed in the future.
(f) Disposal systems shall be selected so that removal of most of
the wastes is not precluded for a reasonable period of time after
disposal.
Sec. 191.15 Individual protection requirements.
(a) Disposal systems for waste and any associated radioactive
material shall be designed to provide a reasonable expectation that, for
10,000 years after disposal, undisturbed performance of the disposal
system shall not cause the annual committed effective dose, received
through all potential pathways from the disposal system, to any member
of the public in the accessible environment, to exceed 15 millirems (150
microsieverts).
(b) Annual committed effective doses shall be calculated in
accordance with appendix B of this part.
(c) Compliance assessments need not provide complete assurance that
the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section will be met. Because
of the long time period involved and the nature of the processes and
events of interest, there will inevitably be substantial uncertainties
in projecting disposal system performance. Proof of the future
performance of a disposal system is not to be had in the ordinary sense
of the word in situations that deal with much shorter time frames.
Instead, what is required is a reasonable expectation, on the basis of
the record before the implementing agency, that compliance with
paragraph (a) of this section will be achieved.
(d) Compliance with the provisions in this section does not negate
the necessity to comply with any other applicable Federal regulations or
requirements.
(e) The standards in this section shall be effective on January 19,
1994.
[58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993]
[[Page 12]]
Sec. 191.16 Alternative provisions for disposal.
The Administrator may, by rule, substitute for any of the provisions
of subpart B alternative provisions chosen after:
(a) The alternative provisions have been proposed for public comment
in the Federal Register together with information describing the costs,
risks, and benefits of disposal in accordance with the alternative
provisions and the reasons why compliance with the existing provisions
of Subpart B appears inappropriate;
(b) A public comment period of at least 90 days has been completed,
during which an opportunity for public hearings in affected areas of the
country has been provided; and
(c) The public comments received have been fully considered in
developing the final version of such alternative provisions.
[50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985. Redesignated at 58 FR 66414, Dec. 20,
1993]
Sec. 191.17 Effective date.
The standards in this subpart shall be effective on November 18,
1985.
[50 FR 38084, Sept. 19, 1985; 50 FR 40003, Oct. 1, 1985. Redesignated at
58 FR 66414, Dec. 20, 1993]