Panel Affirms DEQ Disposal Standard for Low-Activity Radioactive Waste
Content
Panel affirms DEQ disposal standard for low-activity radioactive waste
Feb. 13, 2015
For More Information:
Brad Wurfel, 517-284-6713, [email protected]
Ken Yale, 517-930-5784, [email protected]
A panel of radiation and health experts today confirmed the DEQ’s disposal guidelines for lowactivity radioactive materials.
Gov. Rick Snyder directed the DEQ in August 2014 to assemble a panel to provide a technical
review of Michigan’s disposal guidelines for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Materials, or TENORM, to ensure protection of public health and the environment.
Established in 1996, Michigan’s standard of 50 picoCuries per gram (pCi/g) of Radium-226 was
reaffirmed in 1999 by a U.S. Department of Energy study.
In addition to confirming Michigan’s 50 pCi/g disposal guideline for all landfills, the TENORM
Disposal Advisory Panel also suggested hazardous waste landfills may have adequate protections
to allow for higher concentrations.
Other recommendations included requiring landfills to place TENORM waste at least 10 feet below
the bottom of the landfill cap, restricting the annual total volume of TENORM waste received at
landfills to minimize worker exposure, requiring landfills to monitor leachate and groundwater for
Radium-226, and developing regulatory guidelines for the safe handling of TENORM contaminated
with Lead-210.
The TENORM Disposal Advisory Panel investigated current federal and state standards, changes to
risk methodology since the 1990s, the nature of how TENORM decays over time, methods of
modeling dose assessments to workers and the public, and the design and operation of landfills.
Appointees to the TENORM Disposal Advisory Panel were:
• Duane DeMore, Chesapeake Nuclear Services, Novi, representing the Health Physics Society
• Cheryl Culver Schultz, Medical Nuclear Physicist, Beaumont Health Systems, Royal Oak,
representing the medical community
• Kimberlee Kearfott, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, representing academia
• Nicholas Occhipinti, West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Grand Rapids, representing the
Michigan Environmental Council
• Donald J. Carpenter, ARCADIS, Inc., Brighton, representing the environmental consultant
community
• Joseph J. Weismann, US Ecology, Inc., Boise, ID, representing the waste disposal industry
• Bill Myler, Jr., Muskegon Development Company, representing the oil and gas industry
• Ken Yale, DEQ’s Radiological Protection Section Chief, representing the DEQ
• Dave Minnaar, Middleville, representing the public
The report is available online at www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-RMGTENORM_Disposal_Advisory_Panel_White_Paper_-_FINAL_481404_7.pdf.
The DEQ today announced a 30-day public comment period for this report. Comments can be
submitted by email [email protected], or by mail to 525 W. Allegan
St., Lansing, MI, 48933.
Feb. 13, 2015
For More Information:
Brad Wurfel, 517-284-6713, [email protected]
Ken Yale, 517-930-5784, [email protected]
A panel of radiation and health experts today confirmed the DEQ’s disposal guidelines for lowactivity radioactive materials.
Gov. Rick Snyder directed the DEQ in August 2014 to assemble a panel to provide a technical
review of Michigan’s disposal guidelines for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Materials, or TENORM, to ensure protection of public health and the environment.
Established in 1996, Michigan’s standard of 50 picoCuries per gram (pCi/g) of Radium-226 was
reaffirmed in 1999 by a U.S. Department of Energy study.
In addition to confirming Michigan’s 50 pCi/g disposal guideline for all landfills, the TENORM
Disposal Advisory Panel also suggested hazardous waste landfills may have adequate protections
to allow for higher concentrations.
Other recommendations included requiring landfills to place TENORM waste at least 10 feet below
the bottom of the landfill cap, restricting the annual total volume of TENORM waste received at
landfills to minimize worker exposure, requiring landfills to monitor leachate and groundwater for
Radium-226, and developing regulatory guidelines for the safe handling of TENORM contaminated
with Lead-210.
The TENORM Disposal Advisory Panel investigated current federal and state standards, changes to
risk methodology since the 1990s, the nature of how TENORM decays over time, methods of
modeling dose assessments to workers and the public, and the design and operation of landfills.
Appointees to the TENORM Disposal Advisory Panel were:
• Duane DeMore, Chesapeake Nuclear Services, Novi, representing the Health Physics Society
• Cheryl Culver Schultz, Medical Nuclear Physicist, Beaumont Health Systems, Royal Oak,
representing the medical community
• Kimberlee Kearfott, Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, representing academia
• Nicholas Occhipinti, West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Grand Rapids, representing the
Michigan Environmental Council
• Donald J. Carpenter, ARCADIS, Inc., Brighton, representing the environmental consultant
community
• Joseph J. Weismann, US Ecology, Inc., Boise, ID, representing the waste disposal industry
• Bill Myler, Jr., Muskegon Development Company, representing the oil and gas industry
• Ken Yale, DEQ’s Radiological Protection Section Chief, representing the DEQ
• Dave Minnaar, Middleville, representing the public
The report is available online at www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-RMGTENORM_Disposal_Advisory_Panel_White_Paper_-_FINAL_481404_7.pdf.
The DEQ today announced a 30-day public comment period for this report. Comments can be
submitted by email [email protected], or by mail to 525 W. Allegan
St., Lansing, MI, 48933.
