289 



Radiation Control Act of 1978 was passed to changed this situ- 

 ation. EPA is directed to issue standards and criteria for 

 disposal of mill tailings. NRC has licensing authority over 

 active sites, and DOE is authorized to take remedial action at 

 inactive sites. 



The NRC and EPA are now developing standards, criteria, and 

 regulations defining acceptable levels of radon emissions, 

 siting, impacts on groundwater. The final Generic Environmental 

 Impact Statement, (NUREG 0511, Draft issued 4/79) on uranium 

 milling by NRC is nearing completion. 



DOE, in cooperation with State governments, is now taking 

 remedial action on abandoned tailings piles. DOE, will continue 

 to develop improved means of disposing of or stabilizing mill 

 tailings over the long term. 



6. Decontamination and Decommissioning. 



As a general rule, unrestricted use of land will be the ultimate 

 objective of D&D and institutional controls should not be relied 

 upon after some period of time to provide long-term protection of 

 people and the environment. However, because certain existing 

 sites and/or facilities cannot be decontaminated at a reasonable 

 cost, or perhaps at any cost, long-term institutional control may 

 be required in these exceptional cases. These will require 

 development of site-specific programs by NRC and DOE. 



The following actions will be taken: 



• DOE will prepare a nationwide plan for the decontami- 

 nation and decommissioning of surplus facilities owned 

 by DOE and other government agencies. 



• DOE will work on designs for the construction of new 

 facilities which will facilitate their eventual 

 decommissioning. 



• For new Federal facilities, decontamination and 

 decommissioning specifications will be included in the 

 initial design, and institutional arrangements will be 

 made to ensure sufficient funding. The funding for D&D 

 of government-owned facilities and sites will be 

 through Federal appropriations. Responsibility and 

 methods for financing D&D of licensed facilities will 

 be determined by the regulatory process. 



7. Transportation. 



Safe and reliable transportation of nuclear wastes is an essen- 

 tial component of the total waste management system. While 

 complete assurance that release of radioactive material will not 

 occur during normal operation or in serious accidents is impos- 

 sible, it has been demonstrated that it is unlikely that a 



