Development of radiological profiles for U.S. Department of Energy low-level mixed wastes

Radiological profiles have been developed by Argonne National Laboratory for low-level mixed wastes (LLMWs) that are under the management of the US Department of Energy (DOE). These profiles have been used in the Office of Environmental Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EM PEIS) to support the analysis of environmental and health risks associated with the various waste management strategies. The radiological characterization of DOE LLMWs is generally inadequate and has made it difficult to develop a site- and waste-stream-dependent radiological profile for LLMWs. On the basis of the operational history of the DOE sites, a simple model was developed to generate site-dependent and waste-stream-independent radiological profiles for LLMWs. This paper briefly discusses the assumptions used in this model and the uncertainties in the results