Radioactive Waste

Radiation Facts

Activities that generated as a by-product of producing or using radioactive materials.
Radioactive waste is hazardous because it contains or emits radioactive particles, which if not properly managed can be a risk to human health and the environment.

Radioactive waste is generated as a by-product of producing or using radioactive materials by industries such as mining, nuclear power generation, defense, medicine, and certain types of scientific research.

On this page:

About Radioactive Waste

As defined in the United States, there are five general categories of radioactive waste:

High-level waste: High-level waste includes used nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors and waste generated from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Although defense-related activities generate most of the United States’ liquid high-level waste, the majority of spent nuclear fuel is from commercial nuclear power plant reactors. Currently, most high-level waste is stored at the site where the waste was generated.
Transuranic waste: Transuranic wastes refer to man-made radioactive elements that have an atomic number of 92 (uranium) or higher. Most of the transuranic waste in the United States is from nuclear weapons production facilities. This waste includes common items such as rags, tools, and laboratory equipment contaminated during the early age of nuclear weapons research and development. Transuranic waste is currently being stored at several federal facilities across the country. Transuranic waste created as part of a defense program will ultimately be disposed of at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, which began accepting waste in 1999.
Uranium or thorium mill tailings: Mill tailings are radioactive wastes that remain after the mining and milling of uranium or thorium ore. Mill tailings are stored at the production-sites in specially designed ponds called impoundments.
Low-level waste: Low-level waste is radioactively contaminated industrial or research waste that is not high-level waste, transuranic waste, or uranium or thorium mill tailings. Much of this waste looks like common items such as paper, rags, plastic bags, protective clothing, cardboard, and packaging material. These items are considered waste once they come into contact with radioactive materials. Low-level waste can be generated by any industry using radioactive material, including government, utility, manufacture, medical and research facilities. There are disposal facilities that specialize in the near-surface disposal of low-level waste..

Like all radioactive material, radioactive wastes will naturally decay over time. Once the radioactive material has decayed sufficiently, the waste is no longer hazardous. However, the time it will take for the radioactive material to decay will range from a few hours to hundreds of millions of years. Some radioactive elements, such as plutonium, are highly radioactive and remain so for thousands of years. Learn more about radioactive decay.

What You Can Do

Be aware. It is highly unlikely that you would unknowingly encounter radioactive waste. However, if you are near a facility that manages radioactive waste, follow safety instructions.
Stay away. Keeping distance between you and radioactive waste will help keep you from being exposed. Never touch, inhale or ingest radioactive waste. Radioactive materials and other contaminants from waste can be very dangerous inside the body.

Where to Learn More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The EPA is responsible under the Atomic Energy Act for developing general environmental standards that apply to both the Department of Energy (DOE)-operated and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-licensed facilities that use radioactive material. Other statutes provide the EPA with authority to establish standards for specific wastes or facilities. These include the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act and the Energy Policy Act of 1992, that affect development and implementation standards for the management and disposal of waste at certain disposal facilities; the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) that enables the EPA to set limits on radiation from mill tailings; and the Clean Air Act that limits radon emissions from mill tailing impoundments.

OSHA regulations require safety training for workers who can be exposed to hazardous substances or radioactive waste. Workers and managers in any of the industries that produce radioactive waste can take this training to learn more about recognizing and properly disposing of radioactive wastes.

EPA’s Role at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
This webpage provides information about the EPA’s role at the WIPP.

Atomic Energy Act
This webpage provides information on the Atomic Energy Act of 1946.

Clean Air Act
This webpage provides information on the Clean Air Act of 1970.

Nuclear Waste Policy Act
This webpage provides information on the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

Energy Policy Act
This webpage provides information on the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

EPA’s Role in Low-level Radioactive Waste
This webpage provides information on “low-activity” radioactive waste and proposed rulemaking activities by the EPA.

Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA)
This webpage provides more information about UMTRCA.

Radiation at Superfund Sites
This webpage provides information and guidance on the cleanup of radioactive contamination at Superfund sites.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC is responsible for licensing facilities and ensuring their compliance with the EPA standards. This includes having regulatory agreements to properly dispose of radioactive waste and setting performance objectives for disposal facilities that accept the waste. Many states have entered into formal agreements with the NRC to exercise authority over the licensing and operation of various activities that produce radioactive waste as well as low-level waste disposal facilities. These states are known as Agreement States.

Should radioactive wastes need to be transported, the NRC in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for regulating the transportation of wastes to storage and disposal sites.

The NRC Agreement State Program
This webpage provides information about the NRC Agreement State program and lists links to additional information.

How the NRC Protects You
This webpage provides information about how the NRC regulates and inspects sites where radioactive materials are used.

Radioactive Waste Transportation
This website provides information on how radioactive materials are shipped in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

The DOE is responsible for managing much of the nation’s radioactive wastes. These include providing a repository for high-level waste, including spent nuclear fuel; operating the WIPP, the facility that stores the nation’s defense-related transuranic radioactive waste; and providing a disposal option for the portion of the NRC-regulated low-level waste that is not generally suitable for near-surface disposal (known as “greater-than-Class C” low-level waste).

The DOE also manages certain closed disposal sites, including those designated for uranium milling wastes.

Off-site Source Recovery Program
This webpage provides information on how the DOE‘s NNSA removes sealed radioactive sources that pose a potential risk to national security, health and safety.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

The DOT oversees the safety and security of hazardous materials during transport. DOT’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) writes rules for shipping hazardous materials by highway, rail, air and sea. DOT works with the NRC to ensure that these materials are shipped safely. The NRC and the DOT are responsible for regulating the transportation of wastes to storage and disposal sites.

Hazardous Material
This webpage provides information on hazardous material spills, including the types of hazardous material transported in the U.S. historic incident trends, and hazard classes.

Transporting Radioactive Materials Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides information about transportation of radioactive waste in the United States including rules and guidance.

The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD)

The CRCPD is a nonprofit non-governmental professional organization dedicated to radiation protection.

State Radiation Protection Programs
This webpage provides links and contact information for each state's Radiation Control Program office.

Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) Program
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors
This webpage provides information about the CRCPD program that helps protect people from unnecessary exposure to radiation.