Low-level radioactive waste is a general term for a wide range of waste that is contaminated with radioactive material or has become radioactive through exposure to radiation.

A variety of industries, hospitals and medical institutions, educational and research institutions, private or government laboratories, and nuclear fuel cycle facilities generate LLRW.

Some examples include radioactively-contaminated protective shoe covers and clothing; cleaning rags, mops, filters, and reactor water treatment residues; equipment and tools; medical tubes, swabs, and hypodermic syringes; and carcasses and tissues from laboratory animals.

High level radioactive waste is a general term for waste which contains highly radioactive components typically generated during commercial nuclear power plant operations, including Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF).

High level radioactive waste is disposed only at specific high level radioactive waste storage facilities. There are currently no public disposal facilities in the United States – SNF is stored on-site at specialized nuclear storage facilities called independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI).

High level radioactive waste may also be referred to as greater than Class C or GTCC.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers certain radioactive materials and products to be exempt from licensing requirements.

Materials in this category include household products like residential smoke detectors, glazed ceramic tableware, or thorium gas mantles. These materials are low-risk and can be used by the public without a license.

These materials can be disposed at any Type I or Type II landfill in Michigan.

It is important to understand that radioactive forms of elements, called radionuclides, can occur naturally in the environment.

Radioactive forms of some elements such as potassium, carbon, radium, and their decay products naturally exist in soil. These radionuclides can also be found in some foods such as Brazil nuts, milk, and bananas.

Because the amount of radiation is very small, these foods do not pose a radiation risk, do not require a special disposal site, and are therefore unregulated.

Definitions for technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) vary depending on the organization, jurisdiction, and/or application. There is no broadly accepted definition.

TENORM is defined for landfill disposal in Michigan and is Radium-226, Radium-228, or Lead-210 at concentrations above 5 picocuries per gram, but excludes source material as defined by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Materials with uranium and thorium concentrations below source material definitions are called unimportant quantities of source material. This material also contains isotopes that are considered TENORM but have the parents too. Therefore, this material is not always considered TENORM. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not regulate TENORM and does not have a definition of TENORM.

No, low-level radioactive waste disposal is not legal in Michigan.

There are no licensed low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities in Michigan. Efforts to site a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility were undertaken in the 80’s and 90’s, which resulted in no suitable site being identified.

The limits for transportation are based on US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations (Title 49 Code Federal Regulations) and depend on the radioisotope(s) involved.

In the case of the Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) site, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is shipping this as low specific activity waste (LSA-1). Based our interpretation of the DOT regulations it appears that some of this material could be shipped as exempt from class 7 (radioactive) regulation, meaning that no special precautions are required.

USACE provided written response to how requirements are determined for transportation in a communication to US Representative Debbie Dingell, dated September 3, 2024.

There are four low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) sites in the United States.

However, only three of the four low-level radioactive waste sites accept waste from Michigan (Barnwell SC, Andrews TX, Clive UT).

Both Type I and Type II landfills can accept certain amounts of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM). Both types of facilities can apply for increased disposal limits under what is called an enhanced license, to which no facility has applied and would require a major modification.

The table below demonstrates the limits defined in PA 688 of 2018. Facilities are also allowed to take materials that are exempt from licensing, like residential smoke detectors. If a waste contains TENORM in concentrations higher than permitted, it can be blended with non-TENORM materials by a registered party to meet disposal requirements.

The table below shows the limits for different types of facilities in Michigan.

*Type III landfills may not accept TENORM. Concentrations less than 5 pCi/g are excluded from the definition of TENORM for disposal purposes.

Part 111 and 115 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) have requirements for environmental monitoring depending on the level of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) that is being accepted.

All hazardous waste landfills that dispose of TENORM are required to:

• monitor radiation exposures of workers and levels at landfill boundaries
• analyze groundwater and leachate for Ra-226, Ra-228, and Pb-210

Enhanced hazardous waste landfills are required to:

• measure penetrating radiation, radioactivity in the air, and radon in air

Enhanced solid waste landfills are required to:

• monitor workers and the landfill boundaries
• analyze groundwater and leachate for Ra-226, Ra-228, and Pb-210.

The radiation emitted from technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) does not cause additional radioactivity in TENORM or any other materials.

The radioactivity of TENORM is concentrated through chemical and physical processes. There are no known plausible mechanisms that would increase the concentration of radioactivity within a landfill cell.

Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) in landfills. In 2014, Governor Rick Snyder directed the Department of Environmental Quality (now EGLE) to assemble a panel of experts to review Michigan's standards for disposing TENORM and assess whether they were sufficiently protective of public health and the environment. This group developed a white paper as a result of conducting a review of numerous studies. At the time of the study, Ra-226 was of most interest. It was concluded that 50 pCi/g of Ra-226 can be safely disposed of at Type I and Type II landfills without adverse impact to human health or the environment.

Many recommendations from the white paper were included in PA 688 of 2018, which defined TENORM in NREPA and created disposal and monitoring requirements at landfills.

Read the full Michigan TENORM Disposal Advisory Panel white paper

NREPA does not require prior notification to the State of shipments of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) destined for disposal in Michigan. It is the responsibility of the landfill operator to do its due diligence to make sure the waste it accepts for disposal meets criteria in NREPA. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers has an internal policy to seek the concurrence of the destination state for the acceptability of each waste stream from its remediation projects. Despite the concurrence request, the State is not notified of individual truck shipments.

Van Buren Township has been copied on concurrence letters in the past and Wayne County will be copied in the future following their request to be added in late August of 2024.