All of the waste shipments made to or from the ORR reservation are under
the regulations of the US Department of Transportation. The DOT ranks materials
according to their hazards in a manner not closely related to the DOE classifcations.
Thus DOE LLW may fall into several DOT categories. The DOT risk model is
based on the total quantity of radioactivity in a "package" which may vary
in size from a small "parcel" to a "truckload" depending on the concentration
of radioactive elements in the waste material. There may be few or many
"packages" shipped in the same vehicle and a range of packaging requirements
apply to DOT Class C7. The following is a simplified version of those rankings
to place the DOE radioactive shipments into perspective.
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| Spec | Explosives (case by case basis) | N/A | Dynamite, TNT, Gunpowder | |
| 1 | Radioactive (exc. limited quantities) | C7 | SNF, TRU,
LSA |
Medical Isotopes, X-ray Sources
LLW (in quanity) |
| 2 | Poisonous Gases | D2.3 | Chlorine | |
| 3 | Flammable Gases | D2.1 | Propane, Oxygen | |
| 4 | Non-flammable, non-poisonous gases | D2.2 | Liquid Nitrogen, Argon | |
| 5 | Poisonous Liquids (by inhalation) | D6.1 | Methyl Isocyanate,
Bromine Solutions |
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| 6 | Spontaneous Combustibles (Pyrophoric) | D4.2 | Phosphorus, Uranium Metal | |
| 7 | Flammable Solids (self reactive) | D4.1 | Some metal powders | |
| 8 | a) Flammable Liquids
b) Corrosive Liquids c) Flammable Solids d) Spontaneous Combustibles (ex 6) e) Dangerous When Wet f) Oxidizers e) Poisonous Solids & Liquids(ex 5) |
C3
C8 D4.1 D4.2 D4.3 D5.1 D6.1 |
TSCA
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Gasoline, Acetone
Bleach(NaClO), HCL Acid Charcoal (some coals) Metal Alkyls Lithium, Sodium Peroxide, Conc. Nitric Acid Chloroform, Methanol |
| 9 | Combustible Liquids | NA | Heating Oil, Diesel Fuel | |
| 10 | Miscellaneous Hazardous | C9 | TSCA,
RCRA, LSA(LQ) |
Household Smoke Detectors,
LLW (limited total radioactivity) |
D/C = DOT Division and Class Designations
DOE = Only examples of radioactive shipments are shown
SNF = Spent Nuclear Fuels
TRU = Transuranic
LLW = Low Level Waste
LSA = Low Specific Activity ( has several subcategories)
LSA(LQ) = Low Specific Activity in Limited Total Radioactivity
RCRA =Resource Conservation Recovery Act
Many materials are specifically assigned to specific ranks.
There are special requirements for each Class and subclass.
Routing, containers and shielding are appropriate to the risk involved.
TSCA Wastes
Most TSCA wastes fall into Rank 10 as do many other LLWs; there are some Rank 8a materials, usually drummed or trucked solvents. The import of TSCA wastes form about one tenth of the wastes shipped out of Oak Ridge. All of the residual ash from TSCA is returned to the originator. TSCA wastes and many other contact-handled, low-activity LLW are not a serious transportation hazard.