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Section Home Pages • X-Ray • Environmental Radiation Monitoring and Assessment • Radiological
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The Division of Environmental Health licenses, certifications, and permits
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Waste Management Section
The mission of the Waste Management Section is to license and regulate the commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal site, uranium millsite, and radioactive waste processor in the state of Washington to ensure the health and safety of site employees, the public, and protection of the environment.
A license for the receipt and disposal of low-level radioactive waste is issued to US Ecology by this section. An on-site inspector checks each shipment of waste arriving at the disposal facility. Inspections include a comprehensive review of all shipping documents, thorough radiation survey of the transport vehicle, and a visual inspection of the individual containers for appropriate marking, labeling and container integrity. Weekly random inspections of container contents ensure that shippers are complying with the packaging requirements of the operator's disposal license. Certain aspects of the licensee's operations are reviewed daily and monthly to ensure that the facility operator is adhering to the regulations, license requirements, and procedures. In addition to the on-site inspector's daily and monthly routine inspections of operations, the Waste Management Section performs multiple inspections of the operator's radiation safety program. These inspections ensure that by the end of the year the entire radiation safety program at the facility has been reviewed.
The Waste Management Section regulates the Dawn Mining Company uranium millsite. Since the mill was shut down, Dawn Mining Company has been in the process of cleaning up the millsite with Waste Management Section oversight. Cleanup includes demolition and burial of site buildings, contaminated soil, and remediation of contaminated ground water. The section also issues a radioactive materials license to the facility and performs compliance inspections of operations to ensure they are conducted in accordance with the facility's license, and applicable regulations.
Perma-Fix Northwest Richland, Inc. (Formerly Pacific EcoSolutions, Inc.) Two licenses are issued to Perma-Fix to possess and process radioactive material; one for low-level waste and the other for mixed waste. An inspector is assigned to this facility. Shipments of material coming to and leaving the facility are checked. Inspections include examination of the shipping documents, a thorough radiation survey of the transport vehicle, and a visual inspection of the individual containers for appropriate marking, labeling and container integrity. The inspector also performs licensing functions for the facility to ensure that old and new processes are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Frequent inspections of the facility's operations ensure compliance with the radioactive material license. Throughout the year, the licensee’s entire radiation protection program is reviewed by the inspector with assistance from other groups and agencies.
Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health. For more information call or email the appropriate person. Send written correspondence to the address below or fax to 360-236-2255.
Mikel J. Elsen, Supervisor
360-236-3241 Dorothy Stoffel, Project Manager - Dawn Mining Company 509-456-3166 Sean Murphy, Project Manager - Pacific Eco Solutions (PEcoS) 509-943-6626 Kristin Felix, Secretary 360-236-3240 |
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