Nuclear Regulation

Radioactive materials are sometimes discharged into municipal sewer systems by hospitals, decontamination laundries, research facilities, and manufacturers licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). NRC regulations fall short, however, in controlling low-level radioactive wastes being discharged into municipal sewer systems, possibly putting treatment plant workers, plant property, and the general public at risk. During the past decade, at least nine cases of radioactive contamination of sewage sludge have occurred at treatment plants. One of the most recent was the inadvertent discovery by NRC in 1991 of radioactive contamination at the Southerly Sewage Treatment Plant in Cleveland, Ohio. NRC has concluded that the elevated radiation levels at the site do not pose health or safety risks to plant workers or to the public. The facility has already spent more than $1.5 million for on-site cleanup and a secured fence, and estimates for off-site disposal range as high as $3 billion. The full extent of contamination at other treatment plants nationwide is unknown because (1) NRC has inspected only 15 of the 1,100 NRC licensees that may discharge radioactive material to determine if a concentration problem exists, (2) NRC does not know how many of the estimated 3,000 "agreement state" licensees may have been inspected, and (3) neither NRC nor the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires treatment plants to test for the presence of radioactive materials in sewage sludge. Exposure to treatment plant sludge, ash, and related by-products can occur in a variety of ways. For example, some of the substances are used for agricultural and residential purposes, such as lawn fertilizer. NRC and EPA studies on the health effects of radioactive materials in sewage sludge and ash have been inconclusive.