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Coming
Clean on Waste
 TVA’s
generation of low-level radioactive waste fluctuates as a result of
individual facilities’ needs, but the agency remains committed
to the goal of decreasing its overall production of such waste.
Like many other
entities, TVA is hampered in its disposal of radioactive waste by a
lack of economical licensed-and-permitted disposal facilities. The agency
has Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to store some levels of radioactive
waste onsite until a better disposal solution is available.
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Click chart
for raw data.
Increases
resulted from the following large-scale remediation projects:
Power Service Center (1999);
Tellico Battery Project and Environmental Research Center (2000).
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For small amounts
of hazardous waste—lead paint, solvents, and certain heavy metals,
for example—TVA maintains its own storage and disposal facility.
Larger quantities of hazardous waste are shipped directly to approved
contractors when possible.
TVA lacks a standardized,
agencywide removal plan for materials like polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB). Most high-risk PCB equipment has been removed or retrofilled,
but a recent shift in the EPA’s definition of what constitutes
PCB materials has intensified the need for a systematic phase-out plan.
Another area in
which a removal plan is needed centers on such substances as ozone-depleting
refrigerants. To comply with U.S. Presidential Executive Order 13148,
some TVA business units are already phasing out the procurement of these
materials; the agency will have a comprehensive phase-out plan in place
before the 2010 deadline set by the order.
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