Mixed waste, i.e. waste which is both hazardous and radioactive, is a waste neglected in its treatment and disposal, and even denied in its very existence. Nonetheless, it exists in almost every facility that uses radioisotopes. Because of the difficulty of disposal, it largely remains in storage at these facilities in various forms. The sheer volume has forced its recognition. In order to confront the issues of mixed waste management, four action levels were initiated: a) Low Level Radioactive Waste Committee (LLRW) - The user community: The International Isotope Society (IIS), a professional society of researchers using radioisotopes, formed the LLRW Committee to examine waste issues pertinent to its membership. Hiromi Morimoto was invited to be its West Coast representative, and Philip Williams is the Acting Chair. Several meetings have been held: the inaugural meeting in Chicago, IL (October 95), Chicago, IL (June 96), Mystic, CT (October 96 - first Symposium), Indianapolis (May 1997), Philadelphia (September 1997), and most recently in Ann Arbor MI (May 98 - second Symposium). TITLE: Mixed Waste Dilemma in the United States of America (Continued) The major topics discussed centered on the publication of an educational pamphlet on the beneficial uses of radioisotopes, waste treatment options, and the legal constraints imposed on waste processing. b) LLRW Survey - The scope of the problem. A joint venture between the NTLF and the IIS was initiated to determine the scope of the mixed and radioactive waste problem. A survey was developed to find out the quantities and forms of the generated waste, and disposal options being considered or used. The survey was sent to the researchers on the NTLF mailing list, IIS membership and other colleagues (a total of 99 surveys). Fifty three survey responses were received, which was a response level of 53%. Surveys were grouped under the following categories: Universities, Pharmaceutical, Commercial, and Governmental facilities in the US, and as non-US facilities. The composite results clearly indicated that a storage overload exists for all generator categories. A few institutions are investigating treatment options. We are presently expanding our coverage of sites in California to get a more complete local view. c) Dealing with Mixed Waste - The national conference: Philip Williams and Larry Weaner (R.W. Johnson PRI) organized a one-day conference in Ann Arbor, MI to discuss the practical solutions vs. the local and national legal restrictions governing waste processing.(see the Agenda in the Appendix). Attendees included the EPA, DOE, waste generators and the commercial vendors for waste processing. d) The LLRW WWW Site - Electronic dissemination: Philip Williams and Chit Than created a WWW site for the LLRW Committee. The site contains information about the membership of the committee, the role and mission of the committee, and minutes of meetings. In the future we plan to give links to many other LLRW or Mixed Waste related WWW sites. http//www.intl-isotope-soc.org/iisllrw1.htm
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