Waste from the cleanup activities at the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) was generated from excavated soil, unusable equipment and supplies, and building debris. After sampling to identify the type of waste, the Department of Energy (DOE) packaged and shipped the waste to the appropriate disposal facility according to U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. The types of waste and the disposal facilities to which DOE shipped materials were:
- Uncontaminated waste disposed of at Class III or unclassified municipal landfills in California
- Hazardous waste and decommissioned material disposed of at California Class I or Class II landfills
- Low level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposed of at the Nevada Test Site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site
Decommissioned Material
As part of the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) process, building debris and soil was radiologically sampled by Boeing, DOE, and other regulatory agencies such as the California Department of Health Services. If it showed that strict federal and state cleanup standards had been met, then the material was certified as being suitable for release for unrestricted use. Following this certification, and prior to 2002, this material was generally sent to Class III municipal landfills.
In September 2002, California Executive Order D-62-02 imposed a moratorium on the disposal of all materials that met federal and state cleanup standards into Class III or unclassified waste management units, known as decommissioned material (DM). Since then, all decommissioned materials from ETEC and Area IV of SSFL have been sent to Class I hazardous waste landfills in compliance with the moratorium. Read about the Shipments of Decommissioned Material to Kettleman Hills, which describes the process used for disposal of decommissioned materials from Building 4024 and 4059.
State Sampling of Landfills
In April 2002, the State of California ordered the sampling of 50 landfills and found no evidence of unauthorized disposal of licensed radioactive material or waste. Read the two reports prepared for the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB):