Transfer to an Authorized Recipient for Disposal

Licensees may transfer radioactive waste to an authorized recipient for disposal at a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. An authorized recipient could include a waste collector , commonly called a waste broker, a waste processor, or a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility.

There are some special cases as well. For example, under certain conditions a nuclear pharmacy can be licensed to receive low level radioactive waste from their medical clients. This waste might include gloves or syringes and needles that have low levels of radioactive contamination. Often, these nuclear pharmacies will hold the items for decay-in-storage and then dispose of them as medical waste. Medical use licensees may wish to check with their radiopharmaceutical supplier or appropriate regulatory agency to determine if such radioactively contaminated items can be returned to the nuclear pharmacy as low level radioactive waste.

Also, some manufacturers of radioactive sources and devices are authorized to receive radioactive sources and devices from their customers for disposal. Licensees that are end-users of sources and devices are responsible for verification that the intended recipient is authorized to receive the radioactive materials or sources prior to making any shipment.

Recordkeeping requirements regarding the receipt, transfer, and disposal of byproduct material can be found in: 10 CFR 30.51(a), Records, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part030/part030-0051.html

Guidance regarding transfer of radioactive material can be found in the NUREG 1556 series of documents. Please refer to the volume that is associated with your particular license type. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1556/