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Low-Level Radioactive Waste
The Nevada Test Site plays a pivotal role in the cleanup of historic nuclear weapons sites in the United States by providing a safe and
environmentally-effective facility for the permanent disposal of low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste. The waste disposed at the
Nevada Test Site is accepted only from approved U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense sites and must comply with the
Nevada Test Site Waste Acceptance Criteria.
Typical low-level waste includes materials such as rags, papers, filters, equipment, discarded protective clothing and construction debris.
Low-level waste does not include high-level waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, or radioactive by-product materials.
Low-level radioactive waste can be disposed in engineered pits, trenches, and in subsidence craters at two Radioactive Waste Management
Sites on the Nevada Test Site.
For more information:
Low-Level Waste at the Nevada Test Site [PDF, 1.3 MB]
Transporting Low-Level Waste to the Nevada Test Site [PDF, 811 KB]
Mixed Low-Level Radioactive Waste
 Click here to learn more about the submittal of a permit application to construct a new
mixed low-level waste disposal cell at the Nevada Test Site.
Click here to view the informational posters displayed during the Open House in Pahrump on September 2, 2009,
regarding the submittal of a permit application to construct a new mixed low-level waste disposal cell at the Nevada Test Site.
Mixed low-level radioactive waste contains both hazardous waste, as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
and low-level radioactive waste. As a result of the presence of the hazardous component, mixed low-level radioactive waste is
regulated and managed separately from low-level radioactive waste. This waste is disposed in the Mixed Waste Disposal Unit,
located within the Nevada Test Site Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex. The unit operates under a RCRA permit which
limits the disposal of no more than 20,000 cubic meters and is to be permanently closed upon reaching volume capacity or by
December 2010, whichever comes first.
For more information:
Mixed Low-Level Waste at the Nevada Test Site [ PDF, 583 KB ]
Regulatory Requirements [ PDF, 3.2 MB ]
Transporting
Low-Level and Mixed Low-Level Waste to the Nevada Test Site [PDF, 811 KB]
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