The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) request your participation in a joint
national survey of the concentrations of radioactive material
in sewage sludge (biosolids), ash, and related byproducts.
NRC regulations in 10 CFR 20.2003 currently permit licensee disposal
of certain specific quantities of soluble or readily dispersible
biological radioactive material into a sanitary sewer system.
The EPA regulation that addresses the use or disposal of sewage
sludge (40 CFR Part 503) currently does not address radionuclides.
This survey will help determine the adequacy of the present NRC
and EPA regulations addressing the discharge of radioactive material
to the sanitary sewer system. It will also respond to a recommendation
from the General Accounting Office (GAO) to determine the extent
to which radioactive contamination in sewage sludge, ash, and
related byproducts is occurring (GAO report, "Actions Needed
to Control Radioactive Contamination at Sewage Treatment Plants,"
May 1994).
1.2 When and Where to File
Please return the completed questionnaire within 30 days of date
of receipt to the address below:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Attn: Mary Thomas
Mail Stop T-9C24
Washington, DC 20555
1.3 Reporting Period
Please report information for the last 12 months or the last calendar
year.
1.4 Further Information
If you require assistance in completing this questionnaire, call
Robert Bastian, EPA, at 202-260-7378, (email: bastian.robert@epa.gov)or
Mary Thomas, NRC, at 1-800-368-5642-extension 6230 (email: mlt1@nrc.gov).
End-products are the materials
that leave the treatment facility or are disposed of onsite after
all processing is completed (e.g., ash from incineration, digested
liquid or dewatered cake, dried pellets, compost).
Incineration is the combustion
of matter in sewage sludge by high temperatures in an enclosed
device.
Land application is the application
of sewage sludge to land to either condition the soil or fertilize
crops or other vegetation.
Monofills are landfills where
only sewage sludge is disposed. Monofills include trenches and
area fills.
Municipal solid waste landfill
is a landfill that receives household waste, and that is not a
land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well, or
waste pile. Such a landfill may be publicly or privately owned.
Sewage sludge is solid, semi-solid,
or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage
in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited
to: domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary,
or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and material derived
from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated
during the incineration of sewage sludge or grit and screenings
generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a
treatment works.
Surface disposal is the
placement of sewage sludge on an area of land for final disposal.
It includes monofills, surface impoundments, lagoons, waste piles,
and dedicated disposal sites. It does not include treatment and
storage of sewage sludge, although placement on land for longer
than 2 years is considered surface disposal unless the site owner/operator
retains written records demonstrating that the operation constitutes
a treatment or temporary storage site.
Treatment worksis
either a Federally-owned, publicly-owned, or privately-owned device
or system used to treat (including recycle and reclaim) either
domestic sewage or a combination of domestic sewage and industrial
waste of a liquid nature.
Use or disposal includes:
land application of bulk sewage sludge, land application of sewage
sludge sold or given away in a bag or other container, surface
disposal, disposal in a municipal solid waste landfill unit, incineration,
or any other use or disposal practice (e.g., vitrification, use
in asphalt or brick production, etc.).
Indicate below the level(s) of wastewater treatment achieved
by this treatment works. (Mark
X for all that apply.)
a. Primary treatment
b. Secondary treatment
c. Advanced treatment
Provide the annual average daily total flow rate for the last
12 months or the last calendar year (the total volume of wastewater
treated by the treatment works
in one year divided by 365). Use Gallons per Day (GPD) if your
total daily flow rate is less than 10,000 GPD, or use Million
Gallons per Day (MGD), but not both.
__________________ GPD or MGD (Circle one) over the last 12 months
or last calendar year (circle one)
List the zip codes served by the collection system for this
treatment works. This information is needed so NRC can identify
licensees that can potentially discharge to your collection
system. A list of these licensees will be sent to you in return
for providing this information.
Identify the sewage sludge treatment
process(es) used at your treatment works. (Mark X for all that
apply.)
Treatment works did not process
sewage sludge in the last 12 months or the last calendar year.
Explain:
Thickening
Mechanical dewatering by_________________
(Please fill in process(es) used.)
Other sewage sludge treatment processes
(Please specify.) _____________________
Check the boxes below to indicate the sewage sludge use or
disposal practice employed at your facility or by others using/disposing
of your sewage sludge or ash. Also describe the product as one
of the following: slurry, dewatered cake, compost, pellets,
ash, effluent, grit, or other. Note if the product is stored
onsite before ultimately being disposed offsite; and if the
product is stored onsite, the time stored onsite.
