20.6 Disposition of Remediation Waste
257
20.6 Disposition of Remediation Waste
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks more than 1.2 million
tons of material required disposal [10]. Debris from the collapsed buildings was first
lifted from the pile of rubble at the site and placed into one of two primary staging
areas and, from there, moved to barges that took the debris to an existing landfill
on Staten Island where over 50 hectares were set aside for these materials. Some of
the debris was structural steel that was later recycled, much was contaminated with
asbestos, PCBs, and other harmful substances, and much was simply debris from the
buildings. More than 1000 workers were present on the World Trade Center site and
several hundred more worked at the landfill. Removing and disposing of the waste
from these attacks was a major undertaking—one that would pale in comparison to
the magnitude and complexity of remediation following a radiological or nuclear
attack.
20.6.1 Overall Flow of Waste
Once remediation begins, rubble will be removed from the areas that were destroyed
by the bomb or collapsed by the blast wave. Chemical explosives will typically have
a radius of destruction of up to a few hundred meters while for nuclear explosives the
“rubble zone” will extend to a distance of as much as 1 km in all direction and the
radius of the mass fire might be even larger, while the fallout plume can extend for
a few tens of kilometers downwind. It might be necessary to begin removing waste
materials at a distance from the site of the attack and to work inwards. Eventually,
the removal of waste will include decontamination waste, materials with high levels
of fixed contamination, materials that do not warrant decontamination, and even
buildings that are demolished because of the high cost of remediation and repair.
After removal from the area being remediated, the waste will likely be placed in
one of a number of staging areas. As rubble and waste materials are removed they
will need to be sorted (if possible) into radiological and non-radiological streams so
that they can be treated appropriately—if possible, only radiological wastes should
be sent to radioactive waste storage or disposal areas. These staging areas should
be relatively convenient to the area(s) being remediated if possible, as well as to
transportation routes to the waste disposal site(s).
From the staging area(s) the waste will be placed into containers (if necessary)
and onto trucks, trains, barges, or whatever mode of transportation will be used to
transport the waste for final disposition. Once at the waste site (a licensed radioactive
waste facility or landfill) the waste will be removed from the transportation and
disposed of according to the regulations and procedures governing work at that
facility.
At each stage it is important to remember that the waste and contamination might
also be evidence for the criminal (and other) investigations taking place. Because
257
20.6 Disposition of Remediation Waste
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks more than 1.2 million
tons of material required disposal [10]. Debris from the collapsed buildings was first
lifted from the pile of rubble at the site and placed into one of two primary staging
areas and, from there, moved to barges that took the debris to an existing landfill
on Staten Island where over 50 hectares were set aside for these materials. Some of
the debris was structural steel that was later recycled, much was contaminated with
asbestos, PCBs, and other harmful substances, and much was simply debris from the
buildings. More than 1000 workers were present on the World Trade Center site and
several hundred more worked at the landfill. Removing and disposing of the waste
from these attacks was a major undertaking—one that would pale in comparison to
the magnitude and complexity of remediation following a radiological or nuclear
attack.
20.6.1 Overall Flow of Waste
Once remediation begins, rubble will be removed from the areas that were destroyed
by the bomb or collapsed by the blast wave. Chemical explosives will typically have
a radius of destruction of up to a few hundred meters while for nuclear explosives the
“rubble zone” will extend to a distance of as much as 1 km in all direction and the
radius of the mass fire might be even larger, while the fallout plume can extend for
a few tens of kilometers downwind. It might be necessary to begin removing waste
materials at a distance from the site of the attack and to work inwards. Eventually,
the removal of waste will include decontamination waste, materials with high levels
of fixed contamination, materials that do not warrant decontamination, and even
buildings that are demolished because of the high cost of remediation and repair.
After removal from the area being remediated, the waste will likely be placed in
one of a number of staging areas. As rubble and waste materials are removed they
will need to be sorted (if possible) into radiological and non-radiological streams so
that they can be treated appropriately—if possible, only radiological wastes should
be sent to radioactive waste storage or disposal areas. These staging areas should
be relatively convenient to the area(s) being remediated if possible, as well as to
transportation routes to the waste disposal site(s).
From the staging area(s) the waste will be placed into containers (if necessary)
and onto trucks, trains, barges, or whatever mode of transportation will be used to
transport the waste for final disposition. Once at the waste site (a licensed radioactive
waste facility or landfill) the waste will be removed from the transportation and
disposed of according to the regulations and procedures governing work at that
facility.
At each stage it is important to remember that the waste and contamination might
also be evidence for the criminal (and other) investigations taking place. Because