ANDREWS, Texas, Nov. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Waste Control Specialists announced that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has approved the WCS Updated Performance Assessment (PA) for its Compact Waste Facility and Federal Waste Facility. The PA highlights the unique geology of the site making it an ideal location for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste. TCEQ's approval was received on October 30, 2019, and updates are required every five years.
"The WCS facility has superior geology and disposal depth compared to all other commercially available alternatives in the country," said WCS President David Carlson. "This means our site provides the best environmental protection in the nation which ensures the safety of our employees as well as the safety of both present and future residents of our communities."
The PA examines site features such as geology, surface water and groundwater, potential future weather changes, residential and intrusion scenarios, and possible future uses of the land out to one million years. The WCS PA meets all Texas requirements and goes far beyond the federally recommended compliance period of one to ten thousand years after site closure.
The current disposed WCS inventory has a peak dose of approximately 0.5 millirem per year at 170,000 years from closure of the facility. For comparative purposes, the average person in the U.S. receives a dose of approximately 620 millirem per year, with about half of that coming from naturally occurring background radiation.
Carlson noted that in addition to the careful processes and quality controls in place at WCS, what distinguishes it from other facilities is the protection it provides through the natural geological site characteristics – most notably, the 600-ft. thick nearly impermeable red-bed clay formation on which it sits. The site is also not near any potable water sources, and is vigorously monitored for this and other environmental impacts.
"The TCEQ review and approval validates that not only are we the safest site for low level radioactive waste disposal right now, but that the site's unique characteristics will continue to protect the people and the surrounding environment well beyond the foreseeable future."
About Waste Control Specialists
Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) is a treatment, storage, & disposal company dealing in radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes. WCS is the only privately owned and operated facility in the United States that has been licensed to treat, store and dispose of Class A, B and C low-level radioactive waste. (LLRW).
SOURCE Waste Control Specialists
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