IONIZING RADIATION: Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Emissions

General Manufacturing Information :
Gamma radiation: High-energy, short wavelength, electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus. Gamma radiation frequently accompanies alpha and beta emissions and always accompanies fission. Gamma rays are very penetrating and are best stopped or shielded by dense materials, such as lead or depleted uranium. Gamma rays are similar to x-rays.
[NRC; Glossary. Available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary.html as of March 28, 2006 ]**PEER REVIEWED**

General Manufacturing Information :
Working level (WL): Any combination of short-lived radon daughters in one liter of air that will result in the emission of 1.3x10+5 MeV of potential energy.
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. v. 78, p 559]**PEER REVIEWED**

Analytic Laboratory Methods :
Thermoluminescence dosimetry is well suited to personal monitoring of exposure to beta particles and photons and has replaced film dosimetry in many situations. The dose is read after heating the thermoluminescent material at a uniform rate in a light-tight chamber and allowing the emitted light to fall directly on the photosensitive cathode of a photomultiplier tube. Each thermoluminescent compound has a characteristic emission as a function of temperature, known as a "glow curve." The chemicals most commonly used for photon dosimetry are lithium fluoride, beryllium oxide and lithium borate. Thermoluminescent detectors containing these chemicals can be used to measure doses ranging from 0.1 mGy to 1000 Gy, and their response, like that of soft tissues, is not strongly dependent on the radiation energy. /Beta and Gamma Emitters/
[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V75 43 (2000)]**PEER REVIEWED**

Other Occupational Permissible Levels :
The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 as amended in 1985 (42 USC 2021b et. seq.) requires each State /in the U.S./ to be responsible for providing disposal capacity for commercial low level radioactive waste generated within its borders by January 1, 1986. It encouraged States to form regional compacts to develop new disposal facilities. The LLRWPA was amended in 1985 to provide States more time to develop facilities and to provide incentives for volume reduction of low level radioactive waste.
[U.S. EPA, Laws We Use (Summaries), 1980 - Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act as amended in 1985 (42 USC 2021b et. seq.). Available from http://www.epa.gov/radiation/laws/laws_sum.htm as of November 28, 2005. ]**PEER REVIEWED**

For more information see IONIZING RADIATION: Nuclear Power Plant Emissions

All of the above is directly from http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/