~     Low  level  wastes  (LLW)  are in  the  news  beacuse  South 
Carolina does not want them,  but had to take them after the other seven states 
in  the South East Compact ganged up on it.   S.C.  got stuck with the disposal 
site  mainly because it already has on of the three US LLW sites  at  Barnwell; 
the  palaver about geology and other irrelevant politicians' talk can be safely 
ignored.   And  S.C.  could  not refuse because the compact must  decide  on  a 
"victim"  from  among  its  members or eventuall accept LLW  from  outside  its 
compact.
     This  fuss  about nobody wanting to accept something as  dreadful  as  Low 
Level  Wastes (LLW) illustrates the depth of the brainwash to which the  public 
has been subjected.  HIGH, repeat HIGH, level wastes are a godsend in that they 
are  so  small in quantity and so limited in duration (compared  with  chemical 
wastes)  that  unlike  any other waste,  they can be  completely  and  reliably 
removed  from  the biosphere,  not to mention the fact that in  electric  power 
generation  they replace waste disposal in human lungs.   But LOW level  wastes 
are not even a godsend:  the are an inocuous next-to-nothing whose only mystery 
is their capacity to frighten the simple-minded.
     I  have  previously reported that the Capitol in Washington,  due  to  the 
uranium  and  thorium content of its granite,  is so radioactive that  the  NRC 
could  not  licence  it  as  a reactor.   Let me now  supplement  this  by  the 
observation that the illustrious Members of Congress who meet in it have enough 
carbon 14 and potassium 40 in the bodies to qualify as LLW,  or as some of them 
like to call it, as radioactive garbage.
     LLW is usually understood to mean radioactive waste with an activity below 
0.01  curies per kilogram (Ci/kg),  a level about one BILLION times lower  than 
that of HIGH-level wastes - too small a factor for the difference to be grasped 
by the average American newspaperman or TV reporter.  It does not, by any menas 
come only from the nuclear power reactors, although in the last few years their 
share has risen to some 57% in volume or 78% in activity.  ?The rest comes from 
medical  use,  academic  research,  and  industry  other  than  electric  power 
generation.   The  industrial category accounts for 41% in  volume,  of  which, 
surprisingly,  only  a small part (3% of the total) originates in  the  weapons 
industry and related military applications; the remainder comes from industrial 
applications  such as weld inspectons and measuring samll thicknesses of moving 
material.  
     Let's  stop at that application for a moment.  The straightforward way  of 
measuring  small  thicknesses is to use a micrometer (often called a  "vernier" 
after one of its components),  or in the paper industry, a "caliper." But these 
tools  are not usable when red-hot sheet metal emerages from the rollers  of  a 
stell mill, or when paper shoots out of the mill at breakneck speeds - up to 60 
MPH.  Yet  the thickness must be continously monitored by a sensor in order  to 
signal  any  change to the controlling computer,  which will readjust  whatever 
determiines the thickness (roller pressure,  for example) to the proper  value. 
The  obvious  answer is to measure thickness by the attenuation  of  radiation, 
that  is,  to measure the amount by which the radiation has weakened in passing 
through an absorbing layer.  Light will not penetrate sheet metal, but Ionizing 
radiation  will.   It is also used for putting on the coatting of glossy  paper 
used by all chic and hence antinuclear magazines.
   Almost all states of the US produce LLW.  (The ones that show zero shipments 
to disposal sites are Alaska,  Montana and North Dakota,  but since they cannot 
get around using modern hospitals,  I frankly don't know what that means.)  The 
actual waste consists of such items as workers' gloves and tools that came into 
contact  with radioisotopes.   A significant part of LLW from power reactors is 
due to the tiny radioactive particles that penetrate from the reactor core into 
the  cooling water.   To prevent their accumulation,  they are removed  by  ion 
exchange  (same  process as in a water softener),  filtered,  and their  volume 
reduced by distilation.  The remaining solid residue is a typical component  of 
LLW.
   Much  of  the LLW,  especially that from hospitals,  is  shortlived.   Other 
isotopes,  including strontium,  last for decades.  But in eitehr  case,  their 
concentration  and  radioactivity are so low that they need only be  buried  in 
shallow  depositories assuring that they will not get into the drinking  water.  
If  the  same care were taken with the transportation and disposal of  CHEMICAL 
toxic wastes,  the economy would probably come to a standstill.   For  example, 
LLW from power reactors are,  before transportation,  solidified and compacted; 
the NRC does not allow liquid LLW. If chemical regulations were equally strict, 
you would not be trusted to have detergent,  nail polish, battery acid or other 
undrinkable liquids in your home,  and you we strictly regulated to prevent you 
eating rubber tires.
   LLW  once again prove that people are not afraid of what is  dangerous,  but 
what  they do not understand.   And much of the educational establishment,  far 
from understanding itself, sees to it that others won't understand either.

   This  was from the excellent newsletter ACCESS TO ENERGY by  Petr  Beckmann, 
Oct  1986 Vol.  14,no.2.  You can get 12 mothly issues by sending $22 (or $1 in 
pre-1965 silver coins) to Access to Energy, P.O. BOX 2298, Boulder,CO 80306. n get 12 m