Two members of the Joint Munitions Command’s Low-Level Radioactive Waste Program, which works out of the Morris Consolidation Facility and is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Lead Agent Program, recently traveled to the Middle East.
At Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on April 17 through April 27, Mike Kurth and Tyler Werke, health physicists for JMC, worked with the U.S. Army Central Command to identify and inventory the LLRW that needed to be retrieved.
The pair helped with low-level radioactive commodity inventory verifications, subsequent packaging, permitting and manifesting tasks for over 100 sources — three wood crates totaling 100-square-feet of radioactive commodities, including extra thorium optics — that were loaded into shipping containers and then returned to the United States for disposition.
These materials include common commodities like compasses, chemical agent detectors, optical lenses, and sighting and alignment devices. Because most of these items are standard issue for service members and military facilities, the mission is not inherently dangerous.
“When a radioactive glow in the dark source is no longer useable — it malfunctions, or it reaches an age where it’s not glowing in the dark — then the soldier will turn it in,” Kurth said. “We’re the team that will collect and properly repurpose, recycle, or safely dispose of those turned in items.
“When unwanted radioactive items are turned in, we first try to repurpose it. If that's not possible, we recycle it. If neither of those options are viable, we will dispose of it at a licensed or permitted hazardous waste disposal facility,” Kurth added. “There are a select few hazardous disposal sites for radioactive materials. The military does not have its own radioactive waste disposal facility. Instead, we rely on those few specialized hazardous disposal facilities for radioactive waste.”
JMC’s LLRW team travels to military bases around the world to pack and ship low-level radioactive waste. They go overseas every few years, but they hadn't been to Kuwait in nine years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program's efforts help to ensure that the Army follows all environmental regulations, and that LLRW is managed in a safe and secure manner.
In addition to the environmental benefits, the LLRW program also has economic benefits. The cost of disposing of LLRW is significant, and the program helps keep those costs down through repurposing, recycling, and minimizing disposal volumes.
Social Sharing