Novel approaches in determining baseline information on annual disposal rates and trace element content of U.S. coal combustion residues : a response to EPA’s June 2010 proposed disposal rule

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dc.contributor.advisorGroat, Charles G.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGrimshaw, Thomas W.en
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKyle, Richarden
dc.creatorChwialkowski, Natalia Ewaen
dc.date.accessioned2011-02-14T21:40:59Zen
dc.date.accessioned2011-02-14T21:41:13Zen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-11T22:21:19Z
dc.date.available2011-02-14T21:40:59Zen
dc.date.available2011-02-14T21:41:13Zen
dc.date.available2017-05-11T22:21:19Z
dc.date.issued2010-12en
dc.date.submittedDecember 2010en
dc.date.updated2011-02-14T21:41:13Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractAlthough products of coal combustion (PCCs) such as coal ash are currently exempted from classification as a hazardous waste in the United States under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now revising a proposed rule to modify disposal practices for these materials in order to prevent contamination of ground- and surface water sources by leached trace elements. This paper analyzes several aspects of EPA’s scientific reasoning for instating the rule, with the intent of answering the following questions: 1) Are EPA’s cited values for PCC production and disposal accurate estimates of annual totals?; 2) In what ways can EPA’s leaching risk modeling assessment be improved?; 3) What is the total quantity of trace elements contained within all PCCs disposed annually?; and 4) What would be the potential costs and feasibility of reclassifying PCCs not under RCRA, but under existing NRC regulations as low-level radioactive waste (LLRW)? Among the results of my calculations, I found that although EPA estimates for annual PCC disposal are 20% larger than industry statistics, these latter values appear to be closer to reality. Second, EPA appears to have significantly underestimated historical PCC disposal: my projections indicate that EPA’s maximum estimate for the quantity of fly ash landfilled within the past 90 years was likely met by production in the last 30 years alone, if not less. Finally, my analysis indicates that while PCCs may potentially meet the criteria for reclassification as low-level radioactive waste by NRC, the cost of such regulation would be many times that of the EPA June proposed disposal rule ($220-302 billion for PCCs disposed in 2008 alone, versus $1.47 billion per year for the Subtitle C option and $236-587 million for Subtitle D regulatory options).en
dc.description.departmentEnergy and Earth Resourcesen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-12-2386en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.subjectEnvironmental policyen
dc.subjectWater contaminationen
dc.subjectLeachingen
dc.subjectCoal ashen
dc.subjectCoalen
dc.subjectFly ashen
dc.subjectBottom ashen
dc.subjectBoiler slagen
dc.subjectEPAen
dc.subjectNRCen
dc.subjectRCRAen
dc.subjectRadionuclidesen
dc.subjectLow-level radioactive wasteen
dc.subjectLLRWen
dc.subjectCoal combustionen
dc.subjectCoal combustion residuesen
dc.subjectCoal combustion productsen
dc.subjectCoal ash disposalen
dc.subjectProducts of coal combustionen
dc.subjectResource Conservation and Recovery Acten
dc.subjectPCC disposalen
dc.subjectWaste disposalen
dc.titleNovel approaches in determining baseline information on annual disposal rates and trace element content of U.S. coal combustion residues : a response to EPA’s June 2010 proposed disposal ruleen
dc.type.genrethesisen

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