• NRC has finalized a change (NUREG 1757, Vol. 1 Rev. 2, page 160) to the License Termination Rule's implementing regulations that removes one of the fundamental principles of radioactive waste management : the longstanding ban on dilution of wastes in order to meet decommissioning standards. This incredibly irresponsible Bush administration move has made the intentional mixing of soil to dilute waste concentrations a legal practice.
  

This was proposed the wording:

The NRC staff will consider the use of intentional mixing of soil to meet the LTR release criteria (i.e., where the mixed soil will be left on the site) only in cases in which an "overall approach" to site cleanup is proposed that includes soil mixing and ALARA. Proposals to use intentional mixing should be part of an overall plan for decontamination and decommissioning (presented in a DP or LTP) of a licensee’s property in which removal and disposal of contaminated components and equipment, decontamination (and demolition, if appropriate) of buildings, removal and disposal of waste streams remaining onsite from past operations, and excavation and removal of large areas of soil contamination as waste, in a systematic fashion that seeks to achieve unrestricted release of the site and renders doses as low as is reasonably achievable. ... Intentional mixing should not be proposed as a sole remedy, for example, to achieve the LTR release criteria using minimal funds, unless this is the only solution to achieving the license termination dose criteria. [emphasis added]

This is the final wording:

The NRC staff will consider the use of intentional mixing of soil to meet the LTR release criteria (i.e., where the mixed soil will be left on the site) only in cases in which an "overall approach" to site cleanup is proposed that includes soil mixing and ALARA. Proposals to use intentional mixing should be part of an overall plan for decontamination and decommissioning (presented in a DP or LTP) of a licensee’s property in which removal and disposal of contaminated components and equipment, decontamination (and demolition, if appropriate) of buildings, removal and disposal of waste streams remaining onsite from past operations, and excavation and removal of large areas of soil contamination as waste, in a systematic fashion that seeks to achieve unrestricted release of the site and renders doses as low as is reasonably achievable. ... Intentional mixing should not be proposed as a sole means to achieve the license termination dose criteria, unless it is the only practical means to achieve the LTR criteria. [emphasis added]

Note the cosmetic change to the last sentence (emphasis). "Practical" indeed.