Utah is home to one of four active commercial disposal facilities for Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) in the United States. Through the EnergySolutions Clive facility, the state provides a critical service for the entire nation, safely managing materials from hospitals, power plants, and research labs.
What exactly is “Low-Level” Waste?
The term “low-level” refers to how the waste was created rather than how radioactive it is. It includes items that have become contaminated with radioactive material or have become radioactive by neutron activation.
Common examples handled by the state include medical and lab supplies, including used syringes, swabs, medical tubes, or laboratory tissues; industrial gear that has been contaminated, like shoe covers, clothing, rags, mops, or filters; and certain equipment, tools, and system maintenance byproducts can also be classified as Low-Level Radioactive Waste.
Storage and transportation
Radioactivity in these items can range from just above natural background levels to very high levels (such as parts from inside a nuclear reactor vessel). Because of this, the disposal and transportation process is strictly controlled:
Waste is often stored at the hospital or power plant until it decays naturally or until there is enough for a shipment to an authorized disposal facility.
Once ready, the waste is packed into specialized containers approved by the Department of Transportation and shipped to a licensed disposal site, such as the one in Utah’s West Desert.
Utah’s specific oversight
Because Utah is an NRC Agreement State, our own state scientists and inspectors—not federal agents—are the primary boots-on-the-ground overseeing these operations.
Utah is licensed to accept Class A waste—the most common category—and receives shipments from all over the United States. Class A is the least radioactive and least hazardous classification designated by the NRC
By state law, Utah does not accept the more highly radioactive “Class B” or “Class C” commercial waste.