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Environmental Management

Notices affecting the public, including the issuance of public reports and scheduling of upcoming public meetings conducted by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Nuclear Safety, are included in this section.

Illinois Codifies Land Application and Disposal Regulations for Radium Treatment Residuals

On December 7, 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) finalized their drinking water standards for removal of radionuclides. The regulations became effective in December of 2003 and drinking water treatment facilities were mandated to meet the 5 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) limit for combined radium. As radium is removed from the raw water and manifests itself either in the drinking water treatment media or at a wastewater treatment facility; the management of these treatment residuals is the subject of regulations recently promulgated by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's (IEMA) Division of Nuclear Safety (DNS).

Specifically, persons producing or possessing residuals or sludge resulting from the treatment of water or sewage and containing naturally occurring radium from groundwater are exempt from licensure provided they contain a combined radium (Radium-226 and Radium-228) concentration less than or equal to 200 pCi/g (picocuries per gram, dry weight basis). Ultimately, the exemption came about in response to petitions for higher land application rates for radium, agency response efforts at landfills and scrap yards handling treatment residuals and equipment contaminated with radium, the need to create awareness and the agency's responsibility to protect the health and safety of municipal workers. Specific details on requirements for land application, field sampling, disposal, and annual reporting were codified in the resulting rule.

Additional Information pertaining to the regulation can be found using the below links.

The Safety Culture Policy Statement

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) recognizes the importance of individuals at organizations performing or overseeing regulated activities establishing and maintaining a strong safety culture – a work environment where management and employees are dedicated to putting safety first. An active and positive safety culture within IEMA and at regulated facilities is a key element in IEMA’s mission to protect public health and safety. See the full details​.

Low-Level Radioactive Waste

The Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Act established the Illinois Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) Task Group to develop site selection criteria and to provide an independent evaluation of a site proposed for a LLRW disposal facility. The Task Group developed and adopted 25 principle and supplemental criteria to be used in the site selection process. The principle criteria relate to the geographic, geologic, seismologic, tectonic, hydrologic and other scientific conditions best suited for a regional disposal facility. The supplemental criteria include land use, economics, transportation, meteorology and other factors identified by the Task Group that relate to desirable conditions for a regional disposal facility. All sites proposed for the development of a regional disposal facility will be reviewed by the Task Group to ensure they meet the criteria.

This section provides notices of upcoming Task Group meetings and copies of Task Group meeting transcripts.​​​​​​​

IEMA-OHS Low Level Radioactive Waste Program