[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54671-54673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26481]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Availability of Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Study

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: Today's notice is announcing the availability of the Remote-
Handled Transuranic Waste Study. The study was prepared by the 
Department in fulfillment of a congressional mandate specified in 
Public Law 102-579, referred to as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land 
Withdrawal Act. In addition, the Department considers the preparation 
of the study to be a prudent element in the compliance certification 
process for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The study includes 
an analysis of the impact of remote-handled Transuranic waste on the 

[[Page 54672]]
performance assessment of the WIPP and a comparison of remote-handled 
Transuranic waste with contact-handled Transuranic waste on issues of 
gas generation, flammability, explosiveness, solubility, and brine and 
geochemical interactions.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste 
Study (Document Number DOE/CAO 95-1095) telephone the WIPP Information 
Center at 1-800-336-9477. Also, the study can be viewed at the Internet 
address: http://www.wipp.carlsbad.nm.us. In addition, copies of the 
Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Study are available for inspection at 
the following WIPP reading rooms: Public Library Reading Room, 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585; Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, 
NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20004; Office of Scientific and 
Technical Information, Technical Information Center, Department of 
Energy, 55 South Jefferson Circle, Room 112, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; WIPP 
Public Reading Room, National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque Operations 
Office, Department of Energy, Pennsylvania and H Street, Albuquerque, 
NM 87115; Zimmerman Library, Government Publications Department, 
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87138; Carlsbad Public 
Library, 101 S. Halagueno Street, Carlsbad, NM 88220; Pannell Library, 
New Mexico Junior College, 5317 Lovington Highway, Hobbs, NM 88240; 
Thomas Brannigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho, Las Cruces, NM 
88005; Raton Public Library, 244 Cook Avenue, Raton, NM 87740; New 
Mexico State Library, 325 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87503; Martin Speare 
Memorial Library, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Campus 
Station, Socorro, NM 87801; Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, 
Boise Office, 816 West Bannock, Suite 306, Boise ID 83706; Shoshone-
Bannock Library, Human Resources Center, Bannock and Pima, Fort Hall, 
ID 83203; Public Reading Room, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory 
Technical Library, 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83402; 
University of Idaho Library, Government Document Department, University 
of Idaho Campus, Rayburn Street, Moscow, ID 83403; Moscow Environmental 
Restoration Information Office, 530 South Ashbury, Suite 2, Moscow, ID 
83843; Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Pocatello Office, 1651 AT 
Ricken Drive, Pocatello, ID 83201; Idaho National Engineering 
Laboratory, Twin Falls Office, 233 2nd Street North, Suite B, Twin 
Falls, ID 83301; Standley Lake Library, 8485 Kipling Street, Arvada, CO 
80005; Information Center, Colorado Department of Public Health and 
Environment, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Building A, Denver CO 
80222-1530; Superfund Records Center, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 999 18th Street, 5th Floor, Denver, CO 80220; Rocky Flats 
Public Reading Room, Department of Energy, Front Range Community 
College Library, 3645 West 112th Avenue, Westminster, CO 80030; 
Citizens Advisory Board, 9035 N. Wadsworth Parkway, Suite 2250, 
Westminster, CO 80021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written questions and comments should 
be directed to: George Basabilvazo, Carlsbad Area Office, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 101 West Greene Street, Carlsbad, New Mexico 
88220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The ``Department of Energy National Security and Military 
Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1980'' (Public Law 
96-164) authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a research 
and development facility to demonstrate the safe disposal of 
radioactive waste generated by national defense activities. The WIPP is 
required to meet the statutory requirements of Public Law 96-164.
    TRU waste is waste that contains alpha particle-emitting 
radionuclides with an atomic number greater than that of uranium (92), 
half-lives greater than 20 years, and concentrations greater than 100 
nanocuries per gram of waste. TRU waste is classified according to the 
radiation dose rate at a package surface. Contact-handled (CH) TRU 
waste has a radiation dose rate at a package surface of 200 millirem 
per hour or less; this waste can be safely handled directly by 
personnel.
    Remote-handled (RH) TRU waste has a radiation dose rate at a 
package surface of 200 millirem or greater per hour but not more than 
1,000 rem per hour; this waste must be handled remotely (i.e., with 
machinery designed to shield the handler from radiation). Alpha 
radiation is the primary factor in the radiation health hazard 
associated with TRU waste. Alpha radiation is not energetic enough to 
penetrate human skin but poses a health hazard if it is taken into the 
body (e.g., inhaled or ingested). In addition to alpha radiation, TRU 
waste also emits gamma and/or beta radiation, which can penetrate the 
human body and requires shielding during transport and handling. RH- 
TRU waste has gamma and/or beta radiation emitting radionuclides in 
greater quantities than exist in CH-TRU waste.
    Before 1970, material that is now classified as contact-handled TRU 
waste was not segregated from low-level waste and was buried along with 
low-level waste. At the time of burial, the DOE did not intend to 
retrieve that waste. Since the Atomic Energy Commission (one of the 
DOE's predecessor agencies) adopted a policy requiring retrievable 
storage of certain waste containing Transuranic radionuclides in 1970, 
DOE TRU waste has been stored in containers so that it could be easily 
retrieved when future decisions were made regarding the management or 
disposition of this waste. About 55 percent of the Department's current 
TRU waste inventory contains hazardous substances regulated under the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The fraction of TRU waste 
streams that contains hazardous substances is expected to decrease in 
the future due to DOE pollution prevention activities.
    In 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-579, the ``Waste Isolation 
Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act'' (LWA) which withdrew the land on 
which the WIPP is situated from public use and transferred jurisdiction 
over the site from the Secretary of Interior to the Secretary of 
Energy. Although the DOE is now conducting experiments in laboratories, 
at the time the LWA was passed, DOE planned on performing experiments 
with TRU waste in excavated rooms in the WIPP underground. The LWA 
limited experiments in the underground to those with small quantities 
of CH-TRU waste during the planned test phase. The repository tests 
were abandoned in October 1993. Tests are currently planned at INEL 
using actual TRU wastes to evaluate waste performance under potential 
repository conditions.
    The LWA prohibits RH-TRU waste at the facility until a decision is 
made to use WIPP as a permanent repository. However, section 6(c)(2)(B) 
of the LWA requires a study to evaluate the effects of RH-TRU waste on 
performance assessment of the WIPP. The LWA also requires the study to 
compare the two waste types in the areas of gas generation, 
flammability, explosiveness, solubility, and brine and geochemical 
interactions. In addition, the LWA requires the study to be completed 
within three years of the date of enactment (October 30, 1992), be 
conducted in consultation with states affected by WIPP and the 
Administrator of the EPA. Views were also solicited from other 
interested parties. Review 

[[Page 54673]]
comments from the affected states, the Administrator and other 
interested parties on the RH-TRU waste study Implementation Plan and on 
a draft report of the RH-TRU waste study helped improve the quality of 
the final report.

Scope of Study

    The Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Study has been conducted in 
accordance with section 6(c)(2)(B) of the LWA. The study evaluates the 
impact of RH-TRU waste on the performance assessment of the WIPP 
baseline configuration. In addition, the study also compares the 
characteristics of CH-TRU and RH-TRU waste as expected to be received 
at WIPP as well as the potential affects of the wastes on gas 
generation, flammability, explosiveness, solubility and, brine and 
geochemical interactions after emplacement in the WIPP underground. The 
Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Study does not include an analysis of 
RH-TRU waste characteristics on the transportation and operational 
aspects of the WIPP program.

Study Summary

    The Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Study has three main sections: 
the Transuranic waste disposal strategy; comparison of contact-handled 
and remote-handled Transuranic wastes; and analysis of the impact of 
remote-handled waste on performance assessment.
    In the section on the Transuranic waste disposal strategy, elements 
of the WIPP baseline configuration considered to be important for the 
study are described. These elements include: room configuration, waste 
packaging, RH-TRU waste emplacement and shield plugs, and the physical 
and radiological characteristics of the TRU inventory.
    The comparison section of the study includes two areas of 
evaluation. These include a comparison of CH-TRU and RH-TRU waste 
characteristics as expected to be received at the WIPP and a comparison 
of CH-TRU and RH-TRU waste after emplacement in and closure of the WIPP 
underground. In the latter area of evaluation, the study specifically 
addresses the issues required by the LWA: gas generation, flammability, 
explosiveness, solubility, and brine and geochemical interactions.
    In the last section of the study, the impact of RH-TRU waste on 
performance assessment is evaluated. Four radionuclide release 
scenarios are identified for evaluation: releases by gas generation, 
groundwater transport, human intrusion and heat generation.

Study Findings

    A summary of the important findings of the Remote-Handled 
Transuranic Waste Study include the following:
     The contribution of RH-TRU waste to the total 
radioactivity in TRU waste will be insignificant after about 200 years 
following emplacement in the WIPP. RH-TRU waste has a greater abundance 
of those radionuclides that characteristically have more penetrating 
radiation and more specific radioactivity, but these radionuclides also 
have rapid decay rates and short half-lives reducing their contribution 
to the radioactive component of TRU waste to a short period of time 
(200 years). By contrast, the majority of the radionuclides 
in CH-TRU waste have less specific radioactivity, but decay at a much 
slower rate.
     RH-TRU waste contributes only a small portion to the total 
TRU waste inventory because the ``Agreement for Consultation and 
Cooperation with DOE and the State of New Mexico on WIPP'' (1981) 
restricts the quantity to only 5 percent by volume. In addition, RH-TRU 
waste is composed of the same materials as CH-TRU waste because they 
are derived from similar processes. Therefore, the impact of RH-TRU 
waste on performance assessment is insignificant.
     No significant accumulations of gas pressure, or flammable 
or explosive gases are anticipated in ``as-received'' waste at the WIPP 
for the following reasons:
     WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria requires containers to be 
vented to allow pressure to be relieved from the containers during 
transportation;
     The WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria sets strict limits on 
the amounts of liquids and flammable gasses allowed in WIPP waste, and
     WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria prohibits any explosive 
materials from being in the waste.
     The presence of brine in the WIPP underground can impact 
the total amount of gas generated by influencing the mechanisms that 
cause waste decomposition. The degree to which gas generation occurs 
depends on the amount of brine present in the WIPP underground and the 
point in time in the decomposition process brine encounters the waste.
     The decomposable materials in RH-TRU waste can contribute 
up to about 31 percent of all potential gases that may be generated in 
the WIPP underground.
     RH-TRU waste contains about 13 percent of the portion of 
TRU waste materials that can potentially generate flammable gases.
     The additional curies of radioactivity introduced into the 
repository by RH-TRU waste will not impact the overall TRU waste 
inventory solubility. The reason for this is that the gamma emitters in 
RH-TRU waste will decay to levels approximating those in CH-TRU waste 
before the waste containers degrade and allow interactions with brine 
(about 200 years following WIPP closure).
     The effects of heat and radiation from RH-TRU waste on the 
WIPP underground are expected to be minimal. Because the Waste 
Acceptance Criteria restrict the radiation doses and heat allowed, only 
a small portion of the WIPP underground will be irradiated and any 
thermal gradients produced will be insignificant.
     Long travel times, as predicted by modeling studies, are 
required for brine to reach a regulatory boundary. Therefore, it is 
highly unlikely that gamma-emitting radionuclides from RH-TRU waste 
would be part of a release to the accessible environment due to 
groundwater migration since the rapid decay rates of these 
radionuclides result in much smaller quantities after a relatively 
short period of time (200 years).
     Gamma-emitting radionuclides in RH-TRU waste can have 
little or no contribution to releases caused by human intrusion 
activities because their rapid decay rates result in much smaller 
quantities after a relatively short period of time (200 
years).
     Studies to evaluate the effects of heat on repository 
performance have shown that at expected levels of waste package heat 
output, insufficient heat will be available to influence WIPP 
performance.
    Two major conclusions can be drawn from the findings of the Remote-
Handled Transuranic Waste Study: (1) RH-TRU waste has no significant 
impact or influence on the outcome of performance assessment and (2) 
RH-TRU waste is similar to CH-TRU waste in terms of its characteristics 
as expected to be received at WIPP and in its behavior in the WIPP 
underground.

    Issued in Carlsbad, New Mexico, this 11th day of October, 1995, 
for the United States Department of Energy.
George E. Dials,
Manager, Carlsbad Area Office.
[FR Doc. 95-26481 Filed 10-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P