[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 252 (Tuesday, December 31, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69085-69089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33131]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the management of a portion
of the aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel 1 at the Savannah River
Site. The Department's objective is to identify and implement
appropriate actions to safely and efficiently manage all aluminum-clad
spent nuclear fuel and targets assigned to the Savannah River Site,
including placing these materials in forms suitable for disposition. To
this end, this EIS will cover that portion of the aluminum-clad spent
nuclear fuel inventory currently in storage at the Savannah River Site,
as well as aluminum-clad foreign, domestic and government research
reactor aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel that has been assigned to, but
has not yet been received at the Savannah River Site. Approximately 188
metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and targets currently stored at the
SRS are not considered within the scope of this EIS because the
Department has already decided on the management strategy for these
materials. The spent nuclear fuel included in this EIS consists of
approximately 62 metric tons heavy metal of spent nuclear fuel: 34
metric tons currently at the Savannah River Site and 28 metric tons,
foreign and domestic, to be shipped to the Savannah River Site. This
Notice of Intent briefly describes the proposed DOE action and
alternatives, announces the schedule for the public scoping meeting,
and solicits public involvement.
\1\ Aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel is nuclear reactor fuel
that has been withdrawn from a reactor following irradiation, the
constituent elements of which have not been separated. The ``spent
nuclear fuel'' consists primarily of the fuel (usually enriched
uranium), fission products, and the aluminum structural material
that serves as cladding. For the purposes of the SRS Spent Nuclear
Fuel Management EIS, spent nuclear fuel also includes uranium/
neptunium target materials, blanket subassemblies, pieces of fuel,
and debris.
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DATES: DOE invites comments on the proposed scope of the SRS Spent
Nuclear Fuel Management EIS from the public. Comments must be
postmarked or submitted by fax or electronic mail by March 3, 1997 to
ensure consideration in the preparation of the draft EIS. DOE will
consider late comments to the extent practicable. DOE will conduct an
informational workshop and public scoping meeting on January 30, 1997,
from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the North
Augusta Community Center, 101 Brookside Drive, North Augusta, South
Carolina. The purpose of the workshop and scoping meeting is to discuss
spent nuclear fuel management issues at the SRS and provide an
opportunity for the public to assist the Department in determining the
appropriate scope of the EIS. The date, time and location of the
workshop and scoping meeting that appear in this Notice will be
announced in the SRS Environmental Bulletin and local newspapers well
in advance of the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Questions and comments concerning the SRS Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management EIS and comments on the scope of the EIS can be submitted in
writing to Andrew R. Grainger, NEPA Compliance Officer, Savannah River
Operations Office, P.O. Box 5031, Aiken, South Carolina 29804-5031.
Internet addresses are [email protected] or [email protected].
Questions and comments may also be submitted by telephone or fax to the
toll-free telephone number 1-800-242-8269.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol
M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20585; telephone (202) 586-4600 or leave a message at (800) 472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
DOE needs to safely and efficiently manage all aluminum-clad spent
nuclear fuel and targets assigned to the SRS until ultimate
disposition. The management alternatives could involve the use of
existing, modified, or new facilities or processes, consistent with DOE
policies regarding the protection of the environment, public and worker
safety and health, nonproliferation, and recent DOE decisions regarding
the
[[Page 69086]]
programmatic management of spent nuclear fuel and the decision to
accept and manage in the United States foreign research reactor spent
nuclear fuel containing uranium enriched in the United States.
Spent Nuclear Fuel Currently Stored at the SRS
The current SRS inventory of spent nuclear fuel consists of
approximately 222 metric tons 2 heavy metal (MTHM, which is the
uranium mass, excluding cladding, alloy materials and structural
materials). The inventory includes various forms, as follows: (a) SRS
spent production reactor fuels consisting of aluminum-clad highly
enriched uranium; (b) aluminum-clad targets or slugs containing
plutonium or other isotopes; (c) aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuels from
offsite domestic and foreign research reactors; and (d) offsite
research and test reactor spent nuclear fuels clad in zirconium,
stainless steel, or other materials. The SRS spent production reactor
fuels, targets and slugs are currently stored under water in the K-,
and L-Reactor disassembly basins, while the offsite domestic and
foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel is stored under water in
the Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels. Foreign research reactor spent
nuclear fuel is also scheduled to be stored in the L-Reactor
disassembly basin.
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\2\ A metric ton is 1,000 kilograms, equal to about 2,200
pounds.
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The spent nuclear fuel and targets that are the subject of the SRS
Spent Nuclear Fuel Management EIS will be: that portion of the spent
nuclear fuel and targets (34 metric tons) currently stored at the SRS
that has been determined to be stable, but whose management pending
ultimate disposition has not yet been determined under an environmental
impact statement prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act;
and approximately 28 metric tons heavy metal of spent nuclear fuel
consisting of the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel that will
be shipped to SRS over the next 13 years, and the DOE and domestic
research reactor spent nuclear fuel that will be shipped to SRS for the
foreseeable future (i.e., until at least the year 2035).
The proposed action and alternatives considered in this EIS would
be consistent with recent Departmental decisions regarding the
programmatic management of spent nuclear fuel (Record of Decision,
Spent Nuclear Fuel and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement, 60 FR 28680 (June 1, 1995), and
Amendment of Record of Decision, 61 FR 9441 (March 8, 1996), and
Departmental decisions to accept and manage foreign research reactor
spent nuclear fuel in the United States (Record of Decision,
Environmental Impact Statement on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons
Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent
Nuclear Fuel, 61 FR 25092, May 17, 1996).
Approximately 188 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and targets
currently stored at the SRS are not considered within the scope of this
EIS because the Department has already decided on the management
strategy for these materials. These materials were evaluated in the
Interim Management of Nuclear Materials (IMNM) EIS (DOE/EIS-0220,
October 1995). In that EIS, DOE considered alternatives for stabilizing
spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive materials stored at the SRS
that DOE determined could not be safely stored over the next decade in
their present condition. Following completion of the IMNM EIS, DOE
decided (60 FR 65300, December 19, 1995) to stabilize the Mark-31
targets, 81 failed Taiwan Research Reactor elements, and a failed
Experimental Breeder Reactor II element (totaling about 159 MTHM) by
dissolving them in the F-Canyon facility and by reducing the plutonium
component to metal in the FB-Line facility, after which the resulting
materials would be stored. Subsequently, DOE announced its decision (61
FR 6633, February 21, 1996) to stabilize Mark-16 and Mark-22 production
reactor spent fuels by processing them and blending down the highly
enriched uranium component to low enriched uranium in SRS facilities.
Other aluminum-clad targets stored in the reactor basins would be
stabilized by dissolving them in the canyon facilities and storing the
solutions in the SRS high-level waste tanks for eventual conversion to
a glass form in the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The glass logs
would then be stored at the SRS until ultimate disposition. While these
materials are considered spent fuel, their management is not considered
within the scope of the SRS Spent Nuclear Fuel Management EIS because,
once stabilized, they will be suitable for disposition under existing
DOE programs. Accordingly, no other management alternatives need be
considered.
The management and disposition of the 62 MTHM \3\ are the subject
of this EIS. Table 1 provides information on the spent nuclear fuel
inventory currently located at the SRS that the Department plans to
evaluate in this EIS.
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\3\ The 34 MTHM currently stored at SRS do not include about 22
MTHM spent fuel clad in stainless steel or zirconium and stored in
the Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels. This material will be shipped
to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for management there
(60 FR 28680, June 1, 1995).
[[Page 69087]]
Table 1.-- Existing SRS Inventory of Aluminum-Clad SNF (as of September 30, 1996) to be Evaluated in EIS
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Number of Metric tons heavy
Fuel type Location items Units metal
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Fuels:
Mark-14................... RBOF \1\ 1 Can \2\................... <0.001
Taiwan Research Reactor... RBOF 62 Cans...................... 8.7
Experimental Breeder RBOF 59 Cans...................... 16.7
Reactor.
Sodium Experimental RBOF 36 Cans...................... 2.1
Reactor.
Argonne National RBOF 19 Assemblies \3\............ 0.003
Laboratory Janus Reactor.
Advanced Thermal Source RBOF 21 Assemblies................ 0.003
Reactor.
Massachusetts Institute of RBOF 56 Assemblies................ 0.016
Technology Reactor.
University of Missouri RBOF 112 Assemblies................ 0.049
Research Reactor.
Rhode Island Nuclear RBOF 70 Assemblies................ 0.004
Center Reactor.
University of Michigan RBOF 48 Assemblies................ 0.034
Reactor.
University of Virginia RBOF 44 Assemblies................ 6.062
Reactor.
Nereide (French) Research RBOF 46 Assemblies................ 0.035
Reactor.
Japanese Material Test RBOF 71 Assemblies................ 0.017
Reactor.
French Hot Flux Research RBOF 4 Assemblies................ 0.026
Reactor.
Oak Ridge Research Reactor RBOF 165 Assemblies................ 0.111
Sterling Forest........... RBOF 678 Cans...................... 0.094
200 Assemblies................ 0.028
Urgent Relief Receipts.... RBOF 252 Assemblies................ 0.05
Targets:
Mark-42 targets........... RBOF 7 Assemblies................ <0.1
Mark-18 americium-241 RBOF 65 targets \4\............... <0.1
targets.
Special curium and other RBOF 114 slugs \5\................. <0.1
targets.
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Total................... ............... ........... .......................... About 34 MTHM
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\1\ The Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels facility at the SRS.
\2\ The term ``can'' indicates that the spent nuclear fuel was placed in an aluminum can, which was then sealed
to provide a suitable storage container for the fuel element(s).
\3\ The term ``assembly'' refers to the nuclear fuel in its assembled form (i.e., fuel, cladding and handling
features are all present). In this case, the term ``assembly'' is synonymous with ``fuel element.''
\4\ The term ``target'' refers to uranium or transuranic material, clad in aluminum, that was irradiated in a
reactor for the purpose of producing special isotopes, e.g., plutonium-238.
\5\ The term ``slug'' normally refers to a disassembled target.
Foreign Research Reactor Fuel Assigned to the SRS. Following
completion of the EIS on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation
Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel, DOE and
the Department of State decided to implement a new foreign research
reactor spent nuclear fuel policy by accepting from foreign reactors
spent nuclear fuel containing uranium enriched in the United States
(Record of Decision, 61 FR 25092. May 17, 1996). Implementation of this
policy will result in the acceptance of up to 22,700 foreign research
reactor spent fuel elements (about 19.2 MTHM) by the United States. Of
this number, about 17,800 are aluminum-clad fuel elements (about 18.2
MTHM) which have been assigned to the Savannah River Site for
management. The remaining foreign research reactor spent fuel elements
(about 1 MTHM) have been assigned to the Idaho National Engineering
Laboratory for management.
In the Record of Decision (61 FR 25092, May 17, 1996) for the EIS
on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning
Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel, DOE decided to implement a
three-point strategy for managing these fuel elements. First, DOE has
started an accelerated program to identify, develop, and demonstrate
one or more non-processing, cost-effective treatment or packaging
technologies to prepare the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel
for disposition. The purpose of any new facilities that might be
constructed to implement these technologies would be to change the
foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel into a form that is
suitable for geologic disposal without necessarily separating the
fissile materials. Examples of such treatment technologies could
include: press and dilute/poison, melt and dilute/poison, plasma arc
treatment, electrometallurgical treatment, glass materials oxidation
and dissolution, dissolve and vitrify, direct disposal in small
packages, and direct co-disposal with high-level waste.
In conjunction with the examination of new technologies, variations
of conventional direct disposal methods would also be explored. After
treatment or packaging, the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel
would be managed on site in dry storage. (After such treatment or
packaging, the spent nuclear fuel would then be in a condition often
referred to as ``road ready,'' meaning that no further packaging or
treatment would be required before being transported off-site for
continued storage or disposal.) DOE would select, develop, and
implement, if appropriate, one or more of these treatment or packaging
technologies by the year 2000. DOE is committed to avoiding indefinite
storage of this spent nuclear fuel in a form that is unsuitable for
disposal.
Should a new treatment or packaging technology not be ready for
implementation by the year 2000, the second part of the strategy would
involve use of F-Canyon to chemically separate some foreign research
reactor spent nuclear fuel elements while the F-Canyon facility is
operating in order to stabilize ``at-risk'' materials (i.e., materials
that pose a health or safety concern) in accordance with the
Implementation Plan for Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Recommendation 94-1. DOE would use the F-Canyon to process only that
quantity of foreign research reactor fuel that could be accommodated by
the available canyon capacity. Current schedules show that this
activity could take place after the year 2000. As part
[[Page 69088]]
of the assessment and analysis of this contingency, DOE committed to
commission or conduct an independent study of the nonproliferation and
other implications of processing spent nuclear fuel from foreign
research reactors. The results of this study will be applicable to all
the spent nuclear fuel within the scope of the SRS Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management EIS and will be incorporated into a final decision on spent
nuclear fuel management at SRS.
The third part of the strategy for managing foreign research
reactor spent nuclear fuel is embodied in a program of closely
monitoring such fuel placed in wet storage at the SRS. DOE is presently
unaware of any technical basis for believing that the foreign research
reactor spent nuclear fuel cannot be safely stored until one or more of
the new packaging or treatment technologies becomes available.
Nevertheless, if health and safety concerns involving any of the
foreign research reactor spent fuel materials are identified prior to
development of an appropriate treatment or packaging technology, DOE
would use the F-Canyon to process the affected spent nuclear fuel
materials, while F-Canyon is operating to stabilize the at-risk
materials.
DOE and Domestic Research Reactor Fuel to be Shipped to SRS.
Following completion of the Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel and Idaho
National Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and Waste
Management EIS, DOE decided that the SRS will be the management site of
aluminum-clad fuel that is currently in or may become a part of DOE's
inventory (DOE reactor fuel, excluding spent fuel at the Hanford site,
university and other domestic research test reactor fuel, and fuel from
foreign research reactors) (Record of Decision, 60 FR 28680, June 1,
1996) and Amendment to the Record of Decision, 61 FR 9441, March 8,
1996). This decision will result in the shipment of about 4,500
aluminum-clad spent fuel elements to the SRS from the Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory and up to 9,600 aluminum-clad spent fuel
elements from domestic DOE and research reactors (for a total of about
10 MTHM). Table 2 provides information on the expected future receipts
of spent nuclear fuel at the SRS that the Department plans to evaluate
in this EIS.
Table 2.--Expected Future Receipts of Spent Nuclear Fuel at the Savannah River Site
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Source Number of elements MTHM
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Domestic Research Reactors............... 9,600.................................... 6.2
Foreign Research Reactors................ 17,800................................... 18.2
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.... 4,500.................................... 3.8
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Total.............................. About 31,900 elements.................... About 28.2 MTHM
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Alternatives:
DOE will evaluate several alternatives for the management of both
the aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel currently stored at the Savannah
River Site and the foreign and domestic research reactor spent nuclear
fuel that is expected to be shipped to the Savannah River Site in the
future. Each of the following alternatives will be considered for the
spent nuclear fuel currently in storage and that is expected to be
shipped to the SRS.
Continued Wet Storage (No Action)
The no action alternative would continue storage of spent fuel in
the Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuel and the L-Reactor disassembly
basin. Future receipts of domestic and foreign fuel would be stored at
these locations. This alternative also involves continuation of the
enhanced monitoring program and water chemistry management activities
at the basins to ensure the safe storage of spent fuel. Under this
alternative, DOE would also use the F-Canyon (or H-Canyon) facility to
process those fuel elements that are determined to present health and
safety vulnerabilities during wet storage, in accordance with the
Records of Decision for the Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation
Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel EIS (61
FR 25092, May 17, 1996) and the Interim Management of Nuclear Material
EIS (60 FR 65300 and 61 FR 6633, December 19, 1995 and February 21,
1996 respectively). Because each alternative evaluated in this EIS
involves some period of wet storage prior to implementation, the
potential for processing fuels which are determined to present health
and safety vulnerabilities is applicable to all the alternatives. DOE
notes that processing for health and safety reasons is already
authorized under existing analyses.
New Processing/Packaging Technologies
This alternative would include evaluating one or more cost-
effective treatment or packaging technologies as described in the
Record of Decision (61 FR 25092, May 17, 1996) for the Proposed Nuclear
Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor
Spent Nuclear Fuel EIS. Most of these technologies would employ
packaging or processing activities that would not separate fissile
material from fission products. In the SRS Spent Nuclear Fuel
Management EIS, DOE will evaluate the potential impacts of the
application of these technologies to the spent nuclear fuel that is the
subject of this EIS for the purpose of placing these materials in forms
suitable for geologic disposal.
Dry Storage
This alternative assesses the potential impacts associated with the
construction and operation of a facility (Transfer and Storage
Facility) to receive, characterize, condition, package, and dry store
SNF prior to shipment to a geologic repository for disposal. DOE would
evaluate dry storage for managing existing stable spent nuclear fuel
inventories as well as future receipts.
Conventional Processing
This alternative would involve processing spent nuclear fuel in the
existing chemical separation facilities. For foreign research reactor
spent fuel, this alternative would be applicable only to address health
and safety concerns, as described above. For stable non-foreign
research reactor SNF, DOE would evaluate the potential environmental
impacts associated with processing, even where not required for health
or safety concerns. This alternative could result in the separation of
some fissile materials (generally, highly enriched uranium) from the
spent nuclear fuel, which would be blended down to low-enriched uranium
prior to removing the material from the processing facility complex.
Low-enriched uranium is not weapons-grade nuclear material. Some amount
of plutonium-239 would also be separated.
[[Page 69089]]
However, there would be no plutonium-239 separated from the vast
majority of the fuel, even in instances where plutonium-239 may be
present. Plutonium-239 separation would only occur in cases where it
was required in order to ensure criticality safety in high-level waste
tanks and the subsequent high-level waste vitrification process. In any
case, no effort would be made to maintain the purity of the plutonium-
239. DOE would process the plutonium to metal for storage in accordance
with the DOE standard for storage of plutonium prior to the application
of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Any separated
plutonium-239 would be placed under IAEA control when such controls are
instituted.
Identification of Environmental and Other Issues
DOE has identified the following issues for analysis in the EIS.
Additional issues may be identified during the scoping process, and DOE
specifically solicits comments on the appropriateness of these issues
for consideration in the EIS.
1. Public and worker safety: radiological and nonradiological
impacts of the alternatives, including potential effects on workers and
the public from the normal operation and accident conditions.
2. Impacts to plants, animals, and habitat, including impacts to
wetlands, and threatened and endangered species and their habitat.
3. The consumption of natural resources and energy including water,
natural gas, and electricity.
4. Socioeconomic impacts to affected communities from the
operations labor force and any required construction labor force, and
support services, in the SRS region of influence.
5. Potential disproportionately high or adverse human health or
environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations.
6. Transportation of spent nuclear fuel to the Savannah River Site.
DOE believes that these impacts are adequately addressed in other
environmental impact statements and intends to incorporate the analysis
by reference into this EIS.
7. Impacts on cultural resources, historic, archaeological,
scientific, or culturally important sites.
8. Status of compliance with all applicable Federal, state, and
local statutes and regulation; required Federal and state environmental
consultations and notifications; and DOE orders on waste management,
waste minimization initiatives, and environmental protection.
9. Potential impact on U.S. nonproliferation policy, especially as
the actions considered may produce weapons usable fissile materials
that may need to be safeguarded.
10. Cumulative impacts from the proposed action and other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable actions at the Savannah River Site.
11. Potential irreversible and irretrievable commitments of
resources.
Related Documents
The following documents, which are available for review at DOE
Reading Rooms, contain information related to the issues to be
addressed in the SRS Spent Nuclear Fuel EIS.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1995. Department of Energy Programmatic
Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programs Final
Environmental Impact Statement, DOE/EIS-0203F. Idaho Operations Office,
Idaho Falls, ID, April 1996.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1996. Final Environmental Impact Statement
on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning
Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel, DOE/EIS-0218F. Assistant
Secretary for Environmental Management, Washington, D.C. February 1996.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1995. Final Environmental Impact Statement,
Interim Management of Nuclear Materials, DOE/EIS-0220. Savannah River
Operations Office, Aiken, South Carolina. October 1995.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1995. Facility Utilization Strategy for the
Savannah River Site Chemical Separations Facilities. Savannah River
Operations Office, Aiken, South Carolina. December 1995.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1994. Environmental Assessment of Urgent-
Relief Acceptance of Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel, DOE/
EA-0912. Washington, D.C. April 1994.
Issued in Washington, D.C., this 23rd day of December 1996.
Peter N. Brush,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 96-33131 Filed 12-30-96; 8:45 am]
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