[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 63061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30111]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Power Reactor Decommissioning; Entombment; Workshop;

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Announcement of workshop on power reactor entombment.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a workshop from 
9:00 am-4:00 pm December 14-15, 1999, to discuss the feasibility of 
entombment as a reactor decommissioning option. The workshop will be 
held in the TWFN Auditorium of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An information paper discussing the 
technical feasibility of entombment as a decommissioning option for 
power reactors was given to the Commission (SECY-99-187) on July 19, 
1999. The information paper is available on the NRC public website and 
can be viewed at www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/SECYS/index.html. The 
information paper provides the staff's assessment of the viability of 
the entombment option for decommissioning power reactors. The staff 
informed the Commission that, as a next step in considering entombment 
as a decommissioning option, they intend to conduct a workshop in the 
near future. The purpose of this workshop is to obtain public comment 
on the issues associated with considering entombment on an equal basis 
with other decommissioning alternatives. Issues that the NRC proposes 
to discuss include:
    1. How meaningful are the assumptions in the PNNL report that 
institutional controls will be effective?
    2. Does the PNNL analysis rely too much on long term engineering 
features that would be needed for entombment? What criteria would be 
used for approving a licensee's request for using the entombment 
option, and what quantitative values could be examined for establishing 
the high degree of contaminant isolation confidence that would be 
considered acceptable?
    3. What financial provisions would be required to pay for the 
future expenses that could be expected during the time when 
restrictions for the entombment must be maintained?
    4. How significant would the entombment option be on State 
resources if it were implemented?
    5. If new legislation were required for disposing of the GTCC waste 
through the entombment option, is it worth pursuing? Is the current 
legislation consistent with what has been implemented by the NRC for 
LLW disposal of GTCC waste for case-specific circumstances, including 
considerations of eventual license termination? What is the role of DOE 
with respect to the GTCC waste considerations?
    6. Is entombment consistent with the LLW Policy Act, which 
encourages centralized disposal and the encouragement of regional 
compacts, as well as economic incentives through exclusivity by only 
permitting disposal of LLW in a 10 CFR Part 61 licensed facility?
    7. What is the opinion of the States on the entombment option? Is 
the possibility of ultimate or long term management by the State a 
concern?
    8. Is there any indication of the number of licensees intending to 
use the entombment option?
    The workshop agenda will be posted on the NRC Web site at 
www.nrc.gov/RES/meetings.html by November 19, 1999. Interested persons 
are invited to attend the meeting. Anyone interested in making a 
presentation at the workshop should contact the individual listed 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Carl Feldman, Radiation 
Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management Branch, Division of 
Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6194.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of November 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl A. Trottier,
Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management 
Branch, Division of Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 99-30111 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]
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