[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70749-70750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32688]
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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
Potential Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Repository; Board Meeting
Board meeting: January 25-26, 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada: Discussion of
the sources and types of uncertainty associated with a performance
assessment of a potential Yucca Mountain repository; update on
scientific studies undertaken at the Yucca Mountain site; and status
report on the DOE's development of a safety strategy for a potential
Yucca Mountain repository.
Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203,
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, on Tuesday, January 25,
and Wednesday, January 26, 2000, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review
Board (Board) will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada, to discuss the sources
and types of technical and scientific uncertainty associated with an
assessment of the performance of a potential Yucca Mountain repository
and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed safety strategy for
such a repository. The Board also will be briefed by the DOE on the
status of scientific and technical studies being conducted in
connection with the characterization of the Yucca Mountain site. The
DOE is evaluating the Yucca Mountain site, located about 100 miles
northwest of Las Vegas, to determine is suitability as the location of
a repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste.
The meeting will be held at the Alexis Park Hotel, 375 East Harmon
Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. The telephone numbers for the Alexis
Park
[[Page 70750]]
are (702) 796-3300 and (800) 453-8000. The meeting sessions will begin
at 8:30 a.m. on both days.
On the morning of January 25, the DOE will update the Board on
events that have taken place recently within the civilian radioactive
waste management program and the Yucca Mountain project. The meeting
then will turn to the topic of ``addressing uncertainty,'' with
presentations on the role of uncertainty in complex analyses, decision-
making under uncertainty, addressing uncertainty in licensing a Yucca
Mountain repository, and how uncertainty will be addressed and
communicated in a decision about whether to recommend Yucca Mountain
for development as a repository. Presentations on these topics will be
made throughout the day and will be followed by a panel discussion of
the presentation topics.
The morning session on Wednesday, January 26, will focus on the
DOE's safety strategy for a possible Yucca Mountain repository,
including a discussion of the ``principal factors'' that have been
identified by the DOE as being the most important to repository
performance. Two of the factors, seepage and drip shield design, will
be looked at in some detail in an effort to understand the process for
identifying and establishing priorities for the various factors. Later
in the morning and throughout the rest of the day, the DOE will update
the Board on the status of scientific studies being conducted in
connection with the characterization of the Yucca Mountain site,
including chlorine-36 studies, fluid inclusion work, the studies at
Busted Butte.
The two-day meeting will be open to the public. Time for public
comment will be set aside on both days. Those wanting to speak are
encourage to sign the ``Public Comment Register'' at the check-in
table. Depending on the number of requests, a time limit may be set on
oral statements; written comments may be submitted for inclusion in the
record of the meeting. Interested parties also may submit written
questions to the Board. As time permits, written questions will be
answered during the sessions.
A detailed agenda will be available approximately one week before
the meeting. Copies of the agenda can be requested by telephone or
obtained from the Board's Web site at www.nwrb.gov. Transcripts of the
meeting will be available on the Board's Web site via e-mail, on
computer disk, and on a library-loan basis in paper format from Davonya
Barnes of the Board staff, beginning on February 21, 2000. For further
information on the meeting, contact Karyn Severson, External Affairs,
NWTRB, at 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300, Arlington, Virginia
22201-3367; (tel) 703-235-4473; (fax) 703-235-4495; (e-mail)
[email protected].
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Alexis Park Hotel.
Individuals wanting to reserve one of those rooms must do so by January
3, 2000. To receive the preferred rate, please state that you are
attending the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was created by Congress in
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. Its purpose is to
evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken
by the Secretary of Energy related to managing the disposal of the
nation's spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In the
same legislation, Congress directed the DOE to characterize a site at
Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine its suitability as the location of
a potential repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel
and high-level radioactive waste.
Dated: December 13, 1999.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 99-32688 Filed 12-16-99; 8:45 am]
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