[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33278-33279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15586]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Notice of Meeting; Yucca Mountain, NV, Repository

    Board Workshop: July 19-20, 2001--Arlington, Virginia: The Board-
sponsored workshop will provide a forum for invited international 
participants to discuss key issues related to the corrosion of 
materials being proposed by the Department of Energy for use in waste 
packages in 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 Thursday, July 19, and 
Friday morning, July 20, 2001, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review board 
(Board) will host a workshop in Arlington, Virginia. The workshop will 
focus on issues related to long-term (thousands of years) extrapolation 
of the corrosion resistance of waste package materials being proposed 
by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for use in a potential Yucca 
Mountain repository. Approximately 15 corrosion experts from around the 
world have been invited to participate in the workshop. The Board has 
long emphasized the importance of issues related to predicting long-
term waste package performance. Progress in understanding fundamental 
corrosion processes has been identified by the Board as one of four 
priority areas that would be important for a potential Yucca Mountain 
site recommendation.
    The DOE is characterizing a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the 
possible location of a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel and 
high-level radioactive waste. The Board is charged by Congress with 
reviewing the technical and scientific validity of DOE activities 
related to managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste.
    The workshop will be held at the Hilton Arlington & Towers; 950 
North Stafford Street; Arlington, Virginia 22203. The telephone number 
is (703) 528-6000; the fax number is (703) 812-5127. The workshop, 
which is open to the public, will start at 8:30 a.m. on both days and 
end at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and 12:00 noon of Friday.
    Workshop participants will be given two questions to consider. The 
questions will seek opinions on possible modes of waste package 
corrosion that may not be relevant in the usual time frame of 
engineering experience, but that could develop or accelerate after long 
periods in a repository. (The questions will be posted on the Board's 
Web site by July 1.)
    The session on Thursday, July 19, will begin with a brief overview 
of the materials that the DOE proposes for the waste packages and of 
the thermal and chemical environments that the packages would likely 
experience over millennia in a possible Yucca Mountain repository. 
Following the overview, the workshop participants will give short 
presentations on their initial responses to the two questions. The 
balance of the workshop will consist of informal roundtable discussions 
focusing on the two questions. The workshop will be a ``brainstorming'' 
session designed to furnish the Board with a diversity of highly 
qualified opinions on the issue of extrapolating corrosion resistance 
over very long periods, a key factor in repository performance. A by-
product of the workshop may be information that will complement a peer 
review that the DOE recently initiated to examine a much broader range 
of corrosion issues.
    Opportunities for public comment will be provided before the end of 
Thursday's session and before adjournment of Friday. Those wanting to 
speak during the public comment periods are encouraged to sign the 
``Public Comment Register'' at the check-in table. A time limit may 
have to be set on individual remarks, but written comments of any 
length may be submitted for the record.

[[Page 33279]]

    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.nwtrb.gov. Beginning on 
September 1, 2001, transcripts of the workshop 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.
    A block of rooms has been reserved at the Arlington Hilton & 
Towers. When making a reservation, please state that you are attending 
the NWTRB workshop. To obtain the special workshop rate, reservations 
must be made by June 27, 2001. For more information, contact the NWTRB; 
Karyn Severson, External Affairs; 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300; 
Arlington, VA 22201-3367; (tel) 703-235-4473; (fax) 703-235-4495; (e-
mail) [email protected].
    The Nuclear Waste Technical Review board was created by Congress in 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. The Board's purpose is 
to evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities 
undertaken by the Secretary of Energy related to managing the disposal 
of the nations'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: June 15, 2001.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 01-15586 Filed 6-20-01; 8:45 am]
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