[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 588-589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-154]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Safety Analyses of the Potential Inadvertent Disposal of Two
Spent Fuel Rods at Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facilities; Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Nuclear
[[Page 589]]
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) is announcing the availability
for public comment of a set of draft safety analyses related to the
potential inadvertent disposal of two spent fuel rods at a low-level
radioactive waste facility. In November 2000, the licensee for
Millstone Unit 1 (Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.) informed the NRC
that the location of two spent fuel rods could not be determined and
the following investigation by the licensee concluded that the two
spent fuel rods may have been inadvertently sent for disposal as Class
C low-level radioactive waste. One analysis was prepared for each of
the two possible low-level radioactive waste facilities: the Hanford,
Washington site and the Barnwell, South Carolina site. The NRC has
determined, from these analyses, that the potential presence of the two
fuel rods, at either site, would not constitute a present or future
risk to public health and safety or the environment. The NRC is seeking
public comment in order to receive feedback from the widest range of
interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to
developing the safety analyses is available to the NRC staff. The NRC
will review public comments received on the draft documents. In
response to those comments, suggested changes will be incorporated,
where appropriate, and a final document will be issued.
DATES: Comments on this draft document should be submitted by March 7,
2003. Comments received after that date will be considered to the
extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: The draft safety analyses, ``Long-Term Hazard of Millstone
Unit 1's Missing Spent Fuel Rods Potentially Disposed at the Barnwell
Commercial Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility'' and ``Long-
Term Hazard of Millstone Unit 1's Missing Spent Fuel Rods Potentially
Disposed at the Hanford Commercial Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal
Facility,'' are available for inspection and copying for a fee at the
Commission's Public Document Room, U.S. NRC's Headquarters Building,
11555 Rockville Pike (First Floor), Rockville, Maryland. They are also
available electronically from the ADAMS Electronic Reading Room on the
NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (ADAMS Access
Numbers: Barnwell's analysis--ML023610413; Hanford's analysis--
ML023610424)
Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit written
comments to: Christepher McKenney, System Performance Analyst (HP),
Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division of Waste
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Mail Stop
T-7J8, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Hand-deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, between
7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays. Comments may also be sent
electronically to [email protected]. Copies of comments received may be
examined at the ADAMS Electronic Reading Room on the NRC web site, and
in the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1F21,
Rockville, MD 20852. The NRC Public Document Room is open from 7:45
a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Christepher McKenney, Mail Stop T-
7J8, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division of Waste
Management, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Telephone: (301) 415-6663; Internet: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In November 2000, the licensee for Millstone
Unit 1 (Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.) informed the NRC that the
location of two spent fuel rods could not be determined. An
investigative team was formed by the licensee and completed its
investigation in October, 2001. A follow-up NRC inspection reviewed the
findings of the investigation and agrees with the results. The result
of the investigation was that there is a chance that the rods may have
been unintentionally disposed at the Hanford, Washington, or Barnwell,
South Carolina commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal
facilities. The most likely explanation was that the rods were
inadvertently shipped to Barnwell in 1988, as part of a shipment of
Class C low-level radioactive waste. These safety analyses do not
address the jurisdictional issues raised by the potential disposal of
spent fuel at a shallow low-level waste disposal facility.
There are both short- and long-term considerations for reviewing
the health and safety impacts of the rods potentially being at a low-
level radioactive waste disposal facility. These include the type and
amount of radioactivity present, the current location and disposition
of the suspected shipments, potential future groundwater release, and
risk to potential inadvertent intruders. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut,
Inc., provided an assessment of the risks from the missing fuel on
October 5, 2001. A second assessment was provided by Dominion Nuclear
Connecticut, Inc., on May 15, 2002, that responded to a NRC request for
additional information. After investigating the short- and long-term
considerations, for the reasons given in the safety analyses, NRC has
determined that the presence of the two fuel rods at either low-level
radioactive waste disposal facility does not constitute a present or
future risk to the public health and safety or the environment.
Commentors are encouraged to submit their written comments on these
two safety analyses to the addresses listed above. To ensure efficient
and complete comment resolution, commentors are requested to reference
the section, page, and line numbers of the document to which the
comment applies, if possible.
Dated at Rockville, MD, this 24th day of December, 2002.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence Kokajko,
Branch Chief, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division
of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-154 Filed 1-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P