[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 73 (Thursday, April 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20078-20079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8532]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Notice of Meeting

    Board Meeting: May 18-19, 2004--Washington, DC: The U.S. Nuclear 
Waste Technical Review will meet with the DOE and interested parties to 
discuss the potential for localized corrosion during periods of above 
boiling temperatures in a repository planned for Yucca Mountain in 
Nevada.
    Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203, 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 
May 18 and 19, 2004, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board 
(Board) will hold its spring meeting in Washington, DC. The Board has 
invited the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and several other 
interested parties--including the Nuclear Regulatory

[[Page 20079]]

Commission (NRC), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the 
State of Nevada--to present their research and views on the potential 
for corrosion of waste packages during the ``thermal pulse,'' the 
period of approximately 1,000 years after closure when temperatures 
would be above boiling inside a repository for high-level radioactive 
waste planned for Yucca Mountain in Nevada. In a letter and a report to 
the DOE last fall, the Board concluded that, based on analyses of DOE 
and other data, all the conditions necessary for localized corrosion of 
waste packages will likely be present in repository tunnels during the 
thermal pulse.
    The Board meeting will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel; 1250 
22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037. The telephone number is 202-
857-3388, and the fax number is 202-293-3173. The meeting is open to 
the public, and opportunities for public comment will be provided. The 
meeting sessions will begin at 8 a.m. on both days.
    Tuesday's session will begin with overviews of the status of 
program activities related to the Yucca Mountain project and updates on 
activities related to basic science, seismicity, and transportation of 
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. On Tuesday 
afternoon, representatives of the NRC, EPRI, and the State of Nevada 
will present their views and relevant research on the potential for 
corrosion on waste packages during the thermal pulse.
    Most of the meeting on Wednesday will be devoted to presentations 
by the DOE and to discussion of DOE views, research, and analyses 
related to repository tunnel environments and the potential for 
localized corrosion during the thermal pulse. Meeting participants will 
have an opportunity to make brief wrap-up comments at the end of the 
day on Wednesday.
    The meeting agenda will include time for public comment before 
adjournment on both days. 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.
    An 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: www.nwtrb.gov. Beginning on June 21, 2004, 
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.
    A block of rooms has been reserved at the Embassy Suites Hotel. A 
meeting rate is available for reservations made by April 19, 2004. When 
making a reservation, please state that you are attending the Nuclear 
Waste Technical Review Board meeting. 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.
    The 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 nation's 
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In the same 
legislation, Congress directed the DOE to characterize the Yucca 
Mountain site 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: April 5, 2004.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 04-8532 Filed 4-14-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M