[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23270-23271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10643]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Amended Record of Decision for the Management of Cesium and 
Strontium Capsules at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Amended record of decision.

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SUMMARY: This is an amendment to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 
Record of Decision for the Final Tank Closure and Waste Management 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site, Richland, 
Washington (DOE/EIS-0391, December 2012) (TC&WM EIS). From 1974 to 
1985, cesium and strontium were recovered from high-level radioactive 
waste stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Site, packed in 
corrosion-resistant capsules, and placed in storage under water at 
Hanford's Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF). The TC&WM 
EIS evaluated storage, treatment, and final disposition of these 
capsules and their contents. This amended Record of Decision (ROD) 
announces DOE's decision to move the capsules from wet storage at WESF 
to a new dry storage facility.

ADDRESSES: For copies of this amended ROD, the first ROD, the TC&WM 
EIS, or any related NEPA documents, please contact: Ms. Mary Beth 
Burandt, NEPA Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
River Protection, P.O. Box 1178, Richland, Washington 99352, 1-509-372-
8828, [email protected].
    This amended ROD, the first ROD, and the TC&WM EIS are also 
available on DOE's NEPA website at www.energy.gov/nepa and on Hanford's 
website at http://www.hanford.gov/index.cfm?page=1117&.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the TC & 
WM EIS and the RODs, contact Ms. Burandt, as listed above.
    For general information on DOE's NEPA process, contact: Mr. Brian 
Costner, Acting Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-54, 
U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585-0103, Telephone: (202) 
586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The cesium and strontium capsules were produced at Hanford during 
the 1970s and 1980s. Cesium and strontium isotopes were separated from 
other radioactive tank waste, converted to cesium chloride and 
strontium fluoride, and then encapsulated for long-term storage. There 
are 1,335 cesium capsules and 601 strontium capsules stored under water 
in a pool at WESF.

Synopsis of the TC&WM EIS and the First Record of Decision

    The final TC&WM EIS was issued in December 2012. It analyzed a 
number of alternatives for retrieving waste from Hanford's single-shell 
tanks, treating that waste, and closing the tanks. It also analyzed 
alternatives for managing other types of wastes at Hanford, and for 
decommissioning the Fast Flux Test Facility.\1\ Three alternatives for 
managing the cesium and strontium capsules now stored in WESF were 
evaluated: (1) The no action alternative, which was continued storage 
in WESF; (2) shipment of the capsules from WESF to new facilities where 
the capsules would be opened and their contents made into a slurry for 
processing in the Waste Treatment Plant; and (3) transfer of the 
capsules from WESF to a new interim dry storage facility where they 
would remain until their contents were treated and sent to a geologic 
repository. The third alternative was included in the final EIS in 
response to comments from the state of Oregon and the Yakama Nation.
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    \1\ The alternatives analyzed in the TC&WM EIS are described in 
detail in Chapter 2 of the final EIS. Chapter 2 also identifies 
DOE's preferred alternatives for tank closure, decommissioning of 
the Fast Flux Test Facility, and waste management on pages 2-321 
through 2-322. The final EIS also states that DOE would not make any 
decision regarding the final disposition of the capsules after 
treatment based on this EIS. (Final TC&WM EIS at page 1-15.)
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    The first ROD, published on December 13, 2013 (78 FR 75913),

[[Page 23271]]

contained no decisions regarding the interim storage, treatment, or 
final disposition of the capsules or their contents.\2\ Accordingly, 
the capsules continue to be stored in WESF.
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    \2\ The first ROD noted that it ``is the first in a series of 
RODs that DOE intends to issue pursuant to the Final TC&WM EIS.'' 
(78 FR 75918.) It also stated that DOE was ``not deciding on 
treatment of the cesium and strontium capsules in this ROD.'' (Id.)
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Events Since Issuance of the First Record of Decision

    Since issuance of the ROD, completion of the Waste Treatment 
Project has been delayed and WESF is experiencing degradation of key 
structures and safety systems, including the concrete walls of the 
storage pool due to gamma radiation emitted by the capsules. The 
degradation of WESF has increased the risk that a beyond design basis 
natural event (e.g. an earthquake) could cause the walls to fail, 
resulting in loss of the water that provides shielding of the capsules. 
Due to this concern and the realization that the capsules would likely 
need to stay in WESF for a period longer than its design life, DOE has 
concluded that interim dry storage of the capsules in a new facility 
would significantly reduce the potential risk of onsite radiological 
exposures and airborne releases from a failure of WESF.

Preferred Alternative for Interim Storage of the Capsules

    Because of the delays in completing the Waste Treatment Plant and 
the ongoing degradation of WESF, DOE has now concluded that its 
preferred alternative for interim storage of the capsules is in a new 
dry storage facility. This is also the environmentally preferred 
alternative for interim storage of the capsules as it would reduce the 
risks posed by a failure of WESF.

Decision

    DOE evaluated the transfer of the cesium and strontium capsules 
from WESF to dry storage in Appendix E of the final TC&WM EIS (Section 
E 1.2.3.4.5.) in response to comments from the state of Oregon's 
Department of Energy and the Yakama Nation (Final TC&WM EIS at 3-29 to 
3-30 and 3-437 to 3-440). This evaluation identified the potential 
impacts from construction and operation of a new dry storage facility 
in the 200-East Area of Hanford, which would be deactivated upon final 
disposition of the capsules. These impacts included those from the 
construction of an approximately 6,500-square-meter (70,000-square-
feet) dry storage facility and disturbance of 13,000-square-meters 
(140,000-square-feet) of ground. They also included the operational 
impacts from retrieval of the capsules from WESF and their placement 
into containers; transfer of the containers to the new storage 
facility; and maintaining and monitoring of the facility for up to 145 
years (the maximum storage time under all of the Tank Closure 
Alternatives analyzed in the TC & WM EIS). The potential impacts from 
deactivation of the dry storage facility included those resulting from 
putting the facility into a stable configuration after removal of the 
capsules for treatment, disposition, or both.
    The capsules would be transported and stored in casks similar to 
the casks analyzed in the TC&WM EIS; they would be passively ventilated 
to dissipate heat produced by radioactive decay within the capsules. 
The current design of the dry storage facility, which would be located 
approximately 400 meters (440 yards) from the existing WESF, calls for 
a storage pad of 753 square meters (8,100 square feet) within the 
facility on which the casks would be placed. The new facility would be 
a ``dangerous waste management unit'' under the Hanford Facility 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit; it would be added 
to the permit through a modification issued by the state of Washington 
pursuant to its delegated RCRA authority.
    The potential environmental impacts from interim dry storage of the 
capsules would be less than those identified in the TC&WM EIS for this 
alternative, primarily due to the decay of radioactivity in the 
capsules. In June 2017, DOE estimated that the radioactivity in the 
capsules had decayed to 46 million curies; the final TC&WM EIS assumed 
the capsules contained about 68 million curies.
    DOE's decision is to continue interim storage of the capsules, but 
in a new dry storage facility rather than in WESF. DOE is not making 
any decisions at this time on treatment or final disposition of the 
cesium and strontium capsules.

Mitigation Measures

    Moving the capsules from WESF to a dry storage facility will 
mitigate potential impacts resulting from a potential failure of WESF. 
This decision will allow DOE to eliminate the potential for releases to 
groundwater and the atmosphere from a structural failure of WESF.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 14, 2018.
Anne Marie White,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-10643 Filed 5-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P