Code of Federal Regulations (Last Updated: July 5, 2024) |
Title 10 - Energy |
Chapter I - Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
Part 51 - Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions |
Subpart A - National Environmental Policy Act - Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) |
Environmental Reports - Production and Utilization Facilities |
§ 51.51 - Uranium fuel cycle environmental data - Table S-3.
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§ 51.51 Uranium fuel cycle environmental data - Table S-3.
(a) Under § 51.50, every environmental report prepared for the construction permit stage or early site permit stage or combined license stage of a light-water-cooled nuclear power reactor, and submitted on or after September 4, 1979, shall take Table S-3, Table of Uranium Fuel Cycle Environmental Data, as the basis for evaluating the contribution of the environmental effects of uranium mining and milling, the production of uranium hexafluoride, isotopic enrichment, fuel fabrication, reprocessing of irradiated fuel, transportation of radioactive materials and management of low-level wastes and high-level wastes related to uranium fuel cycle activities to the environmental costs of licensing the nuclear power reactor. Table S-3 shall be included in the environmental report and may be supplemented by a discussion of the environmental significance of the data set forth in the table as weighed in the analysis for the proposed facility.
(b) Table S-3.
Table S-3 - Table of Uranium Fuel Cycle Environmental Data1
[Normalized to model LWR annual fuel requirement [WASH-1248] or reference reactor year [NUREG-0116]]
Environmental considerations Total Maximum effect per annual fuel requirement or reference reactor year of model 1,000 MWe LWR Natural Resource Use Land (acres): Temporarily committed2 100 Undisturbed area 79 Disturbed area 22 Equivalent to a 110 MWe coal-fired power plant. Permanently committed 13 Overburden moved (millions of MT) 2.8 Equivalent to 95 MWe coal-fired power plant. Water (millions of gallons): Discharged to air 160 = 2 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR with cooling tower. Discharged to water bodies 11,090 Discharged to ground 127 Total 11,377 <4 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR with once-through cooling. Fossil fuel: Electrical energy (thousands of MW-hour) 323 <5 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR output. Equivalent coal (thousands of MT) 118 Equivalent to the consumption of a 45 MWe coal-fired power plant. Natural gas (millions of scf) 135 <0.4 percent of model 1,000 MWe energy output. Effluents - Chemical (MT) Gases (including entrainment):3 SOX 4,400 NOX4 1,190 Equivalent to emissions from 45 MWe coal-fired plant for a year. Hydrocarbons 14 CO 29.6 Particulates 1,154 Other gases: F .67 Principally from UF6 production, enrichment, and reprocessing. Concentration within range of state standards - below level that has effects on human health. HCl .014 Liquids: SO−4
NO−3
Fluoride
Ca+
C1−
Na+
NH3
Fe9.9
25.8
12.9
5.4
8.5
12.1
10.0
.4From enrichment, fuel fabrication, and reprocessing steps. Components that constitute a potential for adverse environmental effect are present in dilute concentrations and receive additional dilution by receiving bodies of water to levels below permissible standards. The constituents that require dilution and the flow of dilution water are: NH3 - 600 cfs., NO3 - 20 cfs., Fluoride - 70 cfs. Tailings solutions (thousands of MT) 240 From mills only - no significant effluents to environment. Solids 91,000 Principally from mills - no significant effluents to environment. Effluents - Radiological (curies) Gases (including entrainment): Rn-222 Presently under reconsideration by the Commission. Ra-226 .02 Th-230 .02 Uranium .034 Tritium (thousands) 18.1 C-14 24 Kr-85 (thousands) 400 Ru-106 .14 Principally from fuel reprocessing plants. I-129 1.3 I-131 .83 Tc-99 Presently under consideration by the Commission. Fission products and transuranics .203 Liquids: Uranium and daughters 2.1 Principally from milling - included tailings liquor and returned to ground - no effluents; therefore, no effect on environment. Ra-226 .0034 From UF6 production. Th-230 .0015 Th-234 .01 From fuel fabrication plants - concentration 10 percent of 10 CFR 20 for total processing 26 annual fuel requirements for model LWR. Fission and activation products 5.9 × 10−6 Solids (buried on site): Other than high level (shallow) 11,300 9,100 Ci comes from low level reactor wastes and 1,500 Ci comes from reactor decontamination and decommissioning - buried at land burial facilities. 600 Ci comes from mills - included in tailings returned to ground. Approximately 60 Ci comes from conversion and spent fuel storage. No significant effluent to the environment. TRU and HLW (deep) 1.1 × 107 Buried at Federal Repository. Effluents - thermal (billions of British thermal units) 4,063 <5 percent of model 1,000 MWe LWR. Transportation (person-rem): Exposure of workers and general public 2.5 Occupational exposure (person-rem) 22.6 From reprocessing and waste management. [49 FR 9381, Mar. 12, 1984; 49 FR 10922, Mar. 23, 1984, as amended at 67 FR 77652, Dec. 19, 2002; 72 FR 49512, Aug. 28, 2007]