[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 63061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30111]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Power Reactor Decommissioning; Entombment; Workshop;
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Announcement of workshop on power reactor entombment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a workshop from
9:00 am-4:00 pm December 14-15, 1999, to discuss the feasibility of
entombment as a reactor decommissioning option. The workshop will be
held in the TWFN Auditorium of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An information paper discussing the
technical feasibility of entombment as a decommissioning option for
power reactors was given to the Commission (SECY-99-187) on July 19,
1999. The information paper is available on the NRC public website and
can be viewed at www.nrc.gov/NRC/COMMISSION/SECYS/index.html. The
information paper provides the staff's assessment of the viability of
the entombment option for decommissioning power reactors. The staff
informed the Commission that, as a next step in considering entombment
as a decommissioning option, they intend to conduct a workshop in the
near future. The purpose of this workshop is to obtain public comment
on the issues associated with considering entombment on an equal basis
with other decommissioning alternatives. Issues that the NRC proposes
to discuss include:
1. How meaningful are the assumptions in the PNNL report that
institutional controls will be effective?
2. Does the PNNL analysis rely too much on long term engineering
features that would be needed for entombment? What criteria would be
used for approving a licensee's request for using the entombment
option, and what quantitative values could be examined for establishing
the high degree of contaminant isolation confidence that would be
considered acceptable?
3. What financial provisions would be required to pay for the
future expenses that could be expected during the time when
restrictions for the entombment must be maintained?
4. How significant would the entombment option be on State
resources if it were implemented?
5. If new legislation were required for disposing of the GTCC waste
through the entombment option, is it worth pursuing? Is the current
legislation consistent with what has been implemented by the NRC for
LLW disposal of GTCC waste for case-specific circumstances, including
considerations of eventual license termination? What is the role of DOE
with respect to the GTCC waste considerations?
6. Is entombment consistent with the LLW Policy Act, which
encourages centralized disposal and the encouragement of regional
compacts, as well as economic incentives through exclusivity by only
permitting disposal of LLW in a 10 CFR Part 61 licensed facility?
7. What is the opinion of the States on the entombment option? Is
the possibility of ultimate or long term management by the State a
concern?
8. Is there any indication of the number of licensees intending to
use the entombment option?
The workshop agenda will be posted on the NRC Web site at
www.nrc.gov/RES/meetings.html by November 19, 1999. Interested persons
are invited to attend the meeting. Anyone interested in making a
presentation at the workshop should contact the individual listed
below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Carl Feldman, Radiation
Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management Branch, Division of
Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research,
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6194.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of November 1999.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cheryl A. Trottier,
Chief, Radiation Protection, Environmental Risk and Waste Management
Branch, Division of Risk Analysis and Applications, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 99-30111 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
