ML19253A471
| ML19253A471 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 06/04/1979 |
| From: | Hendrie J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Dingell J HOUSE OF REP. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7909100088 | |
| Download: ML19253A471 (7) | |
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Dear Chair-.an Dingell:
Thant.vou for.vour letter of April 25. 1979 re a-di n: events surr:.nding Three Mile Island (TMI), low-level waste (LLW) disposal, and entier.: Ly :ne State of South Carolina relating to waste disposal at the Chem Nuclear disposal facility Barnwell Your letter posed several questions related to the Aprii 19 ietter a:
e:cived from the M:norable Richa -d W. Riley, G:vernor of South Carolina.
I have enciese,. a ecpy of ::y response to uovernor Riley (.en:: sure 1).
't is t:.:e that the Chem Nuclear waste site at Barnwell, South Ca-clina has been receiving the bulk of low-level radicactive wastes produced by the ::=,arcizi
.uclear industry. This situation has beer, brought abcut by an une::e::ed series
- events related to ::=ercial burial space avviability. I f eel that s:me ca:kgr:und informatica also r.ay be useful ir. your review of the curren: s i t:.a ti:n.
Se:kground material cr. waste disposal is supplied in detail in the enciesed epe n, "P.C Task Force Report on the Review of ti e Federal / State Program for Regulation cf Comercial L::w-Level Radioactive Waste Burial Grounds" (Enclosure 2).
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basis fcr the ergumer.: that icw-level Jaste burial 'acilities, or any waste storage or dis 'Osal facilities, are licensed t serve either a regional r a e
speci,.ic geographica. area.
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i.:nder the At:ni E.-erg.y Art.is li:-itec for p'.:rp:ses of health and safety to serving a regional or cther :pecific ge ;raphic a ea.
Further, no such limitation exists, to our knowledge, in South Carolina Law (A omi Energy and Radiation Control Act, Code cf La :: of South Carolina 1976 13-7-10 to 13-7-80), in South Carolina re:ul ations, or in the South Caroline
. Chem Nuclear license.
Accordingly, there is no cuesti:n of incompatibility en crounds of health c.
safety of South Carolina Law with Federai regulaticns under Se:tien 27"o(2) of the Atomic Energy Act.
.The corce:t 'of-regionally established disposai si es did, however, find support in the policies of the Atomic Energy Cear.ission
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A policy cf establishing regier. ally :ited LLW burial grcund; war adopted by the n.e
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ar wit *- the regulation recuiring Federal or State government ownership cf such sites, n:w found at 10 C??. 20.302(2).
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,,_n. burtai grounds was never fcrmally 0difie: ir regulations as a LLW burial siting recuiremert, and never went s: far as to require LLW burial s# es
- a::ept nly waste er.erated in a given region.
Th ee of these six sites have sin:e cs:se.: Maxey F.ia:s, sentucky; West t...a;iey, new i, r.r; arrc snerr;eit, g
If probl.ms develop wnich li.mit cr prohibit cperations at any of the three remaining sites, a capa:ity and trar.sportation problem would result.
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9 03~.ercial waste sh:uld the need arise.
(A =py of my letter to Or. Schlesinger is enclosed (Enclosure 3)).
As you may recall, we srate you en July 7,1975 about the capacity problem and the action we were taking.
NC s.aff has me* witn DOE staff ever the past 10 ncnths and D3E is actively preparing su:h a contingency plan. Although scoe interest has been expressed by the corrr.ercial sector in establishing additicr.a1 new LLW disocsal sites, such interest is limited due to the uncertain Fe:eral pecgrarr.atic involvement in siting, ceing and crera.ing such sites.
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limitations in Chem Nuclear's license and wnetner it is ccccatible with the crevisions of the Atomic Energy Act.
A. 1574 economic study of the funting arran:ements for State perpetual care of the site assumes a given papent per cubic foot of waste ever the exse::ed 2. year (1975-1995) life scan fn-t he burial g cund.
The scundness of tne
- .-: f:r payment of parpetual are ;csts depend s u;>cn accumulation and
- mccanding of interest in the fund because of the principal needs to be preserved intact in " perpetuity".
If the site is fillec up faster : nan planned, three things c::ur tnat impact on this fund:
first, ex:enditures
- -cm t he interest a::umula ed in the fund occur earlier than an:icipsted-second, the rate of increase in expenditure is als
.m: sed forward in time, and third, there is a less cf anticipated accruing frem cce cunding of interest.
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3 and tha staff has cer.ied tne application for expansion based upon site s
characteristics) making Sarr.e_ll the only site east of the P.cchies available for disposal of ccmercial 10w-level waste b.v shallow land burial. The limitation was first s:2:ed as 135.020 cubi: fue: :er month (the average monthly volume received at the site curing 1977) which was clcse to the projected rate used in the 1974 ecencaic study.
5 In N:ve-der 1978, it was changed to 2.4 x 10 cubic feet per year for
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- assure funcs for long-term State care of the site.
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This is typical ice-level waste fr: a poder reactor. After the waste sFi:=ent had
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tnat a small amcunt (approximately 100 galicns) r,f Unit 2 ice-l avei licuid war. e had been mixed with the Unit I low-levei vaste that had ' een pro:essed.
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feu asked for the basi.s fer the Governor's ce:ision to ex:iude excess y.,-.m.....pw..-- +,a TM1
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take a 1:wer priorit. for disposal at Barnwell than the wastes 'that are reutinely eceived for disp: sal. Such a view can be reas nable and legi-ti. ate fr:m the standocint of publi: h=alth and sa#ety, and not necessarily n::r:a-ible with the Federal egulato y crocram.
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Their wastes r.ust move te the disp: sal site on fairly regular cnd d=pendable schetales.
Hormai cperating reactors also have r:utine wastes, such as evaporator bottoms, that need to be n ved to a disocsal site en a regular basis.
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-eduction is an operational and econcaic consideration and that we promptly
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Results of this study should be available in mid-1930 and will be esed to deveic'
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..,. rs. 6 supporting regulatory guides, cnd li:ensing p-c:edu es are available in a timely
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canner to meet siting needs and to address Other disposa.l actions such as y
cisposal of waste generated by the inciGe-t at MI.
Specifically, we plan'to
- : pose regulati:ns and tecnnical cri.eria for s: callow land disposal in late 1930.
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Tne H:ncrabie Jann Otr.;eil.
=a-ef our program mise includes pr:sosing regulation: for an ai;ernative cisposal method (e.g., intermediate depth burial or mined cavity dispesal) by 15E2.
Thus, we should be able te :cnduct reviews of any pr: pated new a
facilities well before 1991.
An.v acceleratier, be.v:nd these -lans is not V
possible within the present resources alic:::ed to 'daste Managament.
In conclusion, we agree with the re:Omnendation by the T-te a:ency Review Group (IRG), that DOE is the logical.:edei al agency tc assure resp:nsibility for develeping a natibnal plan for LLW management.
We plan to work with DOE to assure that supporting regulations are available and that disposal fa:ilities are pre;erly sited and safety cpsrated.
We cor.tinue t su; pert the regional : n=ent in siting of LLE disposal facilities, and also as recommended by the IRG, we believe
- r. national pian based on res:enably accurate prcjections of LLW generation should dettcT.ir.e the number, ty?s, and 10:ati:n cf future disposal sites.
Regional sites would provide ca acity to neet regional needs, and minimize transp rta icn impacts.
Federal 12 mption of this responsibility would alss be in keeping with a rec; nition :nat l'.W disp;sai, like high-level waste disp: sal, is a national pr:bie,T,.
If we can be nf further assistance, pisase let us knew.
Sincerely, Jcseph M. Hendrie Chairzan e', em' D
D Encl sures:
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Ltr to Governor Riley fm Chairmen Mcndrie c3 e 9
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NRC Task Force Report
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L:r to Secretary Schlesingar fm Chairman _Hendrie
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