ML19340E044
| ML19340E044 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 10/20/1980 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Duncan C ENERGY, DEPT. OF |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8101060270 | |
| Download: ML19340E044 (2) | |
Text
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- ~.% d([y N.UCLE AR REGULATORY COMMISSION I Waabn,y;rb e
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October 20, 1980 3d CH AIRMAN y
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The Honorable Charles W. Duncan 9
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Sacretary of Energy N
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Dear Mr. Secretary:
As procress is made in the cleanup of TMI-2, aeditional information becomes available about the nature of the radioactive wastes involved.
Throuch this learning process, it has become evident to the NRC staff that some of the high specific activity wastes resulting from the clean-up operations will be unsuitable for routine disposal at cermercial licensed burial grounds.
It has been apparent for some time that the spent fuel in the damaged core will have to be censidered as high-level waste.
In addition, it now appears that other wastes will 'have some characteristics very similar to high-level waste; typical materials that likely will fall into this category are some of the wastes that will result from processing the reactor building sump water and the reactor coolant system water.
The NRC. staff considers disposal of these wastes at ccmercial licensed burial grounds, even with very special provisions, to be unfeasible or unacceptable.
The only short-term avenue available
'for removal of these wastes from the site is transferral to suitable DOE facilities.
The NRC staff believes that the handiing and processing of wastes at the TMI site should be limited to well-established operations, such as inmobili ation of low-level wastes. The site should not become a research, development, and demonstration facility for handling and processing high specific activity wastes which are quite different from normal reactor plant wastes, but which in many ways resemble wastes handled f requently by DOE facilities.
Attempung eity such advanced operations on site would seriously overburden the utility's technical and management capabilities and could cause unnecessary delays in com-pieting the cleanup.
Accordingly, the NRC staff has been working closely with the DDE staff in establishing both short-term and long-term programs to develop information and technology of generic value for radioactive waste management from the TMI-2 cleanup operations.
In addition, two meetings have been held with the DOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Enercy.
However, all activities presently being considered by DDE appear to be limited in scope to DDE performing research and development work on limited quantities (10%-20%) of the wastes involved in order to characterize waste processing problems or t'o develop po-tential solutions.
We understand present DDE planning assumes that the 2101oeo Q
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responsibility for actual waste handling, processing into final disposal forms, and disposal of the bulk of the waste remains with the licensee.
If they are not transferred to DOE facilities, we anticipate that the high specific activity wastes which are unique to TMI-2 may have to be retained.at the TMI-2 site for tens of years until suitable waste im-mobilization processes, containers, and facilities are available for~
the disposal of such wastes.
The staff has serious concerns about the long. term stability of the high specific activity (i.e., >-1000 Ci/f 3) wastes anticipated to
- be generated at the Three Mile Island site from future cleanup activities.
This waste may be in the form of high specific acitivity spent resins or evaporator bottoms from the processing of reactor building sump water.
(This waste will also include damaged fuel elements or pieces of fuel elements which will require storage in specially designed sealed con-tainers to preclude the potential spread.of radioactivity outside the storage container.)
Tne staff has reservations whether suitable storage containers for spent resins or evaporator bottoms will be able to with-stand the macroscopic effects of corrosion, pH change, and gas forma-tion during extended storage (i.e., tens of years).
We do not believe that long term onsite storage of loose resin materials or evaporator bottom slurries is compMable to routine storage of undamaged spent fuel in a fuel pool of a nor4 ally operating reactor.
In the staff's view, it would be necessary to inmobilize the contained activity in the collected solid waste into a solid monolithic fem as expeditiously as practicable to eliminate the potential for onsite ex-
. posure due to subsequent container failure.
This immobilization can best be carried by experienced personnel in a facility designed for that purpose, namely, at one of the existing DOE high level waste handling and processing facilities.
The NRC presently believes that it may be undesirable for radioactive I
wastes in the forms likely to be produced as a result of cleaning up l
.TMI-2 to be stored at the TMI site for long periods.
We are concerned that certain key options for the handling, storage, treatment, or dis-posal of such wastes are precluded from consideration by the limited l
scope of activities presently being considered by the DOE staff.
In order to further the resolution of the scope of DOE's-participation in t
l the management of these wastes, I suggest that we meet in the near l
future to address these issues in the context of the House Appropriations Committee recent position:
"[T]he Department [of Energy) has an over-l l
riding public responsibility to assist NRC, the State of Pennsylvania and the utility, as necessary 'a resolve as quickly as possible an ac-i ceptable process to isolate and remove the wastes to a safe disposal i
site."
sin erely, j
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/JohnF.Ahearne e
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