ML20042B040
| ML20042B040 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/09/1982 |
| From: | Shewmon P Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards |
| To: | Palladino N NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20042B041 | List: |
| References | |
| ACRS-GENERAL, NUDOCS 8203240430 | |
| Download: ML20042B040 (2) | |
Text
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS 9'#
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March 9,
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MAR 161982an-3 Honorable Nunzio J. Palladino y n t e a m m e, /'~"
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V Chairman U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 y
SUBJECT:
REPORT ON THE LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OF MATERIALS US FOR HIGH-LEVEL WASTE PACKAGING
Dear Dr. Palladino:
f In response to your letter of August 10, 1981, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards has reviewed the NRC's Contru::t Review Panel recommen-dation for the selection of a contractor to develop a methodology for predicting Long-Term Performance of Materials Used for High-Level Waste Packaging. On the basis of this review, we offer the following comments and recommendations.
We believe that the proposed co-tractor is technically capable of conducting the requested research.
Howevar, we believe that both the NRC Staff and the contractor should establish plans to provide for close monitoring of the work as it progresses, that the NRC should assure that the contractor issues reports on the progress of his work at frequent intervals (at least, quar-terly) and that provisions should be made for periodic peer review both of the contractor's proposed program and his results.
NRC Staff monitoring of the work and the efforts of the peer reviews should be directed toward assuring that the program is responsive to NRC's needs, and that the contractor is gaining maximum benefit from state-of-the-art knowledge and experimental techniques.
In particular, detailed guides need to be developed concerning the extent and nature of the tests that must be conducted, and the accuracy levels required, to assure that the results can be extrapolated to the time spans required for a waste repository and that the associated degree of uncertainty cea be defined.
Specific attention will need to be directed to the determination, early in the research pro-gram, of those parameters that are important, as well as those that are not important, to the assessment of the performance of waste package materials.
The Committee would like to take this opportunity to note that this letter is narrowly responsive to the question you posed to us in your letter of August 10, 1981, and that we have some concern about the rationale for the E
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Honorable Nunzio J. Palladino March 9, 1982 extraordinarily high standards for long-term survival of these waste con-tainers.
In this matter we urge you to follow the approach used in pur-suit of quantitative safety goals so that society is not penalized by the imposition of arbitrarily derived criteria for waste isolation.
Sincerely,
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P. Shewmon Chairman
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