ML20045D099
| ML20045D099 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/27/1991 |
| From: | Ingram F NRC OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OPA) |
| To: | Tanious N NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20045D089 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-93-156 NUDOCS 9306250325 | |
| Download: ML20045D099 (5) | |
Text
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FOIA-93-15G i
j APPENDIX B DOCUMENTS BEING PLACED IN THE PDR NUMBER DATE DESCRIPTION
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undated Draft Public Announcement - NRC Denies Petition for Rulemaking (1 page) 2.
03/05/93 Public Announcement - NRC Rejects Petition for Rulemaking (1 page) 3.
12/27/91 Note from Ingram to Tanious (3 pages) i 9306250325 930414 PDR FOIA FACARDS93-156 PDR
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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION j
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gf December 27, 1991 NOTE FOR:
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TANIOUS, RES Attached is a draft public announcement of the Commission's denial of a petition from Oregon and Washington regarding radioactive wastes stored in tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford facility.
Please let me have any comments and/or suggestions you may have before including the draft with your SECY paper or, in any case, before notice is published in the Federal Register so that the announcement can be issued at the same time.
Frank L.
Ingram Assistant to the Director Office of Public Affairs Attachment l
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1 NRC REJECTS PETITION FOR RULEMAKING
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a petition j
for rulemaking submitted by the states of Oregon and Washington seeking revisions in the Commission's current definitio,n of high-level radioactive wastes.
i In addition, the states asked the Commission to develop new standards which would have permitted the classification of j
radioactive wastes stored in tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford (Washington) facility as high-level radioactive wastes subject to NRC licensing authority.
Under the petitioners' proposal, the Commission would have:
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Established a process to evaluate the treatment of defense wastes on a tank-by-tank basis so that the largest, technically-achievable amount of radioactive materials would be removed; and 2.
Required that the heat produced by residual radioactive j
materials, together with the heat of reaction during grout processing (if used as a treatment technology) would be within temperature limits for long-term stability of low-level radioactive wastes.
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Based on its review of the petition and the public comments received on it, the Commission has concluded that the Department of Energy already is committed to do all that is technically and economically practical to remove high-level radioactive wastes from the Hanford tanks for disposal in an underground geologic repository which would be licensed by the NRC and that any remaining wastes could be disposed of in a manner that would present no unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the i
public and would not be high-level radioactive wastes subject to the NRC's licensing authority.
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DENIES PETITION FOR RULEMAKING The Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC) has denied a petition for rulemaking submitted by the states of Oregon and Washington seeking revisions in the Comission's current definition of high-level radioactive wastes.
In addition, the states asked the Comission to develop new standards which would have permitted the classification of radioactive wastes stored in tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford (Washington) facility as high-level radioactive wastes (HLW) subject to NRC licensing authority.
Under the petitioners' proposal, the Comission would have:
1.
Established a process to evaluate the treatment of defense reprocessing wastes in tanks suIhiastes M ot be considered HLW if, prior to disposal, each tank "tsM. reated to remove the largest, technically-achievable amount of radioactivity; and 2.
Required that the heat produced by residual radionuclides, together with the heat of reaction during grout processing (if employed as a treatment technology) Nbe within limits established to ensure that grout meets temperature requirements for long-term stability for low-level waste forms.
I After reviewing the petition and the comments received, the NRC has concluded that the petition should be deniedAe-- petition is beic3 deniW because the NRC concludes that the principles for waste classification are well established and can be applied on a case-by-case basis without [Il7lN6h.
regulations.
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UNITED STATES f"'
(' i NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
'i Office of Public Affairs
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Washington, D.C. 20555 No.
93-25 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel. 301/504-2240 (Friday, March 5, 1993)
NRC REJECTS PETITION FOR RULEMAKING The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a petition for rulemaking submitted by the states of Oregon and Washington seeking revisions in the Commission's current definition of high-level radioactive wastes.
In addition, the states asked the Commission to develop new standards which would have permitted the classification of radioactive wastes stored in tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford (Washington) facility as high-level radioactive wastes subject to NRC licensing authority.
Under the petitioners' proposal, the Commission would have-1.
Established a process to evaluate the treatment of defense reprocessing wastes in tanks so that such wastes would not be considered high-level radioactive wastes if, prior to disposal, each tank were treated to remove the largest, technically-feasible amount of radioactivity; and 2.
Required that the heat produced by residual radioactive materials, together with the heat of reaction during grout processing (if used as a treatment technology) would be within temperature limits for long-term stability of low-level radioactive wastes.
After reviewing the petition and the comments received on it, the NRC has concluded that the petition should be denied because.the agency concludes that the principles for waste classification are well established and can be applied on a case-by-case basis without revisions to its regulations.
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