ML20055C905

Provides Commission W/Semiannual Rept on NRC Low Level Waste Mgt & Decommissioning Program

ML20055C905
Person / Time
Issue date:	06/21/1990
From:	Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
References
TASK-PII, TASK-SE SECY-90-223, NUDOCS 9006280150
Download: ML20055C905 (6)

Text

{{#Wiki_filter:1 /.mm\\ l RELEASED TO THE PDR i s. 5 "E E 0Y (..... /.:... 7 ///) Q o vate r in a POLICY ISSUE June 21, 1990 (Information) SECY-90-223 Fg: The Cor.a.issioners From: James M. Taylcr Executive Director for Operatiors

Subject:

SEMIAlil:UAL r,EP00T Cli Tile V.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION'S (IIRC's) LOK LEVEL WAS1E ltAkAGEMEllT AND DEC01715510NING (LLWil) PROCPAM Purpost: To provic;e the Con. mission with a ser:,iannual report on the LLWM Progren. Discussion: The encloscd report sunmarizes the status of prefects and e tth ities in flRC's LLWM Program. It discusses the following ricin categories within the progrem: { Low-level Ulste (LLP) pqq qt llroniur,, Mill Tailings } Dettroiissioning h'ete: In the next sb ixi tl s, four items of interest are expected to be brought before the Corwission. First, the Commission uM1 Lc asicd to act on Groundvater Stenderds" fcr Title i Uraniur !!111 Teilings which have been cocrdinated between hRC and the U.S. Environtental trottetion Agency (EPA). Second, Conmission approval is cxpected to be sought or, a pclicy with respect io rici t;,prccuct raterial dispcsal in tailirgs ponds. Thiro, Coraission review racy Lc totsht on recommended ra istort to LLW regulatory guidence documer.ts for use in }r ytrttien end review of dispcsal facility license applications. Fourth, the Dao. Safety Program for tailings and fuel cycit data ray be brought to the Coraission for review. J mes li. T or xecutive rector for Operatier,s Fr. closure: LLWM Senianrt'el Repcrt NOTE: TO DE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN 10 WORKING DAYS FROM Tile DATE OF TilIS PAPER L. cok, fil'.35 ch o /p r= g yg %m uu t

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f [ i SEM1 ANNUAL REPORT h Old THE U.S. IlVCLEAR REGULATORY CCt'llISS10ll'S LOW-1EVEL LASTE f tANAGEMlliT Al1D DECCtE1EL10l;II;C PROGRAF! t JUf!E 1990 1. liiTRODUCTIO!! 1he rivision of Low-Le . ustc i;6r.agtment and Decommissioning (LLWit).in the Offict of liuclear Mater a s Safety and Safcguards (tiMSS) is responsible for the program are6s of low-level radioactive waste (LLil) Inar.egement, uranium recovery, anc cecor r issioning. Its mission is to protect public health and-safety anc the environrent from hazards associated with these activities. The Urtr.iuri Recovery Field Office (URFO), Region IV, performs licensing activities for ective.urenium recovery ftcilitics, conducts uranium recovery freility . inspections, end conc;ucts reviews of selected Title I fic'lity reclamation projects, unc't r LLill prograu direction. This repcr t summerizes the main issues in each area of respersitility anc icentifies recent accot:plishraer.ts. 2. LOW-LEVEL l!ASTE I 2.1 Agreen,ent State Tnio Surport Multidisciplinary LLWii teams hcvc supported State Progrars in the review of LLW manageuent regt.ictory prtgt ciz: in seven Agreement Etttes. LLilit has provided 'a rtrongcr focus on the Agreement State LLil rett lttery programs; (2)(1) prcvidt spccific detailec' programmatic t.nd iechniul ccr..nents that should: inpreve individual. Agreer,ent Stric programs; anc (3) leac to uniforra sppreaches -in tG:tessing LLil regulatory issues tircct out the country, b i 2.2-Governor's Certificeticn During Jonbary 1990, the staff of LLWl' proces.sec' cu tifications, required by the Lou-Lcul fiadioactive kastt iclicy Arendrents Act of 1985,.from Governors of 32 States or regicnti stttt u.rfacts. ihe certificcticr.s Wert s(nt to Congress cnd r.or:0 t.licly t.vailcble. Copiu of the certifications were else provided to the U.F. Departracnt of Energy (00E) anc' the sitec' States for their corapliance deterrninetion. A Cc.raraission briefing on Governors' certifications t ar cor docted on January 17, IMG. E.3 Envirocare of Utah Application 1 In h'cyctbtr 1989, Envirocare, Inc, epplied for a license to dispose of uraniun. er.c' tieriuu byproduct materit.1 it, a raanner sirailar to the disposal of mill teilings stabilized unc'er the l'r t niur. f<ill Tailings Radiation Cor. trol /.ct (UMTTCA). The application uoes not fall r4etly into the regulatory rccuirerents of either 10 CFP Pcrt 0; cr 10 CFR Part 40 ana a hytrid lic.ersing Enclosure l

(p g g approach was subr:itted to-the Cor.roission for approval er, May 14,1990(SECY 90-274). P.4 Pixed Waste for mixed kastes, NRC and EPA have dual jurisdictier.. A license and perrait are required frora cach agency, res ?cctively. To assist States, cornpacts, anc' gtnerators in complying with tic applicatic requirements, EPA and NP,C have issued threc joir.t guidance documents addressing definition, siting guidance and conceptual c4sico. Staff continues this effort, working with EPA to develop guidance on waste characterization, inspection, and storage. Staff has also participatcd in workshops sponsored by EPA to e>plein the requirements to federal and State regulat<rt. I.E Pcrforr;tnce Assessrent The cfforts of staff anc' cortractors to develop a perforr..ance assessot riethodology iec, ik Decoraber of 1989, to publicetion of thr. first four voluraes of Lackgicur.d Infornation for the Developnt nt of a Low-Level Waste Performance Assessraent flethodology," IWPEC 5453. A final volume in the series ar.d a. 1 description of the methodology are to be published in June, followed by a workshcp for State regulators planned for fell 1990. .E.6 Waste Torr. Waste form stabild'. reports are reviewed based on criteria sct out in a~1983 tranch Teck,. t... cion (STP). Technical advances-ir this area have c' raft revised BTP prepared in April, which has been i been incorpcteted i.ts t o circulated te eth cff.ces for~ comment. Ir. addition, e plar has been - develcrect to hes' o action cv mmaining ceracht topictl reports to approve, r(j(ct or accept m 'ormt with o' condition for surveillance testing.- 1 Cerrcut scheoulet f-e misec' CTP te be issued no later then the end -i a 1 report rcvitt determinations to be con pletec' i of CY 1500 t M fr" + the first half c 2.7 _L e,l ow Tu. _ sncern (BRC) Ir. the arca of DRC, the capebility of staff to evaluate petitions to classify specific vtste streats as Bht was enhanc(d by the develcpment of IftPACTS-BRC Version 2.0 publication of a user's raanual in April 1950, aric a NRC-users tcrhshcl conciuctec' in t' arch 1990. IlJ ACTS-BRC is a couputcr code designed for analysis of the rediolcgical impsct cf decitring 6 clast of waste "below regeletory concern" and will be used for techniccl tr. clysis of below regulatory coricc-rn petitions. In a related area, LLLI. staff Irovidec' assistance to RES in developraent of residual cor. tar.ir.ctier lirits for decorrissier.f r4 nuclear fccilities.

i 4. 2.8.,Un,1, form itanifest in liay '1990, the b'est State Technical Coortiinctirg Committee (TCC) wrote to both Chairman Carr and the Secrctary of tia Department of Transportation (DOT), . Sanuel K. Skinner, rymfig thc need for a uniform manifest for shipn.ents of LLW. The TCC requesB] Nt* bMh DOT and NRC support such a uniform manifest - as part of the pro [wd PEC rule currently being developed by the Corr. mission concerning LLW ctr4 p t information re w irements. Even though such a modification Ml'1 de;ay the current n#ics1 infern<ation rulerr.aking, NRC staff supporttd the recoirtendation ar d vill includt this provision in the proposed rcguletion. 3. URAN!Ulf RECOVERY Durir c the past 0 racnths the staff hts co*pleted 37 DOE Uranium Mill Teilirgs her..cditi I.c tico (UNTRA) Pro.iect review ard concurrence &ctions. Ir. Ecdition, staff actions have inclu(ed review end concurrence in DOE's Quality Assurance Plan for the UhTRA Frcject, end coordination with DOE tc rodify the UhTRA Pr oject fieracrandurg cf Understanding to reflect reto.1 tetsures to strecraline the icview and concurrence proce ss. LLKl' also essisted the Offier of iucicar Ecsulttery Research (RES) in preparatior, cf rulemaking, modifyint 10 CFR Part 40 to provide a scneral license f or long-terr., ccie unc't r government custody, llRC and DOE staffs h u ir itictt;o Ur.1RA Project manageo,ent interface meetings to discuss and resolve prograractic issues periccically. Tbo r.00t1:gs have been held to c'ctc. These ruanager..ent nettir ts, coupled with the ongoir t wec Hy NRC/ DOT telephone discesticre ti. the LehTRA Project casework, havc b(cr. effectSe in leading to tirael) ccr plctico of reviews. For the period fror Octeter 1, 1989, tc May 30, 1990, the l'EF0 staff coropleted thc fellovir t licensing actions f or couraer citi trenium mills, heap-leaching f acilities, cre-buyirt stetions, cct:raercial solution p.ining, Lnd uraniun extraction research arie 6eu lcricrt projects: one new licerse approsal,12 najor license amendnents, and 34 n.inct license amendments. -4. CEC 0!'MISS10lill:G 4.1 Power fcactcr Cccorrissioning NMS$/LLWH stcff rn icw power reactor decommissioning plans and assume project r.,anastuent responsibilit) Eftet thc decommissioning plan is approved arid a pr;sscssien-only license is issred. Flars currently under review include these for Fathfinder and Fort St. Vrcir.. Staff opecis to complete the Safety Evaluetion Report (STP) er d Envirer, mental Assessment (EA/ for dismentlement of Northern States Power Cornpany 's Pathfinder plant near Sicu> Fells, South Dakota in Jur e 1990. /, hearing was requested 6nd is being held under the new procedure for inforr.a1 tctrings for materiais licensees (Sub-Pert L,10 CFR Port T). LLW is Liso 'reviewir.g W prelinintry decorrissioning plan for put lic Service Corptny cf Celeimdc's Fcrt St. Vrain plant. The plant u s shet c'ckn curly becaust of the f tiluic cf the centrol rod drives anc' degraditici. cf tht. s,tect ser t t rtor ring heaters. Steff is currcr,tly reviewing a preliminary cetoncinionir.s plan cr.d cyrects to conplete tbe revies ta !citcrater 1590. 1

N 4 4.2. lion-Power Reactor Decort.iissioning f or r.cn-reactor licenses, inportant totions have included developraent of a Sitt Decontanination llenagement plan (SDriF), development of guidance on financiel assurance requiret.ents for deconsissioning, and ongoing technical assistance to tht Division of Industrial and P(dical fiuclear Safety (IMiiS) in the review of groundwater hyorology, site characterirttien and long term stability aspects of-occor.r.issioning plent submitted by licensees. The SDMp was submitted to the Commission es SECY-90-121 on March 29, 1990, and identifies sites requiring action, prioriti:es those siter, sets a schedule for cican-up, and defines needed resources for the proposed actions. A draft Regulatory Guide on financiti assurance wcs istood in J6nuary 1990 and is to be finalized in June. ' LLWil provided assistance to the Office cf Enforcement in the developir.ent of .enforccr ent guidance that Mli b used by the regions when noncornpliance with the. c'(conmissionir g rule fina cit.1 tssurance requirera.nt occurs. In itarch t.nd liay, LLki issued two inforr..atici I:(.tices concerning compliance with the new Decondt sic t,ir4 F.u lc. Licensees authorize:I to possess certain quantities of byprc. duct, source, or special nucicer r.ateritl will need to submit finencial assurance for decouaissior.ir.5 not 1cter than July 27, 1990. Tle Iotices requested that licensecs (u.sicer the applicability of the Rule to thcir fucilities and if appropriate schrit any required financiti usuranco docuner.tetion to the 11RC alono with the approfriate fee if applicabic. Contractor assisttnte wil1~ tt used in reviewing financial atturence suba.ittals f roni fikt licumees duc h July P7,1990, l!se of a contractcr with financie.1 expertist till supplement the Regions in review of the 1Lrge nuraber of tubritttib expected. LLUlt staff her provided fernal input into reviews of decoraraissict ng. plans for - i Cimarron'(kerr-ticCce, Crescent, OLichoma) and the 1.uclear Fut! Services (NFS) facility at Erwin', Tennessee. LLUli staff tisc revirwed a West Valley .Deronstration Prcdect (MTF) pcLage, subuitted by 00E, to detern,ine if the proposed pr(grera for sitt characteriuticn and perfornance assessrent or itted try rGor ercas of consideretier frcn the suluitted plans. Baseo on thit rcview, staff found that the Sitt Ctaracterization Plan (SCP) did nct describe .the scope of all the tite cheracteriretion studies rec ('od int decorarai ssioning, decontatAr.itier, crd closure of the UV0P sitt, 6r.(' that the perforraance Assessment Plcn was very s(norcl and should be directed toward Icr.g-tern site LIWit staff elr.c participeted in the review of an interceptor prforr.cnce. trcnth thtt is being installed at the West Vt11ey site to mitigate migration of 'contarinents in groundwct(r <t th( site. Uhtn t lcal nr discovered at the C!ilTICHEt' rcactor, Tuxedo, New York in February, LLWM provided tydrologists to support the Region I er.ergency response escaping from the reactor facility anc flowing teen..Contaminatec w tet ut thrcush e drain systen to a holding pcr d on-sitc. Thc' LLhM staff independently erressed rcto tici pathways frci. the. f tc 1ity to ttc drein syster and evaluet(( 4 potentiel ervirontcet i61 irticts of the reichses. Staff alsc reviewed licensee actions to cFarcctcl ut thc rticeses anc institute corte(tive actiors. 1 .}}