ML20126D286
| ML20126D286 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/27/1980 |
| From: | Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA) |
| To: | Heinz J SENATE |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004240354 | |
| Download: ML20126D286 (2) | |
Text
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/p*Mas UNITED STATES Y [ 3;,
[gh NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION C
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
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o VAP 2 71930 The Honorable Jchn Heinz l
United States Senate Washington, D.C.
20510
Dear Senator Heinz:
I am pleased to respond to your letter dated February 4,1980 on behalf of your constituent, Mr. Roy Laplante.
Mr. LaPlante asks about the disposal of radioactive waste and about the threat of terrorist di-version of nuclear material.
With respect to disposal of radioactive waste, I am enclosing a DOE Fact Sheet which describes the types of radioactive waste produced in the nuclear fuel cycle and plans for disposal. Most high-level waste generated by nuclear power plants is contained in the spent fuel rods currently being stored at reactor sites.
These spent fuel rods are kept in storage pools within the reactor containments and under the reg-ulation of the NRC.
There are at present three licensed shallow land burial sites accepting commercial low-level radioactive wastes produced by the operation of nuclear power plants and by the use of radioisotooes in medicine, industry and research.
These sites are located at Hanford, Washington; Barnwell, South Carolina,; and Beatty, Nevada.
With regard to Mr. LaPlante's second question, it would be helpful to know that the uranium fuel used in commercial power reactors in the United States, with one exception, is not sufficiently enriched to be used in the construction of a nuclear explosive.
However, spent fuel rnoved from an operating reactor does contain plutonium which can be wed in making a nuclear weapon.
Accordingly, the Commission has established elaborate physical security requirements for nuclear re-actors and for transportation of spent fuel in order to protect against the possibility of sabotage or diversion.
p It should be noted that the spent fuel removed from a reactor is highly radioactive and therefore very dangerous to handle.
The plutonium contained therein must be separated from other elements in the spent fuel by means of a sophisticated technology. To obtain enough plutonium to construct a nuclear explosive would require the theft of 1500 pounds of spent fuel surrounded by heavy leaded shielding and transported in special shipping casks weighing up to 100 tons.
In addition to this inherent obstacle to theft, an interim rule of the Commission, effective since July, requires shipments of spent fuel to be accompanied by trained guards and to be subject to other security precautions.
8004240 35'/
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I hope that this infornation is helpful in responding to Mr. LaPlante.
Sincerely, 6L
/'"-
M Carlton Kammerer, ector Office of Congressional Affairs
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Enclosure:
As stated 1
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