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MEMORANDUM FOR:
Commissioner Gilinsky FROM:
William J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations
SUBJECT:
CASELOAD FORECAST PANEL My memorandum dated May 30, 1984, subject above, contained a typographical error in regard to River Bend 1.
The date listed under Tentative Staff Assessment (Qtr/FY) for River Bend 1 is 3 FY 85, and this date should be corrected to read 3 FY 86. The applicant has been so notified.
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c William J. Ulrclis Executive Director for Operations cc:
Chairman Palladino Comissioner Roberts Comissioner Asselstine Commissioner Bernthal SECY OGC OPE I
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June 20, 1984 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY MEMORANDUM FOR:
William J. Dircks, Executive Director for Operations Carlton Kammerer, Director, OCA Jo h J. Fouchard, Director, OPA
((l' FROM:
uel J. Chilk, Secre_ta
SUBJECT:
ECY-84-211 - PROPOSED RULE FOR LIMITIN.G THE USE OF HIGH-ENRICHED URANIUM (HEU)
IN RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS This is to advise you that the Commission (with all agreeing) has approved the proposed rule for limiting the use of HEU in research test reactors, subject to the following:
1.
The proposed rule should be modified as indicated on the attached pages; 2.
Items 4 and 5 of the attached memorandum of June 1, 1984 from S. Trubatch to D. Garner, et al should be addressed during the public comment period; and 3.
Item 3 of the June 1, 1984 memo should also be incorporated into the proposed rule.
(Chairman Palladino and Commissioner Barnthal would not have included this item).
The proposed rule should be revised as indicated and returned for signature and publication in the Federal Register.
(EDO/RES) (SECY SUSPENSE:
6/29/84)
You should advise the appropriate Congressional Committees, issue a public announcement, and send copies to all of the affected licensees and other interested parties.
(EDO/RES/OCA/OPA) (SECY SUSPENSE:
7/13/84)
Attachments:
As Stated
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Chairman Palladino g
Commissioner Gilinsky y
g Commissioner Roberts Commissioner Asselstine Commissioner Bernthal OGC OPE
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 50 Limiting the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in Domestic Research and Test Reactors 9
AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Comission.
ACTION:
Proposed rule.
SL'MMARY: The Commission is considering amending its regulations to limit the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel in domestic research and test reactors (non-power nuclear reactors).
The proposed amendment generally would require that new non-power nuclear reactors use low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel and. that esisting reactors' replace HEU fuel with LEU fuel when available.
The Comission considers that currently licensed non-powehreactors using HEU fuel are operated without undue risk to the health and safety of the public.
The proposed _tule is intended-edy/oto red pe he
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version of HEU fuel used in non-p'ower reactor.
The reduction; i cmestic use of HEU fuel may encourage similar action by foreign.research reactor operators.
Mv and thereby reduce the amount of HEU fuel in in'ternational use.
DATES:
Coment period expires (60 days after publication).
Comments received after this date will be considered if practical to do so, but only those com-ments received on or before this date can be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: -Comments should be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC 20555, Atten-tion:
Docketing and Service Branch.
All coments received will be available for public inspection in the Commission's Public Document Room at 1717 H Street, NW., Washi.ngton, DC.
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FOR FU.u. :.r. JFORMATION CONTACT: William R. Lahs, Jr., Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
Telephone (301) 443-7874.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
A or:n-sion policy tatement pub 1' hed August 24', 1982 (47 FR 37007),-
expl ns P C's i erest in re cing t e use hig enriched uran' m (HEdin re arch reacto s.
T'is in rest ems fr. NRC' lice ing r ponsib' ity r
ern abo)ut ris s of theft th d..estic se d for xport broad f HEU nd co
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ord'ersio of this ma erial.
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The policy statement also describes a continuing program to develop and demonstrate the technology that will facilitate the use of reduced enrichment fuels. The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program was initiated by the Department of Energy (DOE) and is managed by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).
Its objective is to prove the ability of new low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuels to replace existing HEU fuel without significant changes to existing reactor cores or facilities, or significant decrease in performance characteristics of the reactors.{
Detailed infomation on the RERTR program was presented by Dr. A.
Travelli, ANL, at the International Symposium on the Use and Development of Low f
and Medium Flux Research Reactors, held October 17-19, 1983, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A copy of Dr. Travelli's paper, "RERTR Program Activities Related to the Development and Applications of New LEU Fuels", is available for public inspection in NRC's Public Document Room at 1717 H Street, NW., Washington, DC.
The RERTR program's progress and anticipated continued success over the next five years have encouraged NRC to undertake a rulemaking proceeding which would cause reduction in the use of HEU fuel in domestic research and test reactors.[I init' tina this procee ng, t Corar ssio recog zes that 1' ens d n
-pow re tors w us g HEU uel a e ope ated thout due ri k wo t e h cith d s ety o' the neral ubli and i. proved reacto safety is n, th obj tive The ocee ing is nten d onl to ca e re acement f HEU
O INSERT On August 17, 1982, the Commission issued a Policy Statement on the use of HEU in research reactors.
The Policy Statement indicated that NRC has licensing responsibility for domestic use and for export abroad of Special Nuclear Material, including HEU, and is interested in reducing, to' the maximum extent possible, the use of HEU in domestic and foreign research reactors.
The Policy Statement also noted that as part of a. policy to encourage conversion by foreign operators, the Commission would take steps to encourage similar action by U.S. research reactors operators.
Public Commission meetings on this subject were held December 19, 1983, January 27 and February 6, 1984.
As discussed at the meetings, the Commission believes that the 31 nonpower reactors (25 owned by universities, five by private businesses and one by. the Government) presently
' licensed to use HEU fuel are. operated without undue risk to the public health and safety.
The proceeding is intended only to cause replacement of HEU fuel.
(Target material, spe' cia'l instrumentation or experimental devices using HEU, are not included.)
This reduction is desirable because i
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HEU, in appropriate form and quantity, can be used to make f
an explosive device which can have severe adverse consequences on public health, safety and the environment.
LEU has relatively little value for this purpose.
The Commission believes that a new rule could reduce the risk of theft or diversion of HEU, could encourage similar actions by foreign operators of nonpower reactors, and, thereby, could reduce the amount of HEU in international use.
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. the reder Govern-nt.
One source of information which identifies and classifies the affected university reactors and addresses the range of impacts of converting from HEU to LEU is a contractor's report, Assessment of the Implications of Conversion of University Research and Training Reactors to Low Enrichment Uranium Fuel,"
NUREG/CR-3666. The report is available for public. inspection and copying for a fee in NRC's Public Document Room at 1717 H Street, NW., Washington, DC.
As part of the development of the proposed amendment, Commission briefings, open to the public, were held December 19, 1983, and January 27, 1984.
At the briefings, infonnation was presented by the DOE, Department of State, Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO), NRC staff and other interested persons.
Information considered,to. date indicates that conversion of several non-power reactors from HEU fuel to LEU fuel is technically feasible and, i;f the goals of the RERTR program are successfully achieved over the next five years, will be technically feasible for almost all the remaining reactors.
The information also shows that a major considdration to operators is the cost of conversion which ' hinges on the availability of vender supplied fuel.
NRC shares'the licensees' expressed view that conversion costs should largely or entirely be financed by the Feder.1 Government.
Historically, the DOE' and its predecessor agencies have provided significant support to research and ~ test reactor programs. The availability of Federal support will be a key factor considered in determining the availability of LEU fuel and schedules for conversion.
um./ub fQAt_ d a.dLuc7AduldK'Ned N Under the proposed rule on-power reactors e th ce"'"" excepticr.: would be required to use LEU fuel [ Licensees now authorized to use HEU fuel would be required to develop and submit to the NRC's Director of the Office of Nuclear
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Reactor Regulation a proposed schedule for conversion to LEU fuel.
In preparing the proposed schedule, account will be taken of factors such as the availability of shipping casks, financial support, and reactor usage, Determination that the conversion fuel is available is dependent upon the successful accomplishment of the tasks set out in DOE's RERTR program and the development of commercially available replacement fuel.
A final schedule will then be determined by the Director.
This schedule will depend upon the availability of LEU fuel readily adapted to use in the licensee's reactor with minimum modifications or adverse impacts on the licensee's program.
A matter of interest to the Commission in requiring conversion and estab-lishing the schedule will be financial considerations.
Interested persons are invited to comment on the extent that they believe the economics of conversion should influence Commission r.ctions]
Technically, in its simplest form, conversion from HEU fuel to LEU fuel.
consists of replacing relatively low density HEU by relatively high density LEU.
By using a higher density of uranium in the fuel matrix,[he same amount DT of U-235 can be present in a fuel element without changing the external di-mensions of. the element or,significantly changing the thermal-hydraulic charac-teristics of the reactor.
Under these conditions it is possible that existing technical specifications will remain unchanged and no unreviewed safety question will be involved.
NRC is evaluating the reactor performance and safety aspects of conversion and expects to publish a report prior to reaching a determination on issuance of a final rule.
To facilitate conversion safety reviews, the NRC is considering the devel-f opment of generic envelopes of safety limits for the several types of non-power i
reactors. An affected licensee would then submit an analysis showing that both the normal operating and postulated accident conditions of the reactor fall within the limits.
These safety limits would be used in establishing limiting conditions of operation (such as coolant flow, coolant pressure, reactivity conditions).
Current developments by the RERTR program indicate that these limiting conditions of ' operation with LEU fuel may not differ significantly from limiting conditions of operation now used with HEU fuel; however, a definitive conclusion on this matter, applicable to all the conversion candidates will depend on the continued success of the RERTR program over tt next several years.
Comments are invited on this approach of using generic envelopes of safety limits and limiting conditions of operation.
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In cases where conversion from HEU fuel to LEU fuel would neither conflict with the technical specification incorporated in the license nor involve an unreviewed safety question, the conversion could proceed without amendment of the license.
In other cases, a license amend.ent would be required.
In view of the significance of this proposed rule to the natior.a1 interest, the Comis-sion, when implementing the rule, intends to waive any licensing fees that would nomally be assessed for amending licenses issued to production and uti-In sumary, the Comi cognizes that successtui implementation of the proposed rule, while maintaining the nuclear research and training capabil-4 ity which these reactors provide, depends on (1) the continued success of the DOE funded RERTR program, (2) the development of ac.ceptable, and available, replacement fuel, and (3) the extent of financial.and operational support provided to affected licensees by the Federal Government through DOE. The Com-mission also recognizes that the degree of REETR prograc :,uccess directly im-l pacts the costs attributed to attendant NRC safety reviews. The Comission, j
therefore,-is especially interested in public coments on these aspects of the proposed rule.
National Environmental Policy Act Consideration The Comission has detemined, under the National Environmental Policy Act 3
l of 1969, as amended, and the Comission's regulations in 10 CFR Part 51, that promulgation of this proposed rule will not have a significant effect on the qualitj of the human environment and that, therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required.
(The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact on which this detemination is based are available for pub-lic inspection at the NRC Public Document Room,1717 H Street, IN., Washington, DC.)
l Paperwork Reduction Ac' Statement t
i The proposed rule amends information collection requirements that are sub-ject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This
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