ML20149H907

Obtains Commission Approval of Proposed Response to DOE

ML20149H907
Person / Time
Issue date:	09/20/1983
From:	Dircks W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:
Shared Package
ML20079A503	List: IA-92-436, Partially Deleted Secy,Advising Commission of Proposed Technology Transfer to Peoples Republic of China Per 10CFR810 ML20149H907 ML20149J393
References
FOIA-92-436 SECY-83-388, SECY-83-388-01, SECY-83-388-1, NUDOCS 9501030114
Download: ML20149H907 (32)

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POLICY ISSUE (Notation Vote)

September 20, 1983 SECY-83-388 For:

The Comission i

From:

William.J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations

Subject:

PROPOSED EXPORT OF REPROCESSING INFORMATION UNDER PART 810 TO WEST GERMANY

Purpose:

To obtain Comission approval of a proposed response to 00E.

Discussion:

On August 30, DOE forwarded for NRC review a request from Exxon Nuclear Company.to provide assistance to a West German firm in the design review of a reprocessing facility (Appendix A).

Exxon's request has been reduced significantly in scope from an earlier proposal and DOE has determined that it no longer involves the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology (SNT).

The services to be provided under Exxon's request would be limited to the following areas:

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Fuel receiving and storage.

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Off-gas treatment and recovery.

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Uranium purification and conversion.

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Waste management.

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Process chemical treatment, and acid and solvent recovery.

h7 Acccrding to DOE's 6ccompanying analysis, the above activities 2 ;h, k are ancillary processes in reprocessing and are all well ti q i documented in the open literature. The NRC staff. agrees that

'; " E h the proposed services to be provided do not involve SNT.

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Further details on Exxon's request are provided in Appendix A, y{!Sh including a comprehensive analysis by DOE of the relevant rl 8 0 factors to be considered pursuant to the requirements of Part S 5 "ti $

810. Of principal importance in this regard is the Executive 5M Branch's 1982 reprocessing and plutonium use policy decision.

As DOE's analysis states. Exxon's proposal would be consistent CONTACT:

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MarvinR.Peterson,IP(49-24599) gjf0f8}i4940304 hhkh GILINSK92-436 PDR 1W.

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MPRIETARYIF0CN The Commission 2

Discussion:

with the 1982 policy decision, which permits the consideration (Continued) of the export of reprocessing technology to Japan and EURATOM countries.

The statutory finding required for all Part 810 requests is that the proposal will not be inimical to the " interest of the United States." While safeguards related assistance is not the key component of Exxon's proposal, DOE notes, in making the non-inimicality finding, that it "should be in the security interests of the United States for a U.S. company with considerable experience in nuclear plant safeguards, such as Exxon Nuclear Company, to be in a position to influence the safeguards of the DWK reprocessing facilities".

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Conclusion:==

The staff believes that there is no basis for concluding that Exxon's proposal does not meet statutory approval requirements or.that the proposal does not confom with current Executive Branch nuclear export policy.

Recommendation:

That the Commission approve the dispatch of the attached (Appendix B) letter to DOE noting without objection DOE's s

plans to approve Exxon's request.

Scheduling:

DOE has requested expedited review of Exxon's request, noting that the West German reprocessing firm has progressed in its plant design to the point where Exxon's services will no longer be pertinent if not made available by the end of Septenber.

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illi J. Dircks Executive Director for Operations Appendices:

A - Ltr. to JRShea fm. JLTorres dtd. 8/30/83 B - Proposed draft response to DOE hkN

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Commissioners' comments or consent should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary ASAP.

DISTRIBUTION:

Commissioners OGC OPE OIA EDO ELD SECY i

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'83 SEP -2 40 :00 Department of Energy emer or

Washington, D.C. 20585 AUG 801983 INTERAATigwA.

PR9GRAt*5 Mr'. James 1. Shea j

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4430 East-West Righway Washington, D.C.

20555 Dear Mr. Shes DOE has received a revised Part 810 request (Tab A) from Exxon Nuclear Company (ENC) to provide assistance to Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Wiederaufarbeitung von I

Kernbrennstoffen (DWK) in the design review of their reprocessing facility.. The revised request (Tab B) reduces substantially the scope of the earlier request which was previously forwarded to you.

The earlier ENC request was determined by DOE staff to involve the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology (SNT). In the revised request, ENC has restricted r

their assistance to the following unit operations in an attempt to avoid the transfer of SNT.

o Fuel receiving and storage of f-gas treatment and recovery o

Uranium purification and conversion o

o Wasta management Process chemical treatment, and acid and solvent recovery.

o These unit operations are ancillary processes in reprocessing and do not involve f

plutonium and processing of s,eprocessing areas involving the separa the sensitive and important reparated plutonium. Also, ENC will not transfer any of its proprietary information or technology.

Af ter a review of the ENC revised request, DOE staff has concluded that SNT will not be' transferred by ENC in providing their assistance to DWK. A DOE staff analysis of the ENC request is enclosed (Tab C).

i DOE plans to reconmend to the Secretary of Energy that he determine that it will be inimical to the interests of the United States to approve the ENC revised not request.

In view of the fact that you have reviewed the earlier Exxon request which was broader in scope, your comments on our proposed recommendation are requested within fif teen (15) days of receipt of this letter. DWK has progressed in its design to the point where Exxon's review, if not available within the next thirty days, will no longer be pertinent.

Sincerely, f

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Julio

. Torres Director Office of International Security Affairs

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M ERON NOCLEAR COMPANY,INC.

600. totth kvenue N.E., CL00777, Bellevue, Washington 90009 Telephone (?o6) 4s34300 LEXXONiSCUAR PROPRIETARY S. J. Beard s,

June 9, 1983 i

1 U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20585*

Ms. Johnnie Raymond Attention:

Office of International Security Affairs (DP-332)

. Gentlemen:

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Subject:

10 CFR 810

Reference:

(ettertoJ.A.'Griffinfrom5.J. Beard dated October 6,1982 The purpose of this letter is to revise Exxon Nuclear's October 6th request i

for specific authorization (reference) by deleting from the proposed scope of services and' technology to be provided to Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Wiederaufarbeitung von Kerribrennstoffen (DWK) all areas related to sen-sitive nuclear technology.

Accordingly, we now propose to limit the engineering services, designs, op'erational know-how, and. technologies to It is our be provided to DWK to those areas identified in Table 1.

understanding based upon our interpretation of 10 CFR 810 that work in these areas is not considered to constitute the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology and, therefpre, the work can be accomplished within the

' context of current regulatiohs without the requirement of obtaining a specific authorization.

As we stated in our previous letter, the proposal to provide engineering services requires further negotiation with DWK and is therefore con-fidential. Accordingly, we respectfully request that DOE, as well as the cumr federal departments or agencies involved in the interagency review piucess, treat this letter as Exxon Nuclear proprietary information to the maximum extent permitted by law.

DWK has already initiated detailed design so that their interest in our There-engineering services will decline rapidly as the work proceeds.

fore, a prompt response to this revised request will be appreciated.

Sincerely,

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. Beard ble J

AN AFFILIATE OF EXXON CORPORATION

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i' J.XXON30CNAW y

TABLE 1_

AREAS PROPOSED FOR DESIGN ASSISTANCE AND CONSULTATION Uranium Solvent Extraction Purification and Solvent' Treatment Uranium Calcination and Fluorination Uranium Product Storage High-level Liquid Waste Treatment. Solidification, and Storage Low and Intennediate-Level Waste Treatment Solid Waste Treatment and Storage Krypton-85 Recovery i

Spent Fuel Transport and Storage Acid Recovery and Recycle Off-Gas Treatment including N0x, I-129 and I-131, C-14, au-106, and H-3 Confinement Process Equipment for the Areas Above Including (but'not limited to):

Pulse Columns Centrifuges Heat Exchangers De-entrainers Absorbers and Adsorbers Filters Tanks and Yessels Agitators Fluorinators Off-Gas Scrubbers Distillation Columns Evaporators Fluid and Solids Transfer Devices Condensers Shielded Transport Casks lon Exchange Systems Calciners Emergency Equipment-Safety Analyses Ventilation Filters and Stacks, FacilityLayoutsandDesigns}

Environmental Assessments Cooling Towers Radiation Protection Systems Integration Criticality Analyses Remote Maintenance 8

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00(ON~NUCtfAR-Fam!5W I

ELABORATION OF TABLE 1_

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l Functional Segments of Plant Excluded from the scope of the DWK design assistance and consultation program. -

are functional segments of the plant in which plutonium is processed in more, than discard quantities.

Figure 1 presents the functional segments of the reprocessing plant that Exxon Nuclear proposed to build in Tennessee, with those segments that are excluded from the DWK scope of work identified by The remaining process segnents are identified by cross-hatch markings.

functional groups in the first portion of Table 1 and are explained briefly Figure 1 is considered generally typical of:a modern ' reprocessing.

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plant but DWK's design may vary in arrangement and actual process details.

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Uranium is. purified by a solvent extraction process' using' tributyl The uranjum is separated from..

phosphate in dodecane as a solvent. radioactive contaminants by selectively r

and returning it to the aqueous phase.

The sol. vent is pur.ified for recycle by washing w,ith carbonate or other solutions and by fon exchange. '

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The product uranium nitrate solution is calcined to the sol.id oxiN, then converted to gaseous uranium hexafluoride by either direct reaction with elemental fluorine or by a multiple step process involving the formation of solid uranium tetrafluoride. The. intermediate and final products are accumulated on site, then shipped off site for furthe6 processing or l

storage.

.. M High level liquid wastes are concentrated and converted to a solid' form

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The product is solidified in adding fluxing agents and app 1Ang heat.

steel containers and stored in cater pools until shipped to an approved l

repository.

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' Loh' level liquid wastes are coNentrated and solidif.ied.' Lowjev ' soli (2 wastes are' packaged ar,d shipped to an a,' proved repository.. Intermediate level liquid wastes are concentrated and may be combined with high level

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wastes for solidification.

Krypton-85 is isolated from the dissolver off-gas by either cryogenic It is either packaged as a distillation or by sorption in Freon.

compressed gas in cylinders or incorporated into a solid by one of several methods under development.

Spent fuel'is transported in shielded casks and stored in water pools.

Nitric acid and water.are recovered and purified by distiilation and recycled to the process.

Process off-gases are cleansed of contaminants by several processes.

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Typical isolation Method Contaminant Sorption in water, catalytic destruction

_ N0x Sorption on silver-impregnated ~ zeolite 1-129.-1-131 Sorption as CO2 and innobilized _ as BaC03 ----"

C-14 0

Sorption on Fe2 3-Ru-103,Ru-166 Sorption on molecular sieves

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-Serv' ice systems are also required to allow the proper functioning of the Those service systems whose designs are process systems discussed above. heavily influenced by the presence of ra r

below.

Remote maintenance systems provide for the remota.' replacement and repair. '

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(or controlled discard) of failed equipment.

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remotely operated pipe connectors, overhead'.. transfer cranes, and ma-nipulator-based maintenance cells.

Process cooling systems _ provide for the removal and dispersal of excess _

process and decay heat via recirculating wat,er and, cooling tawan.

. Ventilation affluent systems provide for the.cle5hsing of ventilation.

This includes the use of roughing 'and highr

~ir prior to discharge.

a efficiency particulate filters.

Emergency power systems _ provide power to critical, systems,when eifernal ----

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sources of power fail..

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The' types of proc'ess equipment typically used in these systems are-Hsted in.

the second portion of Table 1. These equipment types are codnonly used in the,

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two-significant ways.

-r Provision is made for equipment replacement through the use of remotely..___.

. controlled mechanical devices.

is made for highly accurate measurements of the uranium -

Provision

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content of individual vessels.

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AXXON-tWCLEAR PKNCEiARY Activities of Exxon Nuclear Personnel Within the scope of the process and service systems not excluded above, Exxon Nuclear will assist DWK with the preparation and review of the following types 1

of documents and drawings.

Design Criteria' Process Flowsheets

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Engineering Analyses Radiation Protection Criticdlity Safety Safety Analyses Conceptual Designs (equipment and' facility layout).,

Systems Integration Studies' Detailed Designs of Equipment Purchase Specifications l

Construction Specifications Environmental Assessments Operating Procedures The degree'of involvement by Exxon Nuclear personnel in DWK's project will

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depend on DWK's needs and may range from slight involvement through occasional consultation or review of completed documents to preparation of specific documents or drawings in their entirety.

As indicated previously, no work will be done on any aspect of the DWK project that involves plutonium other than discard quantities in process waste streams.

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APPENDIX C I

Areas Pro' posed for Design Assistance and Consultation Safeguards Instrumentation.

Process Control Instrumentation '

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In-line Instrumentation 5ampling Equipment AnaTytical Equipment Process Flowsheets e

Process Equipment Fulse Columns De-e6 trainers Tilters Tanks and Yessels Dissolvers Off Cas Scrubbers Evaporators Ion Exchange Systems

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T!uid Transfer Devices Centrifuges Calciners Shears and Shredders

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Heat Exchanges Condensers j

Absorber's and adsorbe'rs

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Agitators

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Fluorinators Cry ogenic Distillation Columns Criticality Analy ses Safety Analy ses Environ:nental Assessments Sy stems Integration

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Emergency Equipment Ventilation Stacks Cooling Towers Tacility Iayouts and Design Plutonius Storage Uranius Storage Radiation Protection Plant Security Spent Tue'l Transport and Storage

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.e AFFINDIX C (Continued)

Proprietary Technology That May Be offered In An Expanded Program

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Tuel Shearing Tuel Dissolution Feed clarification Flutonium Dissolution Plutonium Partitioning Solvent Treatmen't Uranium Product Purification Uranium - Plutonium Calcination Uranium Conversion Fluorination Vaste Solidification Corrosion Control e

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_.N ANALYSIS OF REQUEST FOR SPECIFIC. AUTHORIZATION Ebo~n Nuc1' ear Coopany, Inc. (ENC) has requested specific authorization from

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the Secretary of Energy pursuant to 10 CFR Part 810 to sell engineering services ced fuel reprocessing design, operational know-how and technology to Deutsche Case 11s'chaft fuer Wiederaufarbeitung von Kernbrennstoffen (DE) in the Federal Espublic of Germany (FRG).

'DWK has performed a conceptual design of a 350 MT/ year reprocessing facility to b3 built in the FRC and 'is interested in having reprocessing staff of ENC par =t ticipate in design review of the facility during detailed design..DE has

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stated that their design concept is froman and their process selection' madag-therefore, they are not interested in ENC's patented of proprietary-advanced reprocessing technologies, unique equipment designs, or its integrated repro-DWK is primarily interested in receiving ENCs' ad'vfee on "

cassing plant design.

the application of international safeguards requirements, equipment des:gn and facility design that would cover such. areas as

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vessel geometries which will permit much more precise measurements of fissile material contents:

2.' designation of material balance areas; selection of instrumentation for optimizing the application of 3.

statistical techniques for special nuclear material accountability and enhanced plant physical security features; and 4.

application of statistical techniques for fissile material accounta-bL11ty.

ENC has agreed to work within theke constraints and the Memorandum of Under-

, standing lustveen ENC and DWK specifically exempts ENC's patented or proprietary ebasced reprocessing technology and design from the agreement.

The scope of the services, as described in the Memorandum of Understanding signed l

by YNC and DWK representatives, provides for four man-years per year of services by senior reprocessing personnel during the two year period of the agreenest, i

including two equivalent man-years per year to be performed in residence la DWK.

The ENC engineers involved in this project vill be' drawing on technical offices.

data contained in INC proprietary documentation and their hands-on experience with t.be design and operation of reprocessing plant egulpment." ENC's design and sagineering services could range from minor condents on DWK drawings to redesign of specific equipmect items or systems.

' The participation of ENC in the p'roject can provide definite benefits by improving ENC has excellent repreess-the plant design in terms of international safeguards.

sing credentials; several of ENC's key management and technical personnel have close es thirty years' reprocessing experience. Its participation in the DE project can be of benefit to safeguards implementation in the following specific areas:

gelection of the most appropriate safeguards equipment and technology.

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based on ENC's recognised expertise in reprocessing; i

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Adequate and prope'r placement of cameras, weighing equipment, radio-logical apparatus for materials analysis, storage and hold-sp.

In addition to the work described above, ENC also requested specific authorisation for a potential expansion of the project into a second phase that voeld include i

ongineering and consulting services in all areas of nuclear fdel reprocessing, cs well as the sale of proprietary ENC technology in those cases where ENC would

.be of the opinion that the,ir equipment is superior to that designed by D1K.

The proposed activity and its potential expansion would, in our opinion, involve, a transfer of sensitive nuclear technology, in that both would impart information l

which is not available to the public and whieb is important to the design of a reprocessing facility. Therefore, the criteria in Section 127 and 128 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, must be met. This would require, among other things, assurances from EURATOM and the FRG that any nuclear material under the jurisdiction of the TRG or EURATOM, reprocessed by or through the use of ENC technology, shall be subject to the same conditions as U.S. origin material, e.g., prior reprocessing and retransfer approval. In addition, assurances would have to be provided that the conditions of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group Cuidelines would be set.

The President stated in July 1981 that the export of reprocessing technology to the EURATOM countries and to Japan vill be considered on a case-by-case basis and specific requests would be, approved if they are judged to be in our overall non-l proliferation interests and are consistent with our statutory requirements. In i

view of this policy statement and of the benefits in the area of international safeguards, DOE staff recommends that the request be approved, subject to the receipt of the appropriate assurances from the,Covernment of "the Federal Republic l

of Cernany and fresa EU1ULTOM.

Appendiz C of the ENC letter contains two lists, one of the areas proposed for dc. sign assistance and consultaticip, and another of proprietary technology that say be offered in an expanded program.,

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.In addition to the above, we have taken into consideration the following factors 1.

Wether the U.S. has an Agreement for Cooperation with the nation or group of nations in which the proposed activity will be conducted.

The U.S. and EURATOH, of which the FRG is a member, have an Agreement for Cooperation in the Civil Uses of Atomic Energy.

2.

Ebetber the country in which the proposed activity will be conducted is a party to the Nuclear Non-Prolif eration Treaty (NFT) and pursuant _

thereto, has entered into an agreement with the IAEA for the applica-tion of safeguards to its peaceful nuclear activities.

TEC is a party to the NPI and accepts full-scope IAEA safeguards on all its peaceful nuclear activities.,

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The relative significance of the proposed activity and availability of comparable assistance from other sources.

While this request involves transfer of sensitiva nuclear ta'chnology, it should be noted that the FRC has already designed the reprocessing plaat The FgG has

. and is capable of building it with or without ENC assistance.

sixteen-nuclear power plants in operation and at the present time has its

' spent fuel reprocessed in France at high cost.

In addition,.two other.

' EURATOM countries, France and the United Kingdon, possess reprocessing technology and could, conceivably, share it with the FRC. Whether they-choose to do so, depends on the current political climate between these

-~ ~; nstions and on economic considerations. Far,ticipation of ENC in design-review of the FRC plant will ensure that the most appropriate safeguards.....-

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equipment and technology are made available for incorporation in.the design. -

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4. Any o'theV fiet which may bear upon the political, economic or security-

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interests of the U.S.

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Participa' tion of a U.S. company in the design review of a reprocessing facility.

in the FRG will introduce a connunications link between:the.FRC.and.the U.S.-

in reprocessing philosophies and provide an opportunity:for better: rapport..-

and understanding. It will also assure that the safeguards know-how of a U.S. company with extensive hands-on experience in the operation.of a re.

processing plant is asde available for in the design of the new facility.

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Finally, approval of this activity would be a step toward establishing the.

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" U.S. as a Taliable nuclear supplier.

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...: s In' conclusion, we plan to recommend that the proposed activity be suthorised,. u..

subjtet to the receipt of assurances from EURATOM and the FIC required.by Sec ti.ons 127 and 128 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.... -

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40MPld!Y PROPHIETMiY t

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j Ef(ON NOCLEAR COMPANY,Inc.

P.O.Sen 130,2101 Hom Rapids Road, fucNond,WA 99352 Tclophone 1509) 375 8610 8.J. BEAAD octob,er 7, 1982

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argf.wW endTechnology owielen Secretary U.S. Department of Enery 1000 Independence Avenue S.W.

Washington, D.C.

20585 AITW:

Mr. John A. Criffin, Director Division of Politico-Military Security Affairs,

Dear Mr. Griffin:

Re: Request for Specific Authorization Exxon Nuclear Coopany, Inc.. a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 600 108th> Avenue N.E., Bellevue, Washington, respectfully requests a specific authorization from the Department of Energy pursuant to 10 CFR 810.8 and section 57(b) of th,e Atomic Enery Act, as amended, to sell engineering services and fuel reprocessing design, operational know-how and technology primarily in the safeguards, equipment design and facility desi to creas of internationalfur Wiederaufarbeitung von Kernbrennsto,ffen (WK) gn, in the Deutsche Cese11schaf t Tederal Republic of Germany..*The perforinance and sale of these services to DWK, which could constitute the transfer of reprocessing technology, would be ac-cocplished in accordance with the IAEA safeguards regulations and applicable laws end regulations of the United State,s and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

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• IEiK has ~ expressed interest' in receiving Exxon Nuclear's advice

• on the

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application *of international safeguards.

This advice would cover vessel geoe-eeries, bsignation of sacerial balance areas, ' selection of process instrumentation for optimizin's the application of statistical techniques for special nuclear eaterial accountability and enhanced plant phy sical security features.

By providing such advice, we believe that the implementstion of international safeguards with regard to the Tederal Republic of Germag would be enhanced.

In our letter of February 22, 1982, we advised you of our interest in selling engineering services and reprocessing technology to DWK. Based on our discussions with DOE and State Department personnel and consistent with the specific require-seats set forth under 10 CFR 810. Exxon Nuclear initiated formal discussions with directors and other senior officials of DWK on September 23 and 24,1982 in Hannover, West Carsany. As a resvit of this meeting, Exxon Nuclear and DWK entered into a Memorandum of Understanding describing the proposed scope of engineering services that WK would like to obtain from Exxon Noelear subject to Exxon Nuclear obtaining a specific authorization from the U.S. Covernment to permit the transfer of technologt to DWK as a related part of those engineering services. A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by two of DWK's directors, Mr. Mischka and Dr.

Blumencron, is attached as Appendix A.

The DWK organisation chart depic. ting the Board of Directors and other senior DWK personnel is attached as Appendix 3.

In our conversations with DWK, Mr. Mischke had the lead role for DWK. In addition, the

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in which Exxon Nuclear would provide design and engineering services is Exxon Nucles'r's design and engineering services would range creas attached as Appendix C.

from minor cocinents on DWK drawings to major redesign of specific equipment items or sy s tema.

During the discussions, DWK stated that their design concept is frozen and their Exxon Nuclear agreed to work within these process selections have been made.DWK also made clear that they are keenly interes ccustraints.

services of Exxon Nuclear personnel due to their expertise.and hands-os experience DWK stated that it with the design and operation of reprocessing plant. equipment.

a license for Exxon Nuclear's patented or is not interested in, purchasing proprietary advanced reprocessing technologies, unique equipment designs or ice Their interests are focused on the design of integrated reprocessing plant design.

specific equipment where Exxon Nuclear's experience would faci 1#. tate complianc enhance plant operating

• ef ficiencies or improve vich international safeguards,For example, they are interested in design of process plant operating reliability.

sampling equipment,- in-line ins trument a tion, optim6m tank designs for nuclear and other related equipment that complement international safe-i accoantability Similarly, they are interested in the design of pulse-column internals, evaporator de-entrainment devices, ventilation filtera and related ' plant equipment guards.

see a potential for improved operating reliability.

They' see these objectives as best being achieved by in-residence Exxon Nuclear personnel providin where they 4

DWK also independent reviews of the detailed design as it is being finalized by DWK.

visualizes engineering services being provided by Exxon Nuclear personnel located in the United States.

Although DWK's current interest is liniited primarily to engineering services.

Exxen Nuclear is requesting a specific authorization, pursuant.to 10 CTR 810, that is broader in scope and includes Exxon Nuclear's patented and proprietary advanced the

. reprocessing technologies and unique equipment designs in anticipation. thatThe i scope of work vill be expanded in the future.

Exxon Nuclear's reprocessing -

a specific authorization are listjd in Appendix C.

program documents vould be availsbre to DWK during the ters of the contract and w i

i endations.

r serve as a piincipal resource for coanun cat ng recomm It is further envisioned that E'xxon Nuclear will need to supplement the publicly A

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available Exxon Nuclear Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) (Docket 50-564

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with the volume on safeguards which has been maintained proprietary in conformance vith 10 CTR 2.790(d).

We believe that the proposed performance of engineering

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services and transfer of know-hov and operational experience, much of which is currectly already in the public domain, would be consistent with the United States

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goals of enhancing international safeguards thrcugh the active involvement of U.S.

citizens in the application of know-hov and experience to the DWK reprocessing facility.

As discussed in our earlier communications. Exxon Nuclear's experience in the reprocessing field started in 1971 although most of its reprocessing personnel ha From 1971 to 1977. Exxon Nuclear related experience dating back to the 1950's.

conducted a large commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing program aimed at building a do=estic nuclear fuels reprocessing plant to process coceercial light water reactor fuels.

More than $40 million was spent during this period to develop new and improved reprocessing technologies, perform sa fety analy ses and environment j

assestcents, and prepare f acility and equipment designs in conformance with j

Documentation to safeguards criteria for a 2100 tonne /y ear reprocessing plant.

-3.

su"ppert tha application fcr a constructica permit was cubmitted to the Nuclear Regu1~atory Cocaission in 1976 (Docket 50-564). The plant was to be located on DOE property in Oak Ridge Tennessee. In April of 1977, President Carter issued a policy statement banning the coumercial reprocessing of nuclear fuel in the U.S.

Subsequently, the NRC terminated all licensing activities associated with recycle fccilities and Exxon Nuclear in December 1980 terminated its reprocessing plans and adtivities.

Exxon Nuclear thereafter made the decision that it no longer was interested in reprocessing as a consercial activity.

Exxon Nuclear. currently has other commercial activities in the FRG.

A fuel _

fabrication plant is, located at Lingen, West Caruaqr that has been in operation since 1979. This plant produces nuclear fuel for customers in the European market, iceluding the FRC. We have become very familiar with licensing requirements in the FRG through licensing of our nuclear fuels plant and support to costomers in licensing the use of our fuel.

The prop.osed sale of engineering services and transfer of fuel reprocessing design and operational know-how requires further negotiatio~n with IME, and is therefore confidential. Accordingly, we respectfully request that DOE as well as the other federal departments or agencies involved in the interagency review process treat this letter and the related attachments as Exxon Nuclear. proprietary information to the maximum extent permitted by law.

~-

DWK is planning to initiate detailed design in December 1982. Their interest in purchasing services from Exxon Nuclear will decline rapidly as this work proceeds.

Accordingly, your timely and prompt response to this request vill be appreciated Tcr y our information, a representative of our compaar (Dr. Arthur G.

Rand'ol.

202-862-0275) is located in Washington, D.C. to assist us in these matters.

Very truly y ours.,

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AFFEN' DIX A Mr.'morandum of Understanding 4

Representatives of Deutsche Gesellschaf t fur Wiederaufarbeitung von Xernbrennstoffen mbH (dWK).and Exxon Nuclear Company, Inc.

1982 to discuss an arrangement (ENC) met on September 23-24, for providing assistance to DWK in support of the design of its reprocessing project.' This assistance is to cover the

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t application of

• international safeg,uards requirements, equipme,n design and facility design.* The principl'es of such arrangement,

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subject to. DWK and ENC's respective management's appr' oval, ar as follows:

1. The Agreement is for a period of three (3) years commencing. '

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with the execution of the Agreement ~.

2. ENC will provide four man-years pen year of services by -

j senior reprocessing personnel during the period of Agreement, including approximately two equivalent man years, per year to be performed in residence in DWK's offices.

3. D'?.K personnel and their representatives'shall have unl access to' ENC's Repkoce'ssing Plant design media, during the

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It is understood that ENC's proprie period of the Agreement.

d unique equipment 8 ';.tary technology with respect to processes an (these processes and unique are not included in this Agreement equipment will be itemized in an Appendix to the Agreement)

4. Compensati'on for the above services will consist of:

per man / year, plus the travel and living costs.

-5 31,'1983. Thereafter,

- This rate will apply through December

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the rate will be subject to annual revision for adjustment for escalation.

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- In addition, an annual compensation of 5' be paid by DWK for access to ENC's engineering information.

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5. Payments by DWK shall be made semiannually commencing wi, thin

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30 days of execution of thg Agreement.

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6. At DWK's request, ENC will provide additional, engineering man-hours during the period of this Agreene,nt, at its standard engineering rates, p'lus travel and per dica expenses.

l 7'.' This Agreement may be extended by mutual agreeme_nt,under the..

same terms and conditions.

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The execution of this Agreement will be subject..to ENC. o,b.t.ainin.g,.

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a 10 CFR 810 authorization from the U.S. gover'nm'e'nt.'

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beitu von Kornbrennstbf' n'~mbY By I.1 _q g._,,

Vorstand Title 24.09.1982, Hannover Dated Exxon Nuclear company, Inc.

[M By Vice President T tle _ __

Dated 24.09.1982, Hannover

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DOE Analysis of 10 CTR' Part 810 Request by Exxon Nuclear Company (ENC) for Authorization Tc Provide Engineering Services To Deutsche Gesellschaf t fur Wiederaufarbeit von Kernbrennstoffen (DUK)

Related To A Puel Reprocessing Tacility ENC has revised an earlier request for a Part 810 authorization to provide sagineering services, designs, operational know-hov and technologies, primarily in the area of international safeguards to DWK in support of the design of their,

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350 MT reprocessing facility.

In their earlier Part 810 request (Appendix A), ENC proposed to provide support to DWK on the application of international safeguards requirements, equipnent design and facility design that would cover such areas as Yessel geonstries which will permit nuch more precise measurements of o

fissile caterial contents.

Designation of material balance areas.

o selection of instrumentation for optialzing the application of statistical techniques for special nuclear asterial accountability and enhanced plant o

physical security features.

application of statistical techniques for fiasile material accountability.

o DWK cade clear to ENC tha( their design concept is frozen and their process selection made; therefore, they are not interested in ENC's patented or proprietary advanced reprocessing technologies, unique equipment design, or their integrated reprocessing plant design. Hovaver, ENC requested Part 810 authorization for a potential expansion of the project into a second phase that would include engineering and cons'ulting services in all areas of nuclear fuel reprocessing, as well as the sale of proprietary ENC technology in those cases where ENC was of In the DOE staff the opinion that their equipment is superior to the DWK design.

analysis (Appendix 3), it was determined that the proposed activity and its poten-tial expsusion vould involve the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology (SNT).

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In their revised proposal (Appendix C)', ENC reduced significantly the scope of their support to DUK to eliminate all activities that would involve the transfer For example, no information or support will be provided by ENC on the of SNT.

tion of plutonium and

.,,,important and sensitive reprocessing areas involving separa The services to be provided by ENC to DUK proces, sing of ' separated plutonium.

under their revised request are limited to the following unit operations e ::.

a.. Tuel receiving and storage s

,o.0ff gas treatment and recovery Uranium purification and conversion o

o.Vaste management

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Process chemical treatment, and acid and solvent recovery.

o These unit operations are ancillary processes in reprocessing and' ire a11've11

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'..' documented' in 'th's open literature.

EEC's revised proposal also alininates any consideration ~ 6f;a'potentiil

exp'a'nsion of 'the project into a second phase as proposed in their original Part'-

V Therefore, there hrill be no transfer of any fic proprietary'informa-

'810' request.

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Tactors Considered Fursuant To Section 10' CFR Part' 810 In Determining If A Froposed Specific Authorization Will Not Be Infalcal To the Interest of the United States

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Whether the United States has an Agreement f'or Cooperation *vich the 1.

nation in which the ptoposed activity will be. conducted.

The U.S. and Euratom, of which the TRG is a member, have an Agreement' -

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for ' Cooperation in the Civil dses of Atoale Energy.

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3 Whether the country in which the proposed activity will be conducted

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2.

is a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NFT) or is a full party to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and. pursuant to either or both of these trestles,

. has entered into an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Asency (IAEA) i for the application of safeguards to all its peaceful nuclear activities.

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The nG is a party to the h*PT and accepts IAEA safeguards on all its peaceful nuclear activities.

Whether the country in which the proposed activity will be conducted,2 3.

a party to the NPT or the Treaty of Tlatelolco, accepts IAEA safeguards l

if not

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on all its peaceful nuclear activities.

As indicated in paragraph 2 above, the TRG is a party to the NFT and accepts IAEA safeguards on all its peaceful nuclear facilities.

Whether the country in which the proposed activity will be conducted, 4.

if not a party to the NPT or Treaty of Tlatelolco, will accept IAEA safeguards with respect to the project. i)

As indicated in paragraphs 2 and 3 above, the TRG is a part'y to the NPT and accepts IAIA safeguards on all its peaceful' nuclear fee 111 ties.

The relative significance of the proposed activity and availability of 5.

co:parabia assistance from other sources.

As noted earlier, DWK has frozen their design concept and made their process selection and are not, therefore, interested in ENC's proprietary The assistance that ENC proposes to provide to DWK in. formation or technology.

in their revised scope of work involves ancillary processes that relate primarily to recoval and canagement of vaste products. DWK pisos to go ahead with the reprocessing f acility whether or not they are permitted to use ENC's services.

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h*hile DWK is interested in having a second opinion from ENC on iheir plant design, '

all re to authorise ENC's proposed activity would have no'sig'aificant effect on '

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D$T.'s ability to finalize their design and construct and opeIra'te ilIe"f'aciffty.

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France an'd the United Kingdom have experience in the design and opera-

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ti of reprocessing facilities and could provide comparable assistanci to DWf

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Any other factor which may bear upon the political, economic or security interests of the United States including U.S. obligations under international 24:..

l agreenents or treaties.

Political The United States policy on ' foreign reprocessing and plutonium use of

. June 4,19 82 permits consideration of the export of reprocessing tiEKnology to

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Euratom in a manner consistent with our statutory requirements. Therefore, a::::.-

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, approval for ENC to provide the proposed assistance to the FRG vould be ccasistent o.

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.vith U.S. policy in this area.

r-Economic i

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s ENC has not revealed the fee that they would receive for providing the a,

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proposed assistance; therefore, the economics of this activity were not considered t:.: u :... J_

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a factor in this analysis.

Security sr.

DOE staf f do not believe that the security intirests of the United States will be adversely af fected if the ENC request is approved. In fact, it should be

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in,the security interests of the United States for a U.S. company with considerable

• ,, experience in nuclear plant safeguards, such as ENC, to be in a position to a :*.

, influence the safeguards features of the DWK reprocessing facilities. It is s::.. :::

.trpected that ENC's proposed assistance to DWK vould result in significant improve-u.:

ments in the safeguardability of the DWK reprocessing plant.

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3 Other Factors

- Sensitive Nuclear Technology (SNT)

DOE staff has reviewed the revised ENC proposed support to DWK in the design of their reprocessing facility to determine if it would still i nvolve the transfer of SNT.

In reviewing the revised ENC request, the following factors have been consideredi

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ENC has reduced substantially the scope of their support to DWK so o

that it is now restricted to the following unit operations.

Fuel receiving and storage.

Off gas treatment and recovery.

Uranium purification and conversion.

Waste mangement Process chemical treatment, and acid and solvent recovery.

These unit operations are ancillary processes in reprocessing and are all well documented in the open literature.

..g The ENC support will not involve tha important and sensitive parts of reprocessing involving the s i

eparation of plutonium and processing of separated plutonium.

A process flow sheet (Appendix C) illustrates the cross-hatched steps in the process that ENC will not support.

No ENC proprietary information or technology will be provided to o

DWK.

j ENC will not be providing any new or advanced technology to DVK o

A large part of the ENC assistance to DVK will be in the area of o

international safeguards DWK has frozen their design concept and their process selections o

have been made.

facility independent of ENC support.DWK has the ability to com o

Af ter reviewing the revised ENC request, DOE staff conclude that while the proposed ENC support may prove useful to DVK, it is not important t o the dasign or operation of the DWK reprocessing facility.

7.

6 DOE Staff Recomendation Based on the above analysis, DOE staff plan to recommend at t e Sec stary of Energy detemine that authorization of the ENC Part 810 request to provide assistance to DWK vill not be inimical to the interest of the United States and.,,,,,

that he note certain benefits in the international safeguards area may accrue if the authorization is granted.

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