ML25261A236

SECY-78-123: Pending Retransfer from Switzerland to France for Reprocessing

ML25261A236
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/01/1978
From:	James Shea NRC/OIP
To:	Commissioners NRC/OCM
References
SECY-78-123
Download: ML25261A236 (24)

Text

r~arch 1, 1978 SECY-78-123 For:

From:

Thru:

Purpose:

Discussion:

Contact:

COMMISSIONER ACTION The Commissioners James R. Shea, Director, Office of International Programs j""

Executive Director for Operations {,., )!--*~c.L:

PENDING RETRANSFER FROM SWITZERLAND TO FRANCE FOR REPROCESS ING Commission review and approval of proposed MB-10 retransfer action.

The Department of Energy has requested NRC vi e1r1s reg a rd i ng the retransfer of 80 irradiated fuel assemblies from the Muehleberg power reactor in Switzerland to Cap-la-Hague, France, for reprocessing (see attached February 16 memo-randum. at Appendix C).

The circumstances regarding the proposed retransfer are similar to the recently approved Beznau retransfer (SECY 77-634) in that the irradiated fuel will be removed in order to facilitate the reracking and expa~sion of the Muehleberg spent fuel storage pool (see letter from the Swiss Embassy to DOE attached to Appendix C).

As noted in the S~iss Embassy 1 s letter:

1.

The basic reracking plan has been approved by the Swiss authorities.

2.

There is no alternati ve for storage of the soent fuel in Switzerland since Muehleberg is the only boiling water reactor in Switzerland and no other reactor of this type is near completion.

No storage pools exist in Switzerland outside of nuclear power plants.

3.

For the new nuclear power reactors, planned er under construction, a storage capacity of several cores is foreseen.

The o 1 d.A.meri can concept of i. 25 cores capacity of the storage pool used at Mueh1eberg and Beznau has been aband M.A. Guhin, IP 492-7866 tlyAuti,cr-l.'

R. Peterson, IP 492-8155 at@di ~!assiflcFJt:M _!....!,_.;:;;.....-=-~

Discussion:

(Continued) 2

4.

Safe accompli~hment of the proposed reracking program is only possible if the pool contains no more than one discharge (the pool contains one discharge now and another discharge is scheduled for August).

5.

The whole reracking program, then, requires that the 80 irradiated assemblies presently in the pool be removed and transported to La Hague between April and June.

6.

If the 80 assemblies cannot be transferred according to the program, this will render the expansion of the pool capacity impossible.

In contrast to the Beznau retransfer, the plutonium to be recovered from the Muehleberg fuel has a designated end use:

namely, use in the Kalkar and Superphenix experimental breeder reactors in West Germany and France.

It is also planned to have the recovered uranium reenriched in the US for eventual reuse in light water reactors.

All interested Executive Branch agencies have approved the retransfer since (1) the affected nations are generally cooperative in nonproliferation and nuclear fuel cycle evaluation efforts, and (2) it is US policy not to interrupt foreign advanced reactor programs during INFCE (which is to take an open-minded view of all nuclear fuel cycles).

Finally, any retransfer of the recovered material outside of EURATOM would require US approval.

In view of the above, I believe our position should be that we have no objection to the proposed retransfer with the conditions set forth in DOE's draft approval letter at Appendix B.

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Recommendation:

That the Commission approve the proposed response to DOE at Appendix A.

Coordination:

OELD has no legal objection.

Enclosures:

1.

Appendix A - Proposed ltr to Nelson Sievering

2.

Appendix B - Draft ltr to Swiss Embassy

3.

Appendix C - Memo dtd 2/16/78 D.J. Shiller, DOE to Multiple Addressees (CONF)

~J:?.~

Shea, Director ce of International Programs NOTE:

Commissioner comments should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary by c.o.b. Monday, March 6, 1978.

Commission staff office comments, if~, should be submitted to the Commissioners NLT Friday, March 3

, with an information copy to the Office of the Secretary.

DISTRIBUTION:

Commissioners Commission Staff Offices Exec. Dir. for Opers.

Secretariat

A P P E N D I X A

Mr. Nelson F. Sievering, Jr.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs U.S. Department of Energy.

Washington, D.C.

20545

Dear Mr. Sievering:

OR.AFT This letter will inform you that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has no objection to the proposed retransfer from Switzerland to France of 80 irradiated fuel assemblies (MB-10 AG/1074/2),

provided it is subject to the conditions contained in your draft approval letter as attached to Mr. Shiller's memorandum of February 16, 1978.

In taking this position, the Commission notes the Swiss plans for reracking at the Muehleberg reactor to expand its spent fuel storage capacity.

Sincerely, James R. Shea, Director Office of International Programs APPENDIX A

i,.._

A P P E N D I X B

Dr. Christian Favre Scientific Counselor Embassy of Switzerland 2900 Cathedral Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C.

20008

Dear Dr. Favre:

DRAFT:DShiller:JK 2/15/78 Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of February 14, 1978, describing the proposed disposition of the special nuclear material to be re-covered from the irradiated fuel assemblies covered by the MB-10 retransfer approval document AG/1074/2 which was signed by B. Hausherr on behalf of Switzerland on DecErnber 23, 1977, for the transfer of 80 irradiated fuel assemblies from the Muehleberg BWR Power Plant (KKM) to Cap-la-Hague, France, for reprocessing.

As you are aware, it is current U.S. pol~cy to approve retransfers of U.S.-origin spent fuel for reprocessing only on a case-by-case basis upon a clear showing of vital need for such retransfer.

In this instance under circumstances we are approving the retransfer based upon the statements and data in your letter of February 14th and the attachments thereto, which show the vital need in this case, the expeditious schedule for the storage pool reracking, and the contemplated end uses of the separated specia1 nuclear material.

The present approval, of course, should not be considered in any way to set a precedent for U.S. action on future retransfer requests for reprocessing; since under our current policy each must be considered on its individual merits.

APPENDIX B-1

Dr. Favre Furthermore, and as we have explained in our discussions, this retransfer approval is conditioned upon the following understandings:

1. That, if prior to actual reprocessing the International Fuel Cycle Evaluation leads to international agreement on new fuel supply arrangements including reprocessing or other disposition of irradiated fuel, the parties will consult to determine whether the new arrangements should be applicable to Please be assured that the U.S. will net revoke this approval, although it would be possible, of course, for the parties concerned to agree that new arrangements should become applicable.

2.

That you will notify us if it appears that the situation set forth in your letter may change.

Also, as you appreciate, any actual retransfer of these recovered materials outside of EURATOM also will be subject to prior U.S. approval, through the MB-10 fonn, and in accordance with the applicable agreements for cooperation.

cc:

Mr. Spaak, EURATOM Washington Liaison Office Sincerely, Harold 0. Bengelsdorf Director for Nuclear Affairs International Programs APPENDIX B-2 Mr. P. Zaleski, Embassy of France

Dr. Favre bee:

N. Sievering W. McDonald H. Bengelsdorf P. Brush V. Hudgins J. Garrett D. Hoyle (State~

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DAS/P DShiller: jk 1/26/78 GC PBrush 1/ /78 ISA VHudgins 1/ /78 DAS/P HBengelsdorf 1/ /78 APPENDIX B-3 1

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A P P E N D I X C

Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20545 D. Hoyle, OES/NET, Department of State.

R. Wil!iamsor,., __ j.COA, D~rtment of State M. Guhrn, NR~..-.... ~

P. Brush, GC *-

V. Hudgins, ISA AG/1074/2 - TRANSFER OF 80 IRRADIATED FUEL ELEMENTS FROM MUEHLEBERG TO THE COGEMA REPROCESSING PLANT OF LA HAGUE, FRANCE Enclosed are a letter of February 14, 1978 from the Swiss Embassy, a draft reply, and a copy of this MB-10. I have used the pragmatic approach as the recovered material is covered by the BK\\o//STEAG contract.

Please let me know if you concur by 12:00 noon, Tuesday, February 21, 1978.

Enclosures:

1.

Letter, dtd Feb 14, 78

2.

Draft Reply

3.

MB-10

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Daniel J. Shiller Office of Nuclear Affairs International Programs SU BJECT TO GENER,d.L DEC:'..AS3 1FIC,\\.TION SCHEDU LE 01" EXECUTIVE ORDER I J 6 '; ? r,Ui 0"1ATICAL !_Y DO'.V~lCH,\\OEll A.I TWO YEAR li*l1 ERVr\\LS Ai,U Ol'-' LA"'S lf i(() C N DEC. 3 1 118'/

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© EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND SCHWEIZERISCHE BOTSCHAFT AMBASSADE DE SUISSE

~i, 651.513 BKW - CF/or Mr. Nelson F. Sievering, Jr.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs U.S. Department of Energy Washington, D.C.

20545 W ASHfNGTON D. C. 20008.

~'.'00 C~t~edral Avenue N.W.

Tclerhone 4~1-!S 11 Ii February 14, 1978

Subject:

Transfer of irradiated fuel elements from Bernische Kraftwerke AG (BKW)

Switzerland to the COGEMA Reprocessing Plant of Cap~la-Hague, France

Dear Mr. Sievering:

This is in reference to the :IB-10 retransfer approval document AG/1074/2 which was signed by B. Hausherr on behalf of Switzerland, December 23, 1977, for the transfer of 80 irradiated fuel assemblies from the Milhleberg BWR Power Plant (KKl-1), Switzerland, to Cap-la-Hague, France, for reprocessing.

It is my pleasure to confirm by this letter the § information Mr. Grandchamp, Fuel Manager for BKW, and c:,

the undersigned presented to your staff at a meeting

~

at DOE Headquarters on February 6, 1978.

under standing that this let-1=-E~crs--m!:P~~-t;h ca data diagram plans vided are fidence for anal cur ons.

This in should no all into the h of potential saboteu pool:

US design - Containment General Electric Mark 1 Core capacity -

240 fuel assemblies

- Present storage pool arrangement -

300 spaces

- Fuel assemblies presently in the pool -

80

- Extension of the pool in two phas"es to a maximum capacity of 672 spaces

~

The~ f ir~:ft,phas.~ t of reracking is to take place between Fe,pruary and'-~'.~arch 1979.

The second one at the end of 197~.

The enclosed planning chart (Enclosure 1) presents the schedule of the reracking operations, taking into account that shutdowns for discharge and reloading are foreseen for August 197~ and May 1979.

Tl?,e storage pool of. ~KH is located on an upper level of the reactor building, which means that for safety (seismic protection), racks must be fastened very tightly.

The new racks must be adjusted with great precision to the old fixation.

The very precise measurement required has to be taken by a diver in the pool.

Radioactivity diagrams shown by Mr. Grandchamp (Enclosure 2) clearly indicate that safe diving is only possible if the pool contains no more than on8 discharge.

The whole reracking program then requires that the 80 irradiated assemblies presently in the pool be removed and transported to La Hague between April and June (11 transports necessary).

The basic reracking plan, as presented, has been approved by the Swiss nuclear safety authorities.

There is no alternative for storage of the spent fuel in another place in Switzerland since KKM is the only BWR in operation, and no other reactor of this type is near completion.

No storage pools exist in Switzerland outside of nuclear power plants.

It is to be noted that for the new nuclear power reactors, planned or under construction, a storage capacity of several cores is foreseen.

The old American concept of 1,25 cores capacity of the storage pool used at KKM and Beznau has been abandoned.

As you know from our previous correspondence (concerning MB-10 form RTD / EU(SD)-19, especially my letter of September 22, 1977), the recovered material will be used by STEAG, Essen (FRG), under the existing contract of June 30, 1975, which concerns eight annual discharges.

STEAG has contacted potential customers.

It is anticipated that the Plutonium as before will be employed in the SNR/Kalkar (FRG), Superphenix and also in Phenix (France), and Prova per Elementi di Combustibili, (Italy).

The irradiated uranium will be recycled in Light Water Reactors.

It is presently anticipated to re-enrich the uranium in the United States.

Contractual agreements will be concluded as soon as a delivery program for the uranium as UF-6 has been established.

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1,

This information concerning ongoing commercial negotiations is, of course, proprietary to STEAG and is given in con-fidence.

The requirement of a *full core discharge capacity in the storage pool must be met for operational -

and partly safety reasons.

In case repairs to the internal part of the reactor or the primary recirculation loop should become necessary - for _g~ample because of leakage of a valve requiring the dumping-of the primary water -

the entire core must be unloaded.

Unavailability of the full core discharge capacity would require the shipment of numerous fuel assemblies to another country.

This would be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in a reasonable amount of time in the case of Switzerland, and thus could create safety-related problems.

The safety evaluation report of the MUhleberg nuclear power plant, on which the issuance of the operation permit by the Swiss nuclear regulatory authorities is based, mentions explicitely that full core discharge capacity has to be available in the fuel storage pool.

For this reason it is an absolute necessity for KKM to increase without delay the pool storage capacity.

If the 80 fuel elements presently in the pool. cannot be trans-ported according to the program, this will render the expansion of the pool capacity impossible.

The operation of KKM could then not be continued for a long period of time.

Enclosures As stated cc. Ambassador Fernand Spaak Sincerely yours, Dr. Christian Favre Scientific Counselor Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities Washington, D.C.

20037 cc. Mr. P. Zaleski, Nuclear Attache Embassy of France Washington, D.C.

20008

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H.B) 10 Nu!!!b er AG/1074/2 APPROVAL FOR RETRA~SFER OF SP:'.CH.L NUCLEAR l*L.\\IERIAL OF UNITED STATES ORIGIN The approval of the United States De?artment of Energy is hereby requested to the t:-ansfer from

• to Bernische Krafti,,erke AG, Kernkraftwerk ~I.}hleberg, Sv1itzerland (Transf e ro !:)

CGGEMA, Plant of La Hague, France via EURATGM SUPPLY AGENCY (Tr ans f ere e) of United States supplied special nuclear ~aterial in the quantity and

~eecing the specifications described belov (hereinafcer called ttspecified material") vhich the transferor obtained pursuant to its Agreement for Cooperation for Civil Uses vith the United States Government.

Material was originally obtained by transferor from =-u=*s~-_E_R_,D_A __________ _

under Contract or Order Number AT(49-14lLES/S0/2.

Fuel T'yoe 1., aq Jrraci.

t~ssenbl ies

.. ; type Gt*1R Identification

'I Mai:king; No., etc.

.see attachd

• list SPECIFIED ~ATERIAL (Fill in where applicable)

Total U

( I'n Gra!!ls) 14,364,862.

U-2 3 5,

3;,::£)<3g Pu

~'f'--?-1: (In Gr a.,;is)

• 136,454.

105,167.*

!-s-o-~ 01H--c- -P-e--re ~ ~

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The sp!(ffied mate~ial, which is now located at Kernkraft*.,erk r~,:.ihleber=c,,;,;ill

µpon ipproval hereby by the United States Department of Energy be transferre *

.on or about February 1S78 - July 1975 for

1,ls e at Reprocessing plant of la Ha.::ue, Frar.ce and will be ac cep ced for

-1;Jt:,;*

following s? e c iii ecl

'i)U rp os e: REFt\\OCESS.i:i'JG lEND USE:: Uranium and plutcnium will be sold under existing contr2::t to STE/,G /l.G t

(ref: f'iB-10 approval r.b RTO/EU(SD)-19). It is pl2nnad to use tn2 rratarial

t.

in the THTR, sr~R and Super Phenix reac'::o;:--s.

.ihe transferor, with the concurrence of the transferee, ~ill notify within

~O days. after che aforesaid date _ che United S::aces Je;arc~enc of Energy

• of the actual dace and quantity of material transferred.

c is agreed A-lb,* the transferor a _nd transferee that:..:is 0£ !:hat dace the sgecified

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l~ateriaJ. tvill cease to b'! subject: to the _.l_gree:!en::: f'o:: Coopeca::icn and iJ t concract indicated abo-.,e and will be subject to the crans::e.ree 's Agrce:nent i.

tfor.Cocp~ras_ion f~r Civil Uses with Che! 0 niced Sta::~s Gove.rn;:ienc.

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URATO*' -u??L1 ;.G~IC-[

tr*1iss re~:l 9-~ of e~rgy Dec. 23, 1977 tfµu~url

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5 JAN. 1378 (Transferor)

(Date)

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(Translfe.reel (Date)

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in J.3. MENNICKEN, Dir!'!ctor general 1Above requested transfer under Article of transferee's Agree~ent

~for Cooperation for Civil Uses with the Cnited Scates Government approved,

!provided physical transfer is cons L,mmated by (For:che United States Depzrtzent of Energy)

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'_,§rnr~ISCHE KRAFTiJERKE AG Attachment to MB-10 form dated December 23, 1977 Identification of the irradiated fuel assemblies 4 assemblies type AM(7x7) announced under Approval nb RTD/EU(S0)-19 but not transferred in 1977:

AM 113 182 212 HX 35a (earlier AM 174)

NB: Change of number in accordance with IAEA because of change of upper tie plate 8 assemblies tvpe GEO (improved 7x7)

GED 011 015 - 016 018 - 020 053 057 68 assemblies ttpe AMA (8xa)

AMA.

001 - 007 AMA 063 - 064 009 012 066 014 068 069 016 071 - 072 019 074 078 022 - 029 080 053 031 05 5 -

069 036 093 094 039 - 040 096 042 099 -

iOO 044 - 049 102 - 103 053 - 055 108 059 - 061

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