Press Release-00-121, NRC Schedules Meetings in Nevada and Maryland on Safety of Spent Fuel Shipping Casks

Press Release-00-121: NRC Schedules Meetings in Nevada and Maryland on Safety of Spent Fuel Shipping Casks

ML003738324
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Issue date:	08/07/2000
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-00-121
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA No.00-121 August 7, 2000 NRC SCHEDULES MEETINGS IN NEVADA AND MARYLAND ON SAFETY OF SPENT FUEL SHIPPING CASKS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled meetings to obtain further public input into its proposed update of a 1987 study that examined the adequacy of spent nuclear fuel transportation casks to withstand severe accidents. The meetings will be held August 15-16 in Las Vegas and Pahrump, Nevada, and on September 13 at NRCs headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.

The NRC is reexamining the safety of spent fuel shipping containers because of several factors, including the possible increase in shipments in a few years if a high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain begins operating. The reassessment will also enable the staff to focus more closely on those licensing issues most important to safety.

At meetings held last year, the staff obtained public input on the types of issues to be considered in a spent fuel package performance study. The staff is now prepared to present an issues paper on such a study incorporating comments received at those meetings. The staff will also discuss a technical report and brochure on risk assessment entitled, Reexamination of Spent Fuel Shipment Risk Estimates (NUREG/CR-6672). Interested persons are invited to comment on the issues paper and a draft version of the brochure, copies of which are available on the web at:http://ttd.sandia.gov/nrc/modal.htm Comments on both documents should be submitted by September 29 to Robert Lewis, Spent Fuel Project Office, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, or by telephone at 301-415-8527.

The meetings will be held in two differing formats: workshops and general public meetings.

At the workshops during the day on August 15 and September 13, invited persons with a broad spectrum of views representing citizen and environmental groups, nuclear and transportation industry, state, tribal and local governments, and others, will convene to discuss their views on the issues.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and comment at these workshops. The general public meetings will be held in the evenings on August 15-16, at which NRC staff will briefly describe the agencys role in ensuring transportation safety and discuss the studies and related concerns.

The time and location of the workshops and meetings are as follows:

ÿ August 15 workshop in Las Vegas, in the Hawaiian Room of the Tropicana Hotel, at 3801 Las Vegas Boulevard, from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m;

ÿ August 15 meeting in Las Vegas, same location, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m;

ÿ August 16 meeting in Pahrump, at the Mountain View Casino & Bowl, at 1750 Pahrump Valley Blvd, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m;

ÿ September 13 workshop in Rockville, Maryland, in the auditorium at NRCs Two White Flint North Building, at 11545 Rockville Pike, from 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.