ML22003A048

Summary of the December 14th, 2021, Virtual Public Meeting with Representatives of the Nuclear Industry to Discuss Foreign Obligation Reporting Requirements for Low Enriched Uranium

ML22003A048
Person / Time
Issue date:	01/03/2022
From:	Mirabelle Shoemaker NRC/NMSS/DFM/MCAB
To:	Shana Helton, James Rubenstone Division of Fuel Management
M SHOEMAKER NRC/NMSS/DFM/MCAB 3014157363
References
Download: ML22003A048 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 January 3, 2022 MEMORANDUM TO: Shana Helton, Director Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards THRU: James Rubenstone, Chief Material Control and Accounting Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards FROM: Mirabelle Shoemaker, International Safeguards Analyst Material Control and Accounting Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

SUMMARY

OF THE DECEMBER 14TH, 2021, VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING WITH REPESENTATIVES OF THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY TO DISCUSSS FOREIGN OBLIGATION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR LOW ENRICHED URANIUM On December 14th, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulation Commission (NRC) staff conducted a virtual public meeting with representatives from Nuclear Energy Institute, nuclear industry and members of the public. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the current reporting instructions for foreign obligated low enriched uranium (LEU) and provide a recommendation for requesting prior approval from the U.S. Government to assign foreign obligations to LEU that is greater than 5% enriched, but less than 10%. The public meeting notice and NRC presentation are available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Nos. ML21335A329 and ML21344A149, respectively. The enclosure to this document contains the meeting attendance list. The NRC staff made no regulatory decisions or commitments during the meeting.

During the public meeting, the NRC staff presented background information regarding the reporting instructions for foreign obligated LEU to the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS), which are described in NUREG/BR-0006 and -0007. The NRCs presentation clarified current reporting requirements and provided a recommended solution for obligation reporting by licensees who in the future may be blending LEU of different enrichments.

CONTACT: Mirabelle Shoemaker, NMSS/DFM 301-415-7363

S. Helton 2 Guidance in these NUREGs directs licensees possessing LEU that is enriched >5% but <10% to obtain prior approval from the U.S. Government to apply foreign obligations to LEU within this assay range.

Discussion The meeting promoted an open dialogue with representatives from NEI, the nuclear industry, and members of the public. There were 64 participants including the NRC staff. The NRCs presentation focused on the NUREGs instruction to report LEU in inventory as belonging to one of four material categories:

E1, for uranium enriched greater than normal but less than 5 percent E2, for uranium in enrichment of 5 percent or more but less than 20 percent E3, for uranium in enrichment of 20 percent or more but less than 80 percent E4, for uranium in enrichment of 80 percent or more Material transactions (such as blending) that include changes to foreign obligation holdings must follow the like-for-like principles of foreign obligations accounting contained in Appendix F of NUREG/BR-0006. In this section, the instructions indicate that prior-approval from the U.S.

Government is needed when assigning foreign obligations from one LEU assay-range to another.

Furthermore, foreign obligations reporting that involves changes to holdings of E2, E3, or E4 material require prior approval. The industry requested clarification from the NRC to better understand impacts related to daily operations for Cat III facilities seeking license amendments to possess up to 10% LEU for the production of Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF).

The NRCs presentation recommended that licensees submit a written request for approval to assign foreign obligations to all LEU in their inventory, which may be enriched up to but less than 10%, and specified in their possession license. The NRC indicated that the request for prior approval is not a requirement of a license and should be submitted separately from a license amendment request. The NRC recommended that licensees submit their requests in parallel with an amendment request to facilitate timely review and consideration by the U.S. Government.

Action Items/Next Steps The industry asked for clarification as to whether prior approval would apply to material blending, involving different material types, such as the blending of natural or depleted uranium with enriched uranium during fuel fabrication. The NRC staff will follow up with industry to provide clarification.

The meeting also provided members of the public the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments to the NRC staff. Tom Clements inquired whether the recommendation and potential changes to the NUREG instructions to document the process, would have an impact on foreign obligations related to LEU used for weapons tritium production in TVA's Watts Bar and possibly Sequoyah reactors. The NRC clarified that fuel used for tritium production must be free of any foreign obligations accounting to uphold peaceful use commitments under the nuclear cooperation agreements and would therefore not be affected by this recommendation.

Enclosure:

List of Attendees

ML220003A048* via email OFFICE NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NAME MShoemaker JRubenstone DATE 1/3/2022 1/3/2022 LIST OF ATTENDEES NOVEMBER 9, 2021, PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL PHENOMENA DURING SHORT TERM OPERATIONS WITHIN 10 CFR PART 72 JURISDICTION Name Affiliation James Rubenstone Nuclear Regulation Commission (NRC)

Mirabelle Shoemaker NRC Eduardo Sastre NRC Santiago Aguilar NRC Nicolas Mertz NRC Jessica Norles Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA)

Katelyn Bennett DOE/NNSA Alexandra Ziegler Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System (NMMSS)

Lorie Brooking Nuclear Industry Tammi Stambaugh Gerard Couture Calvin Manning Francis Tsang Haylie Lobeck DOE/NNSA Blake Bixenman Nuclear Industry Emily McGuinness Nuclear Industry Nima Ashkeboussi NEI Tom Clements Public Michael Wilbricht Framatome Julie Hawkins GE Janet Schlueter NEI Ali Tabatabai NMMSS Mick Mastilovic DOE Eris Speights Westinghouse Tate Timothy Framatome Marty Karr Centrus Energy Courtney Danielle Chapman Exelon Pearline Teeters Nuclear Industry David Hanks NRC Kelly Wegener-Gave Nuclear Industry Karen Hicks DOE/ORNL Justin PPPO Carlos Sisco Nuclear Industry Kristy Peng Department of State Bradley S Williamson Dominion Energy Joseph Christensen GE Michael Chen DOE/NNSA Nanette Founds DOE/NNSA Enclosure

Name Affiliation Kyle Wilhelm DOE/NNSA Cody Stuchal Nuclear Industry James DeGolyer GE Jan Boudart Ellis Gamble Westinghouse Shannon Chester DOE/NNSA Erin T Boyle Centrus Energy Edwin Lyman UCSUSA John L. Talbert Centrus Energy Rebecca Sensabaugh Gary Langlie NRC Anonymous callers*

• Not all meeting attendees were identified by name, in some cases the only identifyinginformation available was a first name or a phone number.

Enclosure