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Environment, Energy and Transportation ProgramRadioactive Waste NewsA Quarterly Summary of Generation, Transportation, Storage and Disposal IssuesJanuary 2000, Vol. 16, No. 3In This IssueFEDERAL ACTIVITY Budget update TRANSPORTATION NRC embarks on new cask study STATE/LOCAL/TRIBAL Maine Yankee files suit over storage site LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE S.C. task force: State should join compact INTEREST GROUPS GPU to sell Oyster Creek INTERNATIONAL Japan: Facilities' safety inadequate
FEDERAL ACTIVITY Budget updateOfficials with the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) believe that OCRWM will be able to meet key milestones-including a 2001 determination of whether Yucca Mountain would be suitable for nuclear waste disposal-based upon the office's fiscal year (FY) 2000 appropriation of $353 million. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) planned to complete the environmental impact statement in November 2000 and decide by June 2001 whether the site can be used to dispose of commercial spent fuel and defense high-level radioactive waste. Although DOE will be able to meet these deadlines, there is concern that the agency may not be able to meet later target dates. DOE Undersecretary Ernest Moniz had stated that OCRWM would need at least $380 million in FY 2000 in order to meet all schedules. The reduction could mean that the submission of a repository license application will be delayed by several months in 2002 and that the repository might not be able to begin operations in 2010. The $353 million appropriation includes $240.5 million from the Nuclear Waste Fund and $112 million in general revenues as a cost-sharing for the disposal of defense-generated wastes that will account for 10 percent of the 70,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel that require disposal in a deep geologic repository. The Nuclear Waste Fund is a special account in the U.S. Treasury into which electric utility ratepayers make deposits. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will receive $19.1 million for work related to the repository. Local governments will receive $5.4 million in oversight funds and the state of Nevada will receive $500,000 in oversight funds. The state funds will be funneled through DOE; the agency will reimburse the state only for actual scientific oversight, rather than other activities. The Office of Environmental Management will receive $5.7 billion during FY 2000 for environmental restoration and waste management at former nuclear weapons production facilities. This is an increase of $147 million over the FY 1999 budget, but $42.6 million less than the administration request. The funding will keep DOE in compliance with regulatory milestones that DOE and the affected states have negotiated. Congress also has directed DOE to use program funds earmarked for New Mexico for other activities if the state of New Mexico attempts to impose any bonding requirement on WIPP operations. Should the state require a bond, Congress may consider the passage of a statutory prohibition against such action. The National Low-Level Radioactive Waste Program will receive $595,000 for FY 2000 under provisions of the appropriations bill. The funds are to be used to maintain a national database for tracking and reporting low-level radioactive waste disposal information. Congress also directed DOE to receive congressional approval before reprogramming any funds in the FY 2000 budget and to submit external independent assessments to Congress about any construction project's baseline cost and schedule before the work begins. Congress ordered DOE to cut its field office staff by 5 percent in FY 2000 and placed a $150 million limit on DOE reimbursements to contractors for travel and other expenses, due in part to excessive contractor travel to Washington, D.C., and Russia. In addition, Congress directed DOE to shift all defense-related activities (about 36 percent of the total budget of $16.7 billion in FY 2000) to the newly created, semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The undersecretary for nuclear security-who will head the NNSA-will set policies regarding nuclear weapons development, naval nuclear propulsion, nuclear nonproliferation and the disposal of surplus fissile material. The NNSA will develop its own budget, personnel and management practices. Neither NNSA employees nor contractors will be under the control and direction of any DOE official, except for the secretary of energy. NNSA will have its own security, intelligence and counterintelligence offices, but will follow practices set by the secretary. Any significant security violation or executive order regarding the management of classified materials would be reported to the undersecretary. Cleanup of the former DOE nuclear weapons complex will not be part of the NNSA. Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management Carolyn Huntoon has indicated that cleanup at dual purpose sites (operating facilities with cleanup work being done) could be affected by the creation of the new office. New Mexico grants RCRA WIPP permitThe state of New Mexico on Oct. 27 granted the Department of Energy (DOE) a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit for shipping mixed (radioactive and hazardous) transuranic wastes (TRU) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for disposal. DOE has filed suit against New Mexico in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, charging that the conditions placed on the permit by the state are unlawful, pose a risk to workers and will result in operational delays. DOE is seeking a declaration that the permit requirements are capricious and an abuse of the state's discretion. DOE takes particular exception to permit provisions that bar the agency from emplacing mixed (hazardous and radioactive) TRU waste in the same series of rooms as "pure" TRU waste. Preventing DOE from using the same series of rooms would require DOE to wait until another series of rooms are ready; construction on that series of rooms will not be completed until July 2000. Another point of contention is the state's requirement that WIPP contractor Westinghouse provide financial assurances for closure and post-closure of the facility. DOE argues that Westinghouse will have to set aside $20 million per year for the next five years to meet the requirement; DOE will use funds earmarked for state road improvements to reimburse the company. Meanwhile, New Mexico Environment Secretary Peter Maggiore characterized the financial requirement as similar to the provisions at landfills throughout the state and country. Maggiore also believes the restrictions are nearly identical to conditions imposed on the Los Alamos National Laboratory for a hazardous waste incinerator. DOE temporarily suspended shipment of TRU waste to WIPP to begin to meet the new state requirements. Although DOE has sued New Mexico regarding some of the permit provisions, DOE is preparing to meet all requirements if necessary. DOE unveils plan to aid ill workersEnergy Secretary Bill Richardson announced Nov. 19 that the Clinton administration has sent legislation to Congress to establish a program to compensate current and former U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contract workers who are ill due to beryllium exposure at DOE nuclear facilities. Richardson said, "The Department of Energy is changing from an agency that opposed worker health claims to one that is actually trying to help resolve those claims." The proposed legislation would establish a beryllium compensation program modeled after the Federal Employees' Compensation Act system, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor for all federal employees. All DOE contract workers will be covered in the beryllium program, including those employed by companies that supplied the government with beryllium products. Eligible workers will receive reimbursement for medical costs associated with the illness, disability benefits for lost wages and-where needed-job retraining assistance. As an alternative, workers will have the option of receiving a single lump-sum benefit of $100,000. Unlike federal employees who are covered by a federal workers' compensation system, employees of DOE contractors historically have been covered by various state workers' compensation programs in which benefit schemes are more suited to traumatic injuries and where it has proven difficult to receive benefits for occupational illnesses. An estimated 20,000 workers at 20 DOE sites may have been exposed to beryllium; most workers with chronic beryllium disease-a sometimes fatal lung condition-were employed at Rocky Flats (Colo.) and Oak Ridge (Tenn.). Estimates for benefits to be paid under the beryllium compensation program range from between $18 million and $24 million per year during the next 10 years. DOE has opened a web page for workers and other interested parties to learn about the proposal at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/benefits. NRC completes entombment paperOn July 19, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed an information paper regarding the viability of entombment as a method of decommissioning nuclear power plants. Entombment would encase radioactive contaminants in a concrete structure that would be maintained under continued surveillance until the radioactivity decays to a level that would permit the decommissioning and unrestricted release of the property. NRC staff have concluded that-for many situations and dependent on site-specific circumstances-entombment may offer a safe and viable alternative for decommissioning. NRC staff scheduled a workshop for December 14 and 15, 1999, to solicit stakeholder opinions, after which they plan to make a recommendation to NRC commissioners about whether or not to further pursue entombment. A copy of the NRC report is available online at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/commission/secys/1999-187/scy.pdf. President orders nuclear safety reviewPresident Bill Clinton has ordered a sweeping review of nuclear power safety in the United States in response to the Sept. 30 accident at a Japanese nuclear fuel plant. Although the president believes that the type of accident that occurred in Japan could not happen in the United States, he wants "all of our people to learn everything we could about what happened there, analyze our systems here, and make sure we've done everything we can to protect ourselves." Agencies meet to resolve differencesThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) met Sept. 14 in an attempt to resolve differences in the EPA's and NRC's radiation standards for a high-level radioactive waste repository. The concern is that the differing standards lead to dual regulation that is burdensome to electric utilities and ultimately, the Department of Energy. Participants included representatives from EPA's Radiation and Indoor Air Office, NRC's Waste Management Division and the chief nuclear officer for NEI. For more information contact Robert Perciasepe, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, (202) 260-7400, or John Greeves, NRC waste management division director at (301) 415-7437. TVA approves plan to produce tritiumThe Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) approved on Dec. 8 a plan to produce tritium, an isotope that enhances the explosive power of nuclear warheads, at its Watts Bar (Tenn.) nuclear plant. The TVA board voted 3-0 to allow the plant to produce tritium as early as 2003, while continuing to produce electricity for TVA. The decision angered peace activists, who said using a civilian reactor to produce tritium runs counter to U.S. efforts to get other nations to reduce the production of nuclear weapons. Although the U.S. government has urged other countries to avoid such dual military-civilian use of nuclear reactors, Russia and Canada do so, according to Department of Energy (DOE) spokesman Matthew Donoghue. TVA, the nation's largest public power producer, was picked by DOE a year ago to be the government's new source for tritium. Under the agreement, which DOE was expected to sign by year's end, TVA would receive $25 million over the next three years to prepare for tritium processing and obtain Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing. Hanford preparing WIPP shipmentsThe Hanford Reservation (Wash.) is preparing transuranic (TRU) waste canisters for shipment as soon as possible to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. The canisters have been inspected and sorted ahead of schedule, due to concerns that the current waste containers will continue to deteriorate if left in dirt-covered storage trenches. Early retrieval will decrease the potential for container failure that could lead to increased treatment costs and safety concerns. Workers are checking the containers for structural integrity and determining the drums' radionuclide content before removing them from the trenches. Low-level radioactive waste containers will be reburied in the trenches; the TRU waste containers are sent to the central waste complex for interim storage, processing, repackaging and certification for shipment. Hanford planned to ship its first load of TRU waste in late fall 1999. DOE eventually will ship 80,000 containers to WIPP. Tennessee to oversee Oak Ridge facilityThe Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have established a long-term surveillance and maintenance program for a centralized disposal facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation. DOE will pay the state $1 million per year for 14 years; the money will be earmarked to a special statutory fund established to maintain the disposal site once it closes. There are a number of contaminated sites at Oak Ridge; the consolidated site is expected to be safer and reduce environmental risks by limiting the continuing contamination at the facility. The disposal facility will use state-of-the-art landfill designs. The funds will be used to ensure public safety by providing a leak detection and monitoring system. The disposal site will not accept currently generated waste or waste from other facilities and will not include high-level radioactive waste. It will contain past-generated hazardous waste and low-level radioactive waste from Oak Ridge. The plan is considered to be more cost-effective than shipping the material offsite. NRC issues Calvert Cliffs safety reportThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued its safety evaluation report on the proposed renewal of the operating licenses for the two Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plants in Lusby, Md. In the report, the staff concludes there are no safety concerns that would preclude renewal of the license. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. submitted an application to the NRC in April 1998 to renew the licenses for Calvert Cliffs units 1 and 2 for another 20 years after the current licenses expire in 2014 and 2016, respectively. A copy of the safety evaluation report is available on the NRC's website at http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/reports/renewal.htm. NRC approves reactor storage planThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has won approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its plan to place its shut down Advanced TRIGA Research Reactor in extended storage until the U.S. Department of Energy can accept its spent fuel. The university will use the SAFSTOR option to partially decommission TRIGA-located at the nuclear reactor laboratory in Urbana-and will keep the fuel and the reactor in storage until at least 2009. The reactor was permanently shut down on Aug. 9, 1998, and the university has a possession-only license from the NRC. The fuel will be stored in storage racks in a water tank in the reactor facility. The university will maintain a regular surveillance schedule and continue health physics, emergency, security and operator requalification plans during SAFSTOR. For more information contact Thomas Koshy of the NRC, (301) 415-1176. Jessie Roberson, Department of Energy (DOE) Rocky Flats manager, was nominated to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), along with A.J. Eggenberger, who currently serves as the board vice chairman. Roberson remained at the Rocky Flats site until her nomination cleared the Senate. Eggenberger is a former senior program director for the National Science Foundation. DNFSB is an independent executive branch board that provides recommendations and advice to the president and secretary of energy about health and safety issues at DOE's defense nuclear facilities. Gary King, a former New Mexico state legislator, has been selected to direct the Office of Worker and Community Transition for the Department of Energy (DOE), replacing Bob DeGrasse. DeGrasse-who has been named principal deputy secretary for operations for defense programs-will be responsible for oversight, guidance and coordination of nuclear weapons research, development and production facilities. King has been serving as a policy advisory to the assistant secretary for environmental management since joining DOE in December 1998. Ivan Itkin was sworn in by Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson on Dec. 2 to become director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Itkin, a former Pennsylvania state legislator and nuclear reactor designer, will replace acting director Lake Barrett as OCRWM head. Donald Prosnitz, a physicist with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Calif.) became the first chief science advisory to the Department of Justice on Sept. 27. He will be on a two-year detail and will advise Attorney General Janet Reno about research, development and legislation related to technological issues. Prosnitz also will serve as a liaison for the department to the scientific community. House Republican leaders have created a special committee to oversee the new Department of Energy agency that will operate the Nevada Test Site and other components of the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Representative Jim Gibbons (Nev.) will serve on the committee; Representative Mac Thornberry (Texas) will chair the committee. The committee was formed after President Clinton announced that Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson will be responsible for the new Agency for Nuclear Stewardship. The intent behind creation of the new agency, according to Republican leadership, was to establish an authority independent of the energy secretary to oversee operations of the national laboratories, weapons manufacturing and assembly plants. Other panel members include representatives Duncan Hunter (Calif.); Lindsey Graham (S.C.); Jim Ryan (Kan.); Norman Sisiky (Va.); Ellen Tauscher (Calif.); and John Spratt (S.C.). Representatives Floyd Spence (S.C.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and Ike Skelton (Mo.) ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee will serve in an advisory capacity. With the death of Senator John Chafee (R.I.) on Oct. 24, the chairmanship of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed to Senator Bob Smith (N.H.) after Senator James Inhofe (Okla.) opted not to challenge Smith for the chairmanship. It was uncertain whether Republicans would support Smith after his decision last fall to leave-and then rejoin-the party. Smith has not announced his environmental policy. Lincoln Chafee has been named by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond to replace his father; he will take a seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Mike McCabe was nominated as deputy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator on Nov. 16. Until Congress confirms his nomination, McCabe will continue his duties as acting deputy. He has been the regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. McCabe also served on Senator Joe Biden's (D-Del.) staff. Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Nunzio J. Palladino died Dec. 12 following a lengthy affliction with Parkinson's disease. H.R. 2368 (Young, Alaska)-Grants a one-time payment of $3.8 million to former residents of the Bikini atoll, which was used as an atomic bomb testing site after World War II. The bill recognizes the hardships suffered by the residents who were removed from their home in 1946 and still are unable to return due to high radiation levels. The funds would come from the Bikini resettlement trust fund established in 1982. Congress appropriated $110 million for the fund; investments have increased its value to $126 million. It is expected that another decade of cleanup is required before people can be allowed to return to the atoll. H.R. 3151 (Strickland, Ohio)-Allows the use of a utility-funded uranium enrichment decontamination and decommissioning fund to speed the pace of environmental restoration at two operating uranium enrichment gaseous diffusion plants located at Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio, and one closed facility in Mound, Ohio. The bill also establishes a new Portsmouth/Paducah Operations Office to oversee worker health and safety. H.R. 3495 (Strickland, Ohio; and 10 cosponsors)-Establishes a compensation program for DOE employees injured in federal nuclear activities.
TRANSPORTATION NRC embarks on new cask studyThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is undertaking a new study of how well spent nuclear fuel casks perform in severe transportation accidents. The study will be conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia (New Mexico) National Laboratory and will update a 1987 study, Shipping Container Response to Severe Highway and Railway Accidents. The new study is being done to validate conclusions of the earlier study within the context of new larger cask designs, new materials, new technology and better abilities to assess cask performance through the use of more powerful computer evaluation techniques. The study methodology includes: developing accident sequences and frequencies; estimating (for each sequence) the severity of impact and thermal forces; analyzing cask performance given these factors; estimating release of radioactive materials under these conditions; and undertaking studies of historically severe accidents. In addition, actual physical testing will be considered and-if appropriate-spent fuel cask(s) will undergo tests that include drop testing, puncture testing, fire testing and immersion testing. The NRC conducted three workshops in November and December 1999-in which staff from the National Conference of State Legislatures participated-to receive input from affected parties. An Issue and Resolution Options Report will be issued for comment by the NRC in May 2000, which will outline its approach to the study based on all comments and input received. Input is being sought from the U. S. Department of Energy, the nuclear utility industry, railroad and trucking companies, the U.S. Department of Transportation, states, emergency responders, citizens groups and the general public. The final report is expected to be released in 2003. For more information on the process, contact Chip Cameron of the NRC at (301) 415-1642. MOX shipment to Canada examinedU.S. Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and other members of the Michigan congressional delegation requested a series of meetings in Michigan regarding the Department of Energy's (DOE) plan to make a test shipment of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel using Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., as the crossing point into Canada. According to Stupak, "The process that has been used to determine the route which the MOX fuel will take has been completely inappropriate and without congressional or public input. None of the emergency response crews along the route have been notified of the shipment." These meetings were held during September and November of 1999 and included a special meeting for first responder personnel. Illinois congressmen Rod Blagojevich and Jerry Weller also are monitoring developments but have not taken positions on the issue. In December a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt MOX shipments; the order has since been lifted and the judge refused to issue an injunction against the shipments. Based on comments from members of the Michigan public, DOE decided to increase the security of the shipment by using its Safe Security Transportation System for nuclear materials rather than a commercial carrier. For security reasons, details on the timing and route of the shipment are now classified. The United States and Russia each have declared 50 tons of plutonium from nuclear weapons to be surplus to national security needs; the countries are working toward an agreement on how to dispose of the radioactive material. About one-third of U.S. plutonium will be immobilized in a ceramic material and buried at a deep geologic repository to prevent its future use in making nuclear weapons. The remainder will be converted into MOX fuel and irradiated at three civilian nuclear power plants in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Some nongovernmental organizations oppose this hybrid approach and would prefer that DOE use only immobilization technology to dispose of surplus plutonium. See related story on p. 12. For more information contact Bert Stevenson, Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (MD-4), DOE, P.O. Box 23786, Washington, D.C. 20025-3786; (202) 586-5368. N.M. pueblo considering road blockageThe San Ildefonso Pueblo (N.M.) is considering erecting toll booths on State Highway 4 or closing the 2.5-mile section of the road that crosses three tribal lands. It would be the first time an Indian tribe has asserted such control over a major highway. The pueblo and the state Highway and Transportation Department had been holding easement discussions that collapsed over the issue of whether the easement should be permanent. DOE issues TRUPACT contractsThe Department of Energy (DOE) has issued contracts to NAC International and Westinghouse Engineering to each manufacture six TRUPACT-II shipping containers (12 total) for use in transporting transuranic wastes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. DOE plans to increase shipments of TRU waste to WIPP beginning in 2000; the first containers will be delivered by March 2000. DOE awarded two contracts to reduce the risk of fabrication problems that could arise from a single contract. DOE currently has 15 TRUPACT-II containers that were manufactured 10 years ago. The containers-which have been certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-have a lifespan that exceeds the 35-year WIPP project disposal period. DOE to receive more foreign spent fuelThe Department of Energy is planning for the 13th shipment of foreign research reactors spent fuel shipment to arrive at the Charles Naval Weapons Station for transport to the Savannah River Site (SRS) later this fall. The shipment will be aboard two ships-one carrying eight casks from Japan and another carrying five casks from Brazil and Venezuela. The casks will be offloaded and shipped to SRS via train. Safety system spots radioactive leakA nine-state investigation of the release of radioactive material from a shipment bound from Tennessee to Richland, Wash., indicates that the federal safety system works. Washington state radiation division officials say the release was minor and did not endanger public health. The discovery on the outside of one empty container of resin beads not used in nuclear power plants led to a check to insure that no radioactive material escaped during any stops. Through a network established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington state staff communicated with states and exchanged information via the internet. The state was able to conclude the investigation in three days. For more information, contact John Erickson in Washington state at (360) 236-3241, or online at http://www.doh.wa.gov.
STATE/LOCAL/TRIBAL Maine Yankee files suit over storage siteMaine Yankee filed suit Sept. 15 in U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine, seeking a ruling about whether the state has radiological jurisdiction over the company's plans to build a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. Maine Yankee prefers that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have sole jurisdiction over the company's plans for dry cask storage at the reactor plant. Maine Yankee believes that the state does not have technical expertise similar to the NRC's to decide radiological issues and is asking the court to prohibit either the state Department of Environmental Protection or the state Board of Environmental Protection from requiring the company to obtain a state permit or levying penalties in connection to the dry cask storage facility. The reactor was closed in August 1997; the company is decommissioning the facility. The company also is seeking NRC approval of a plan to demolish the site buildings and bury the concrete pieces inside the foundations. Officials from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection sought direct involvement in the decision-making process. The staff believe that the dry cask storage project should be reviewed by the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP), a 10-member citizen panel appointed by the governor; the BEP voted in August to assume regulatory authority over the dry cask storage project, which prompted the utility's lawsuit. The state agency plans to hold public hearings; the BEP is not expected to decide whether dry cask storage should be permitted onsite until April 2000.
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE N.C. task force: State should join compactOn Dec. 15, South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges' Task Force on Low-Level Nuclear Waste unanimously recommended that the state close its disposal site near Barnwell, S.C., to all but three of the 38 states that currently send waste to Barnwell. This action followed the South Carolina Nuclear Waste Task Force's Dec. 9 decision to adopt a resolution that recommended that South Carolina's governor negotiate with the Atlantic Compact (the proposed name for the present Northeast Compact of Connecticut and New Jersey, if its adds South Carolina) to determine terms and conditions for South Carolina to join the compact. Implementing the task force's recommendation will require Governor Hodges' approval and action by the South Carolina Legislature; legislation to create the Atlantic Compact also will be needed at the federal level. The resolution was adopted unanimously, along with an amendment introduced by two Barnwell-area state legislators-Senator Brad Hutto and Representative Lonnie Hosey-that seeks to "ensure that operation of the disposal site under a compact arrangement provides significant economic benefits to the Barnwell community." Barnwell hosts the eastern United States' only low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. For further information, contact John Clark of the South Carolina governor's office at (803) 737-8030. Chem-Nuclear purchase bid in worksAmerican Ecology and Nuclear Fuel Services are developing a preliminary joint bid to purchase Chem-Nuclear, the operator of the Barnwell, S.C., low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. American Ecology's subsidiary, US Ecology, operated the only other full-service low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Richland, Wash., which is used by members of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Compacts. Texas delays compact storage activityTexas Governor George Bush and the Texas Natural Resources Commission have decided to postpone any action regarding developing the framework for an assured isolation storage facility for the Texas-Maine-Vermont low-level radioactive waste compact until the next legislative session in 2001. The Texas Senate's Natural Resources Committee held an organizational meeting on Sept. 29 to discuss plans for a study of low-level radioactive waste management. The committee has been instructed to "study the necessity for storage and disposal options for low-level radioactive waste. The committee is to examine Texas' obligations under the Texas-Maine-Vermont Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, the status of other federally formed compacts, the practicality of assured isolation facilities, the feasibility of underground disposal operations, and the viability of public-private ventures and other licensing issues." The committee is to issue a report by Sept. 1, 2000; the full Legislature will convene in January 2001. The House Environmental Regulations Committee may receive a similar charge from the speaker. TNRCC assumes disposal authority roleThe Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission absorbed the funding and functions of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority on Sept. 1, 1999, after the authority ceased to exist. The commission inherited the authority's budget ($1.179 million), along with restrictions on the budget's use (only to investigate techniques for managing low-level radioactive waste, including, but not limited to, aboveground isolation facilities). The commission is awaiting further direction from the Legislature on the issue. Envirocare searching for storage sitesThe Texas Department of Health (TDH) has rejected Envirocare of Texas' application to construct a Class III storage facility for low-level radioactive waste in Ward County, Texas, on the grounds that state law does not allow the indefinite storage of radioactive waste. In November, Envirocare had filed a license application that was described by a TDH staff member as "atypical," since it called for the acceptance of waste for 40 years, followed by another 500 years of active monitoring and maintenance. Envirocare described what it calls an "assured isolation facility" as " ... an aboveground concrete vault housing concrete canisters. This new technique allows for easy accessibility for inspection and maintenance while preserving future options for removal or burial." To date, TDH has issued only one Class III radioactive waste license (which includes storage within the definition of processing), to Waste Control Specialists in 1997; that license contains an activity and volume cap of 200,000 curies and 300,000 cubic feet for all waste at the facility, regardless of whether the waste is there for processing or storage. Given WCS' operational focus of processing radioactive waste for shipment to a storage facility or return to the generator, the activity and volume cap effectively preclude WCS from storing large volumes of waste for long periods of time. By contrast, the Envirocare application sought a much higher activity cap of approximately 1 million curies and a greater volume limit for an operation that is focused solely on storage. Envirocare has offered to contribute to Ward County 5 percent of the facility's annual gross revenue for hosting the facility, which the company projects to be a $250,000 contribution in the first year of operation. Texas county sues Maine, VermontHudspeth County, Texas, has brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against the states of Maine and Vermont, alleging that they owe $1.25 million each to the county under the terms of the Texas low-level radioactive waste management disposal compact (Maine and Vermont are member states of the compact). The county is alleging that, under the terms of the compact, the states agreed to pay for community assistance projects designated by the host county for the low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in the amount of $2.5 million dollars each. One-half of the payment was due on Oct. 1, 1999; the other half is due on the first day following the approval of a facility operating license by Texas' regulatory body. The county argues that the states have breached the contract that underlies the compact and that it has a right-as a third-party beneficiary-to enforce the contract. Although Texas law designates Hudspeth County as the location for a disposal facility, state regulators denied the license application for a facility on Oct. 22, 1998. Texas court orders WCS saleThe district court of Harris County, Texas, issued a writ of attachment against all of Waste Control Specialists (WCS) assets and ordered the sale of the company and its assets on Jan. 3, 2000, to satisfy an award in a breach of employment contract lawsuit. Ken Jackson, a former employee, sought damages in excess of $1.5 million, alleging that WCS breached his contract by firing him without cause and failing to pay him money due under his employment agreement. The court found in Jackson's favor in July and awarded him $800,000; WCS appealed the decision to the state court of appeals but failed to file the required bond, leading to the issuance of the writ of attachment. WCS has since reached an agreement with Jackson to pay the award and dismiss the appeal. Envirocare applies for expanded licenseEnvirocare of Utah has applied to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for authorization to accept classes B and C low-level radioactive waste for disposal at its Clive, Utah, facility. Currently, Envirocare is licensed only to accept Class A low-level radioactive wastes. Additional disposal precautions would be taken with the class B and C wastes, including stabilization in concrete or packaging in tight, secure high-integrity containers. The class B and C waste packages also would be placed in steel-reinforced concrete overpacks. Envirocare also is seeking authority to dispose of mixed (both radioactive and hazardous) low-level radioactive waste in the class B and C categories. If licensed by DEQ, the facility also must obtain approval from both the state legislature and the governor, as well as receive local planning and zoning authorization. Tooele County, Utah, already has authorized the disposal of class B and C waste; Envirocare has conducted briefings for Governor Michael Leavitt and legislative leadership about the company's plans. Envirocare also wrote letters to all state legislators. Utah is a member of the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management; the compact has passed a resolution that it will defer to the state concerning the types of low-level radioactive waste that may be disposed of at the Envirocare facility. Judge rules on Nebraska LLRW suitsJudge Richard Kopf of the U.S. District Court of Nebraska issued two separate orders in September related to the Nebraska low-level radioactive waste lawsuits. The orders were issued regarding Nebraska's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the state's actions in reviewing the US Ecology license application for a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Boyd County, Neb. Judge Kopf ruled that Nebraska is not protected by the sovereign immunity clause in the U.S. Constitution's Eleventh Amendment from lawsuits involving activities covered under the regional low-level radioactive waste compact. (The Eleventh Amendment provides states with immunity from lawsuits filed by citizens of another state or a foreign country). The judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission. Kopf determined that the immunity granted by the Eleventh Amendment does not extend to members of a compact when they are sued by other members of the compact. He decided that Nebraska waived its Eleventh Amendment immunity when the state joined the Central Compact. Legal research indicated to Kopf that Congress has the power to attach enforcement conditions to compacts and that the power is not limited by the Eleventh Amendment. The judge also determined that when Nebraska originally signed the compact, it consented to the possibility that the commission might bring a lawsuit to resolve disputes. The court also noted that interstate compacts historically have been regarded as federal laws subject to review by federal courts. In addition, the plain language of the compact gives specific jurisdiction over disputes to the federal district court in which the commission maintains its headquarters. The court noted that under Nebraska's construction of the compact, the commission would be powerless to perform its duties and would be only advisory in nature. Judge Kopf acknowledged that his decision could result in large monetary damages (potentially $100 million) against Nebraska. In a second ruling, however, Judge Kopf determined that the state and its employees-when sued in their official capacities-are immune under the U.S. Constitution's Eleventh Amendment from lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs when the relief sought exceeds injunctive and declaratory remedies. Regarding the private suit brought by US Ecology and regional low-level radioactive waste generators (utilities), the court determined that Congress did not intend private suits to be used as an enforcement measure to protect national interests under the U.S. Constitution's Compact Clause. The Eleventh Amendment bars suits for damages and other similar relief in federal court by private corporations and generators, according to the court. U.S. denies sale of Ward Valley landThe U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has denied a July 1992 request from the California Department of Health Services for the sale of 1,000 acres of public land in Ward Valley to the state for use in siting a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Sylvia Baca, acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, concluded that further activities by DOI regarding the sale would serve no useful purpose and would be imprudent. Although the decision is final and may not be appealed to DOI, it does not prejudice a subsequent request from the state for a land sale. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management does not intend to open the Ward Valley lands during the pendency of US Ecology's appeal of a March 1999 decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In that decision, the court refused to order DOI to transfer the land. California waste panel names membersRichard Atkinson, president of the University of California and chair of Governor Gray Davis' Low-Level Radioactive Waste advisory panel, has selected members to the panel. They include Gloria Anderson, League of Women Voters; Diana Bonta, California Department of Health Services; Nora Helton, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe; Winston Hickox, California Environmental Protection Agency; Michael Paprian, Sierra Club; A. Alan Post, retired legislative analyst; Harold Ray, South California Edison; Theodore Roth, Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp.; Sam Schuchat, Federation of State Conservation Voter Leagues; and other representatives of the utility, health care and biotechnology industries. A scientific advisory body is being established to work with the advisory panel. The schedule is to provide a report to Governor Davis by March 31, 2000. The first meeting was held Nov. 17; further meetings are scheduled to be held monthly. INEEL releases two LLRW reportsThe National Low-Level Waste Management Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) produced two reports in August 1999 that concern the assured isolation of low-level radioactive waste in Texas. In Design Study and Cost Estimate for an Assured Isolation Facility in Texas, the design of an assured isolation facility was optimized for conditions in Texas. The optimized design was then used to produce a life-cycle cost estimate. The second study, Comparison of Life-Cycle Costs for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management in Texas: Disposal vs. Assured Isolation, compared the cost estimate for an assured isolation facility with the cost that might have been incurred at the proposed disposal site at Sierra Blanca, Texas (deemed unlicenseable by Texas regulatory authorities), which was based on below-ground disposal in shallow earth trenches. The report concludes that assured isolation-even including in the estimate a fee for retrieval and future redisposal-is competitive with present and projected disposal costs. For further information, contact Thomas Kerr at INEEL, (208) 526-8465. Lee Matthews, the deputy general manager and general counsel for the Texas Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority, retired effective Sept. 1. He plans to enter the private sector as an attorney. Carol Amick, executive director of the Massachusetts Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Board, was removed from that position by the board on July 16. Former state senator Tom Norton is the new director. Amick may remain in the low-level radioactive waste management field as a consultant.
INTEREST GROUPS GPU to sell Oyster CreekGPU Inc. has announced plans to sell the Oyster Creek (N.J.) Nuclear Generating Station for $10 million to AmerGen Energy Co., a joint venture owned by PECO Energy Co. and the British Nuclear Fuel Co. With the sale of Oyster Creek, GPU will leave the electricity generation business and will focus its attention on the transmission and distribution of power. The sale must be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the state board of public utilities and other agencies; the sale should be completed next spring. GPU had planned to decommission the plant if a buyer could not be found. AmerGen will own and operate four nuclear plants with the approval of the Oyster Creek sale; the others are Three Mile Island Unit 1, Limerick and Peach Bottom, all located in Pennsylvania. The company also is in the process of purchasing the Clinton Power Station (Ill.) and the Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2 (N.Y.) and is in negotiations to buy several other reactors. AmerGen will assume full responsibility for the decommissioning and dismantling of the plant after the license expires; GPU will provide $430 million ($300 million already has been collected from ratepayers and deposited to the decommissioning trust fund) to AmerGen. Oyster Creek, a New Jersey nuclear power plant, may move spent fuel to dry cask storage after the concrete vaults are repaired. Manufacturer Vectra Corp. used improper ingredients to mix the concrete and the lids for the stainless steel canisters did not match the design. Each of 10 vaults will hold 52 spent fuel assemblies and make room in the spent fuel pool for additional rods. Only rods that have been stored in the pool for 10 years will be moved to dry cask storage. Increased capacity is important now that AmerGen plans to purchase the plant from GPU Energy. The utility also is seeking permission to rerack older fuel in the spent fuel pool to increase storage capacity. The new racks, if approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, would provide room for six more years of continued operations. UNICOM to merge with PECOThe board of Unicom Corporation, the parent of Commonwealth Edison (Illinois' largest utility), is merging with PECO Energy Company, headquartered in Philadelphia. The merger would create the fifth largest utility in the United States, serving more than 5.3 million customers in the Midwest and Eastern states. The new company would be headquartered in Chicago. Both companies are heavily invested in nuclear power. The merger is the latest in a wave of consolidations resulting from state and federal deregulation of utility generation and increased competition for utility sales. PECO lost 16 percent of its electricity customers to competitors since state deregulation began Jan. 1, 1999. The merger requires the approval of shareholders and Pennsylvania and federal regulators. The merger could result in the loss of 1,100 jobs or 5 percent of the combined work force, mostly in administrative positions. GAO rejects Shaw Pittman protestThe U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has rejected as untimely a protest by the Shaw Pittman law firm because it missed a filing deadline by a few minutes; the firm may ask the GAO to reconsider its protest so that it can take the challenge to court. The protest stems from the Department of Energy's (DOE) September award of a $16 million contract to the law firm of Winston and Strawn to conduct legal work related to the regulatory approval of the repository license by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A competing firm-LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green and MacRae-filed a complaint regarding the award on Oct. 4, arguing that Winston and Strawn could not perform an independent review of the license application on the grounds that Winston and Strawn had helped prepare the original application. The license application is expected to be submitted to the NRC in March 2002, although this dispute could delay the proceedings. Shaw Pittman also filed a complaint on Oct. 7; the firm had been disqualified from bidding on the contract on the grounds that it represented utilities engaged in litigation about DOE's failure to accept spent fuel from utilities beginning Jan. 30, 1998. Shaw Pittman argued that DOE's reasoning that prevented them from bidding on the contract was flawed. NRC grants Duke Energy renewalThe U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Duke Energy Corp.'s request to submit an application to renew the license for its McGuire and Catawba nuclear power plants by June 2001-earlier than usually is permitted. License renewal applications normally cannot be submitted earlier than 20 years before the expiration of the current 40-year operating license. This limit allows sufficient operating experience to identify any plant-specific concerns. The NRC does allow exemptions to the requirements if sufficient information is available about the plant to justify the application. The McGuire plant is located near Charlotte, N.C. and the Catawba plan is near Rock Hill, S.C.; the plants are similar in design, operation and maintenance so the NRC has determined that the operating experience at McGuire can be applied to the other reactor units. The current licenses expire in 2021 and 2023 (McGuire 1 and 2) and 2024 and 2026 (Catawba 1 and 2). The license renewal applications will have to meet the same NRC requirements for similar applications.
INTERNATIONAL Japan: Facilities' safety inadequateThe Japanese Labor Ministry has issued a report that 15 of 17 Japanese nuclear facilities inspected in October have inadequate safety measures for workers. The inspections did not cover nuclear power plants but focused on reprocessing, storage and other sites; the inspections were prompted by the Sept. 30 leak at a uranium processing plant at Tokaimura, about 75 miles north of Tokyo. Three workers were injured and one worker died when they used steel buckets to pour 35 pounds of uranium into a precipitation tank. The leak exposed at least 49 people to radiation and forced 320,000 surrounding residents to stay indoors for more than a day. Eight residents living near the plant are believed to have suffered DNA damage as a result of radiation exposure from the accident. According to the report, nine nuclear-related facilities violated the federal industrial safety and health law. On a related note, the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that the Sept. 30 incident-although a serious industrial accident-was not as severe as the 1986 Chernobyl accident and will not cause widespread contamination of the environment. IAEA has issued a report based upon an IAEA team visit to Tokaimura that confirms that the accident was the result of human error and design fault. The report is available online at www.iaea.org/worldatom. Kansai Power declines to load BNFL MOXKansai Electric Power Co. of Japan announced Dec. 16 that-due to quality control concerns-it will not load any mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) manufactured by British Nuclear Fuels PLC (BNFL) and shipped to Japan two months ago. Kansai's decision is in response to BNFL's discovery of quality control falsifications in fuel already shipped to Japan (BNFL had previously acknowledged falsification of quality control data, but had maintained that the problem affected only MOX fuel still in England). Japanese government officials announced they would not accept any MOX deliveries until the problem is resolved and BNFL demonstrates its credibility. A BNFL statement said the company "supports the decision of Kansai to withdraw its application to use the MOX fuel recently delivered to Japan ... we will work with our customer to plan a way forward for the eight fuel assemblies which were delivered in October." DOE, Canada agree on MOX shipmentThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Canada have reached an agreement to allow a one-time shipment of a small quantity of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel-which contains weapons-grade plutonium-to Canada to determine the performance of this fuel in Canadian deuterium uranium reactors. The test, Project Parallex, is part of DOE's nonproliferation project to obtain technical information that could become part of international agreements to help dispose of Russian plutonium. Nine fuel rods containing less than 120 grams of plutonium will be shipped from Los Alamos National Laboratory (N.M.) to the test reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada. The fuel rods will be shipped via truck in accordance with safety standards established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board; the shipment will meet standards set by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Transport Canada. The rods will be shipped in a certified container of the type used to ship larger amounts of more radioactive materials. Similar containers have been used for more than 8,000 nuclear material shipments during the last ten years without releasing materials into the environment. According to DOE, the MOX shipment could be routed from New Mexico on Interstate 40, then through Missouri and Illinois on interstates 55 and 80, then through Indiana and Michigan on Interstate 94 to the Canadian border. DOE determined that to ship the MOX fuel by rail would create a longer trip that required too many stopovers and passed through too many highly populated areas; the department determined, therefore, that the best way to move the material was by commercial truck over interstate highways with satellite contact. See related story on page 6. For more information contact Bert Stevenson, Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (MD-4), DOE, P.O. Box 23786, Washington, D.C. 20025-3786; (202) 586-5368. Taiwan nuclear plants unharmed by quakeTaiwan's three nuclear power plants were undamaged by the devastating September earthquake that struck the island. Three units northeast of Taipei shut down automatically when the quake struck; a fourth unit was down for refueling and maintenance. Two other units located in the southern portion of the island continued to operate normally despite the earthquake. There also was damage to the distribution centers in central Taiwan, causing a reduction in power at the plants. It could take months to repair damaged substations near the epicenter of the quake. Russia increases nuclear plant securitySecurity at Russia's nine nuclear power plant stations was heightened in September due to growing concerns about terrorism. Yevgeny Fyodorov, deputy minister for the atomic energy ministry, announced that prime minister Vladimir Putin approved a plan to bolster security across the country and especially at nuclear power plants, based upon a bomb attack that demolished an apartment block in Moscow. Russia has 29 nuclear reactors at nine stations nationwide. Emirates to punish waste smugglersThe United Arab Emirates has decreed that anyone bringing nuclear waste into the country will be punished with the death penalty. The decree was issued by Sheik Zayed Ben Sultan Al-Nahyan; the offense also can result in a fine of between $272,000 and $2.72 million.
Department of Energy: DOE's Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Project-Cost, Schedule and Management Issues (RCED-99-267), September 1999. Department of Energy: Superfund: Information on the Program's Funding and Status (RCED-00-25), October 1999. Nuclear Nonproliferation: Status of Heavy Fuel Oil Delivered to North Korea Under the Agreed Framework (RCED-99-276), September 1999. Nuclear Waste: DOE's Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Project Cost, Schedule, and Management Issues (RCED-99-267), September 1999. The first copy of each GAO report and testimony is free; additional copies are $2 each. To request copies of these reports, contact the General Accounting Office, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, Md. 20884-6015, (202) 512-6000, or fax your order to (301) 258-4066. GAO reports also are available on the Internet at www.gao.gov.
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