Meeting Notes

Driving Toward Excellence in Transportation, Logistics Operations & Safety
Dr. Dennis Ashworth, Director; DOE Environmental Management (EM) Office of Transportation
There is an ongoing extensive effort at EM to clean up radioactive waste at government sites and transport the material to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.  This cleanup effort includes 114 sites in 31 states, and covers two million acres.

Shipments of radioactive waste have decreased for 2007 because of the earlier progress made at various sites.  Cleanup was completed at three sites in 2006, and several more major facilities are expected to be finished in 2007 and 2008. 

The EM Office of Transportation strives to be a leader in the transportation of radioactive waste, and offers customers "the highest value planning, compliance and operational expertise."  Following a low number of transportation incidents in FY 2005, there was a dramatic spike in FY 2006.  Half-way through the current fiscal year, there have been just five incidents, compared to 27 the year before.  In 2005 and 2006, none of the incidents were serious enough to qualify as reportable under Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines. 

DOE is currently taking steps to improve transportation safety, including improving technology in trucks that can alert a driver of potential dangers, and enhancing awareness of factors that are more likely to cause an accident.  DOE is also working with other levels of government to help first responders to a potential accident be as effective as possible.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Transportation Program
Bill Mackie, Manager; DOE Carlsbad Field Office
As of mid-March, WIPP had accepted over 5,500 shipments of contact-handled (CH) radioactive waste, and had begun to accept shipments of more highly-radioactive remote-handled (RH) waste.  In July 2007, WIPP will begin accepting a slightly higher number of shipments of RH waste from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Savannah River Site (SRS) and the Hanford site.

DOE uses a satellite tracking and communications system called TRANSCOM to track shipments of waste being delivered to WIPP.  DOE is currently working to provide greater access to TRANSCOM training and improve features that make the system even more detailed.

The TRUPACT-III shipping container is working its way through the certification process.  Testing and examination of the containers were completed at the end of 2006, and a final Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decision is expected in early 2008.  If the packages are approved, the construction phase will begin.

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) Update
Priscilla Bumbaca; DOE-OCRWM
OCRWM has established a set of priorities under Director Ward Sproat:

• Submit a License Application for the Yucca Mountain repository by June 30, 2008;
• Acquire and train staff "to design, license, manage construction and operate the Yucca Mountain project" safely and effectively;
• Address the liability of the federal government arising from DOE's inability to accept spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from commercial reactors; and
• Develop and implement a national transportation plan that takes into consideration the concerns of state, tribal, and local governments.

In order for OCRWM to meet the timelines established, Sproat has said the program will need the full funding requested.  OCRWM is operating on a full-year continuing resolution in FY 2007, which set funding approximately $100 million below what the president had requested. 

DOE has reintroduced legislation from a year ago intended to streamline the development of Yucca Mountain.  Key components of the bill would:

• Remove the current capacity limit at Yucca Mountain of 70,000 metric tons of waste;
• Allow DOE greater access to the Nuclear Waste Fund;
• Allow early construction of a rail line to the facility;
• Withdraw the land surrounding the facility from public use as required by the NRC to license the facility; and
• Clarify DOE's regulatory authority over shipments of waste to the facility.

DOE remains focused on the development of a Nevada transportation plan to the Yucca Mountain repository.  The Caliente corridor had been the selected route for transportation of waste through Nevada, but in 2006, after the Walker River Paiute Tribe removed its objections to also study the Mina route crossing their land, DOE elected to include it in the Rail Alignment-Environmental Impact Statement.  Under the current timeline, DOE hopes for the Nevada rail line to be operational by 2014.

National Transportation Plan Review
Judith Holm; DOE-OCRWM Office of Logistics Management
OCRWM is developing a "big picture" National Transportation Plan.  This process is intended to take into consideration past planning efforts and fill in the gaps existing in current plans.

The development of a national transportation system will include state and tribal involvement in areas such as 180(c) funding (which will be provided to states and tribes along potential transportation routes for emergency preparedness and planning), shipment tracking and oversight, and the "identification of unresolved issues."

DOE - Savannah River Site (SRS) Program Update
Bert Crapse; DOE-Savannah River Site
During FY 2007, the Savannah River Site is making three shipments of drummed waste to WIPP per week, expecting to dispose of 4,000 total drums of waste.  Completion of drummed waste shipments to WIPP is scheduled to occur by 2009.  

In FY 2009, SRS plans to focus on shipping large amounts of transuranic (TRU) waste to WIPP, freeing significant amounts of disposal space.  SRS intends to have the disposition of legacy TRU waste completed by FY 2013-2014.    

Integrated Technologies for Hazardous Materials Incident Prevention and Response
Eric Sandgren, Dean; University of Nevada-Las Vegas Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering
This presentation included an overview of technological advances intended to aid in the prevention and response to accidents involving hazardous materials. 

Tracking and sensor devices that can be attached to trucks carrying waste have the potential to inform drivers of both conditions outside the vehicle and elements  of their behavior that could increase the risk of an accident. 

Tracking systems are being developed that can provide nearly real-time notification should an accident occur.  The system can provide information including the location of the accident, the carrier and phone number, and details of the surrounding environment. 

There is ongoing development of the "Digital Highway," which would provide a "static, dynamic, and real-time description of the physical and operational characteristics of our nation's highways that positively impacts the performance, efficiency, safety, security and comfort of drivers."  The information provided will include weather conditions, speed limits, rest stops, construction areas, and lane distinctions.

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) Company Overview
Rodney Baltzer, President; Waste Control Specialists LLC
This presentation reviewed current activities at the proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in Andrews County, Texas. 

The facility is currently licensed to accept waste covered under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act.  The company is primarily focused on DOE low-level and mixed low-level waste, with the goal of expanding their focus to commercial waste in the future.

WCS has three "proposed" licenses on the table that would allow it to accept byproduct and uranium mill tailings; Class A, B, and C wastes from Texas and Vermont; and federal Class A, B, and C wastes.  Class A, B, and C wastes are all low-level radioactive waste determined by the concentration of radioactivity in the waste. 

The permitted site contains 1,340 acres, and 1.8 million cubic feet of storage capacity.  The potential for future expansion exists because there are 13,500 acres of owner-controlled land surrounding the site. 

EnergySolutions Site Activities
Tim Barney, Senior Vice President; EnergySolutions
EnergySolutions is heavily involved in the nuclear waste disposal process, owning the low-level radioactive waste sites at Clive, UT and Barnwell, SC.  The company works in some form or fashion at almost every DOE facility in the country, is involved in 14,000 shipments of radioactive waste each year, and serves as the largest processor of commercial low-level radioactive waste. 

The company is currently active on the policy front, particularly in South Carolina and Utah.  Legislation that would have extend Barnwell's operational timeframe for acceptance of low-level waste from all states beyond the current cutoff of 2008 recently died in the state legislature. 

When asked about a recent agreement with the Governor of Utah that was intended to restrict the site's ability to expand there, Mr. Barney explained that in the company's view, the agreement was focused on the present time and would not affect future expansion efforts.  He also estimated that the Clive facility has another 20 years of capacity left under its current license.