[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50500-50502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20666]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2011-0183]
Request for Comments on the Draft Policy Statement on Volume
Reduction and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its
1981 Policy Statement on Low-Level Waste (LLW) Volume Reduction. This
statement encouraged licensees to take steps to reduce the amount of
waste generated and to reduce its volume once generated. The purpose of
the revised statement is to recognize that progress in reducing waste
volume has been achieved since the 1981 Policy Statement was published
and to acknowledge that factors other than volume reduction may be used
by licensees to determine how best to manage their LLW. This draft
Policy Statement is being issued for public comment.
DATES: Comments on the draft Policy Statement should be submitted by
September 14, 2011. Comments received after this date will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is only able to
ensure consideration of comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0183 in the subject line
of your comments. For instructions on submitting comments and accessing
documents related to this action, see Section I, ``Submitting Comments
and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. You may submit comments by any one of the following
methods.
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2011-0183. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher,
telephone: 301-492-3668; e-mail: [email protected].
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Lowman, Office of Federal and
State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
5452; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Submitting Comments and Accessing Information
Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted
on the Federal rulemaking Web site http://www.regulations.gov. Because
your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact
information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in
your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. The NRC
requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments received
from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those persons that
the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any identifying or
contact information, and therefore, they should not include any
information in their comments that they do not want publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available documents related to this
document using the following methods:
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's
PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC
are available online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS,
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff
at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and
supporting materials related to this notice can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0183.
II. Background
In 1981, the NRC published a Policy Statement regarding the volume
[[Page 50501]]
reduction of LLW. The Policy Statement addressed:
The need for a volume reduction policy;
Suggested volume reduction techniques;
That NRC would take expeditious action on requests for
licensing of volume reduction systems; and
The need for waste generators to minimize the quantity of
waste produced.
The NRC issued the Policy Statement in response to a General
Accounting Office (now U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO))
report that recommended that NRC take this step to help preserve
disposal facility space (GAO, 1980). The Policy Statement was issued
when disposal space was scarce since two of the three operating low
level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal sites had been threatening to
close, and one had recently reduced the annual amount authorized for
disposal by half. Further, volume reduction techniques were not yet in
widespread use and NRC`s Policy Statement was meant to encourage the
use of these techniques.
On April 7, 2010, staff published SECY-10-0043, ``Blending of Low-
Level Radioactive Waste'' and addressed the Policy Statement in
response to stakeholder comments that large-scale blending may not be
consistent with the Policy Statement because it would enable licensees
to avoid the use of an available volume reduction technology. In the
blending paper, staff stated in Option 2:
The staff believes that the Policy Statement could be updated to
recognize the progress that has been achieved, and to acknowledge
that other factors may be used by licensees in determining how best
to manage their LLRW. Specifically, the Policy Statement could be
revised to acknowledge that volume reduction continues to be
important, but that risk-informed, performance-based approaches to
managing waste are also appropriate in managing LLRW safely and that
volume reduction should be evaluated in this light.
In the Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-10-0043, the
Commission approved Option 2, which included the staff's proposed
changes noted above. Consequently, a revised Policy Statement on Volume
Reduction and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management is being published
for public comment.
III. Draft Policy Statement of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
on Volume Reduction and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management
Summary
In 1981, the Commission published a Policy Statement (46 FR 51100;
October 16, 1981) regarding the volume reduction of LLW. On April 7,
2010, the NRC staff published SECY-10-0043 ``Blending of Low-Level
Radioactive Waste'' in which it recommended updating the Policy
Statement to acknowledge that volume reduction continues to be
important, but that risk-informed, performance-based approaches to
managing waste are also needed to safely manage LLRW. The Commission
approved the staff's recommendation thus the Policy Statement is being
revised.
Policy Statement
The Commission recognizes the substantial progress made by
licensees in reducing volumes of LLRW for disposal since the
publication of the 1981 Volume Reduction Policy Statement. Nuclear
industry groups have also played a central part in this effort by
encouraging volume reduction practices among their members. Widespread
use of these volume reduction practices has resulted in a significant
reduction in the amount of LLW produced by licensees. The Commission
recognizes that the high cost of disposal has been a factor, along with
lack of disposal access, in the increased use of volume reduction
techniques.
The Commission continues to believe that volume reduction is an
important component in the management of LLW; a continued focus on
volume reduction will extend the operational lifetime of the existing
commercial low-level disposal sites and reduce the number of waste
shipments.
Administrative controls and operational enhancements are the
foundation of a successful radioactive waste management program.
Therefore, the Commission encourages licensees to continue to adopt
procedures that will reduce the volume of waste being transferred to
disposal facilities. Additionally, as currently required by Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 20.1406, applicants for
licenses shall describe in the application how facility design and
procedures for operation will minimize, to the extent practicable, the
generation of radioactive waste.
The Commission also recognizes that volume reduction is only one
aspect of an effective radioactive waste management program. While the
Commission continues to favor the disposal of LLRW over storage, it
recognizes that licensees may manage waste in a variety of ways,
consistent with NRC regulations and guidance. In addition to ensuring
public health and safety, licensees should consider operational
efficiency, reductions in occupational exposures, security, and cost in
determining how best to manage LLRW. As part of their radioactive waste
management strategies, licensees should consider all means available to
manage waste in a manner that is secure and protects public health and
safety, such as:
Waste minimization.
Short-term storage and decay.
Long-term storage.
Use of the alternate disposal provision contained in 10
CFR 20.2002.
Use of waste processing technologies.
Use of licensed disposal facilities.
The Commission understands that limited disposal access means that
many licensees will be forced to store at least some of their LLW.
Agreement State and NRC licensees must continue to ensure waste is
safely and securely managed. However, disposal is considered the safest
and most secure long-term management approach.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This Policy Statement does not contain new or amended information
collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collections were
approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150-
0014 and 3150-0151.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to a request for information or an information collection
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
IV. Public Comments
Based on the comments received in both written and electronic form,
the Commission will then be in a better position to proceed with the
issuance of a final Policy Statement. The final Policy Statement, when
issued by the Commission, will be published in the Federal Register.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of August, 2011.
[[Page 50502]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Acting Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-20666 Filed 8-12-11; 8:45 am]
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