Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
1/29/2016
Members of an advisory board to the Savannah River Site this week shared their concerns on the site possibly receiving 1 million graphite spheres containing highly enriched uranium from German research reactors. The SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) received an update Tuesday on the potential transfer of the material that would travel on chartered ships across the Atlantic Ocean to Joint Base Charleston, near Charleston, S.C. The material would then travel by train to SRS in accordance with U.S. regulatory requirements.
An environmental assessment of the transfer states there is minimal risk in the transaction; but CAB member Susan Corbett said "it’s hard to believe." The assessment was released under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and highlights several scenarios that could prove hazardous, such as possible discharges of the material into ocean waters or the viability of the casks. Maxcine Maxted, the SRS program manager for spent nuclear fuel, addressed the latter and told the CAB the casks that will hold the material were dropped from specified heights, among other tests, to prove their durability and ensure safe shipments. "In order to get the certification, you have to prove that you’ve maintained the material in all types of accidents," Maxted said.
Corbett also took issue with SRS possibly receiving more nuclear materials without a designated federal repository. The Department of Energy announced in December it is beginning the search for a spent fuel repository after an earlier announcement in March that it would use a consent-based approach to find separate storage sites for spent fuel and defense nuclear waste. SRS already houses both types of material, and Corbett said it is disturbing to know the site may receive more. "It also appears to me that we’re opening the door to becoming the place where all the bad stuff goes," Corbett said.
The U.S. provided the uranium, about 95 percent of which is HEU, to Germany between 1965 and 1988 under the Atoms for Peace program. Germany used the material to conduct research on the viability of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor technology. As part of the program agreement, the U.S. has to take the material back.
Monday’s release of the environmental assessment also provided details on how to comment on the possible receipt of the German material. A public meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 4 at the North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave. in North Augusta, S.C. In addition, a 45-day comment period has opened that allows stakeholders and residents to submit their opinions. Comments can be submitted to: Tracy Williams, NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box B, Aiken, SC, 29802.
Comments may also be submitted by email to [email protected]. Comments will be accepted through March 11.
