Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expect in late spring to issue a draft regulatory basis for disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste.
The finalized version of the document would evaluate whether there is justification to conduct a rulemaking to update federal regulations for disposal of the material. The draft regulatory basis would include assessments of costs and benefits for the regulatory options being considered.
“The staff is developing its position, and we are not able to provide additional detail at this point,” NRC spokesman David McIntyre said by email Monday.
The public would have the opportunity to comment on the draft before it is completed, which is expected by Nov. 5 of this year.
Following a potential recommendation to move ahead with the rulemaking, staff would prepare the rule itself for consideration and a vote by the commission. The proposed rule would be opened for public comment with a notice in the Federal Register. The agency has not yet set a schedule for issuing any draft and final rules, McIntyre said.
The potential rulemaking would be one of multiple steps needed to finally establish a permanent disposal site for GTCC and GTCC-like waste.
The total anticipated domestic inventory of the materials is roughly 12,000 cubic meters, about half of which exists today and the remainder expected to be produced in the future. Existing waste for now has no disposal pathway.
Greater-Than-Class C waste refers to all low-level radioactive wastes with radionuclide concentrations exceeding those for Class C material. That includes sealed sources, scrap metal, and other waste left by decommissioning of nuclear power plants and other government and commercial nuclear activities.
Greater-Than-Class C-like waste is specifically low-level and non-defense transuranic wastes produced or owned by the Department of Energy. This material is stored at sites including DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
Federal rules dating to 1989 require GTCC waste to be disposed of in a geologic repository licensed by the NRC unless the agency signs off on another option.
The Department of Energy, which under federal law is charged with disposing of the waste, has identified its preferred approach as use of generic commercial facilities and/or the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In an environmental assessment issued in October, DOE indicated it was considering disposal of the full anticipated inventory of GTCC and GTCC-like waste at Waste Control Specialists’ Federal Waste Facility in Andrews County, Texas.
The department noted that the environmental assessment did not constitute a formal decision to direct the waste to Texas. The agency’s Office of Environmental Management said in October there was no schedule yet for the record of decision to be issued. The office over the past week did not respond to multiple queries regarding any update on the schedule.
Along with updated federal regulations, Texas environmental regulations would have to be revised to allow the waste to be shipped to Waste Control Specialists.
The Dallas-based company has made clear it is eager to accept the material, and a new business stream, at its disposal complex. Waste Control Specialists President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson said Monday there was nothing new to report on the matter.
