Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
3/20/2015
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on its proposed draft list of prioritized low-level radioactive waste (LLW) tasks based upon updates to its 2007 strategic assessment, according to a posting in the Federal Register late last week. The NRC released a strategic assessment list for high-priority LLW in 2007 issues, and since then the Commission has been working to update the list to put higher priority issues upfront. “The objective of this updated assessment remains the same as the 2007 assessment; that is, to identify and prioritize tasks that the NRC staff can undertake to ensure a stable, reliable, and adaptable regulatory framework for effective LLW management, while also considering future needs and changes that may occur in the nation’s commercial LLW management system,” the NRC said in the posting. Comments are due by April 13.
According to the new proposed list, some items have been combined like the issues involved in the 10 CR Part 61 rulemaking, and some have been eliminated, like an analysis of potential legislative changes and impacts from disposal curtailing after both issues failed to take hold. The issues added to the list include an update to instructions for manifest reporting of the activities of the “phantom four” isotopes (hydrogen-3, carbon-14, technetium-99, and iodine-129).
