Interested stakeholders will get a chance to talk to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about a recent report reviewing the agency’s ability to regulate large-scale spent nuclear fuel transport in the U.S.
NRC was scheduled host a virtual meeting Wednesday to discuss the staff report and answer stakeholder questions, according to a notice from the commission. The interested public can access the meeting online. It was scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
The report, completed in October but made public in December, aimed to determine whether current NRC safety regulations are adequate for an anticipated “large-scale, multimode, multipackage, extended-duration [spent fuel transportation] campaign,” agency operations director Daniel Dorman told the NRC commissioners in a Dec. 2 letter. The agency doesn’t store or transport fuel but would oversee the safety of such a campaign — certifying and inspecting waste packages and monitoring transportation.
NRC staff found that current regulations are adequate to ensure public safety during a potential spent fuel transportation campaign, but that the agency should update its safety and security inspection guidance for spent fuel transport and promote community engagement on the topic
NRC in September licensed Waste Control Specialists-Orano USA joint venture Interim Storage Partners (ISP) to build a first-of-its-kind interim storage site for spent fuel in west Texas. A similar application from Holtec International is also currently under review at the agency.
ISP has said that its site could potentially house around 40,000 tons of spent fuel. Holtec, meanwhile, has said that its site would initially be able to store roughly 8,700 tons of nuclear waste in 500 canisters, with room for up to 10,000 additional storage canisters that could be added through future license amendments.
According to the Energy Information Administration, there are around 80,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel currently stranded at civilian reactor sites around the country.
Despite the recent licensing of a private interim storage site, no commercial shipping campaign is “currently imminent,” an NRC spokesperson told Exchange Monitor Jan. 5. “This assessment determined that the NRC is ready and able to provide the proper oversight should one eventually occur,” the spokesperson said.
