Sixth National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
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October 2017 United States of America Sixth National Report for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management U.S. Department of Energy In Cooperation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Department of State This page intentionally left blank. U.S. Sixth National Report-Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management ABSTRACT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The United States of America (U.S.) ratified the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (Joint Convention) on April 9, 2003. The Joint Convention establishes an international peer review process among Contracting Parties and provides incentives for nations to take appropriate steps to bring their spent fuel and radioactive waste management activities into compliance with general safety standards and practices. The U.S. participated in Review Meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention in November 2003, May 2006, May 2009, May 2012 and May 2015 in Vienna, Austria. This Sixth National Report, an update of the U.S. Fifth National Report prepared under the Joint Convention in September 2014, documents spent fuel and radioactive waste management safety in the U.S. under the terms of the Joint Convention. The U.S. Government prepared this report for review by the Contracting Parties. The U.S. complies with the terms of the Joint Convention. An extensive U.S. legal and regulatory structure ensures the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management. This report describes radioactive waste management in the U.S. in both the commercial and government sectors, and provides annexes with information on spent fuel and waste management facilities, inventories, and ongoing decommissioning projects. It also provides detailed information on spent fuel and radioactive waste management safety, as well as transboundary movements (imports/exports) and disused sealed sources, as required by the Joint Convention. The Department of Energy acknowledges the support and cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Department of State in preparation of this report through the Joint Convention Interagency Executive Steering Committee and Working Group. The information in this report was extracted from publicly available information sources, including regulations and internet web sites of these agencies. U.S. Sixth National Report-Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management Copies of this report are available from: Mr. Douglas Tonkay Director, Office of Waste Disposal U.S. Department of Energy Mailstop: EM-4.22/270 Corporate Center 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20585 Email: [email protected] U.S. Sixth National Report-Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management TABLE OF CONTENTS A. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 A.1. Purpose and Structure ................................................................................................. 1 A.2. Generic Issues Identified in the Fifth Review Meeting Summary Report ...................... 4 A.2.1. Staffing, Staff Development, Reliability of Funding, and Other Human Resources Areas ..................................................................................................................... 4 A.2.2. Maintaining or Increasing Public Involvement and Engagement on Waste Management, to Provide Public Confidence and Acceptance ................................ 5 A.2.3. Developing and Implementing a Holistic and Sustainable Management Strategy for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel at an Early Stage ............................................ 5 A.2.4. Management of Disused Sealed Sources .............................................................. 5 A.3. What is New Since Last Report.................................................................................... 5 A.3.1. Spent Fuel and HLW Disposition ........................................................................... 6 A.3.2. Commercial LLW Disposal ..................................................................................... 8 A.3.3. Federal LLW Disposal ...........................................................................................10 A.3.4. Sealed Source Disposition ....................................................................................11 A.3.5. Nuclear Material Return to the U.S. and Russia ....................................................11 A.3.6. Waste Disposition for Commercial Medical Isotope Production .............................12 A.3.7. Decommissioning Activities ...................................................................................12 A.3.8. GTCC LLW Disposal .............................................................................................14 A.3.9. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Recovery Update ........................................................14 A.3.10. U.S. Review Matrix ...............................................................................................15 B. POLICIES AND PRACTICES ........................................................................................19 B.1. U.S. National Nuclear Activities Policy ........................................................................19 B.2. Government and Commercial Entities .........................................................................20 B.2.1. Commercial Sector ...............................................................................................20 B.2.2. Government Sector ...............................................................................................20 B.2.3. Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Classification .................................................20 B.3. Spent Fuel Management Policies and Practices .........................................................24 B.3.1. Spent Fuel Storage ...............................................................................................24 B.3.2. Spent Fuel Disposal ..............................................................................................25 B.3.3. Continued Storage of Spent Fuel ..........................................................................26 B.3.4. Reprocessing in the U.S. ......................................................................................26 B.4. Radioactive Waste Management Policies and Practices .............................................27 B.5. Decommissioning........................................................................................................29 C. SCOPE OF APPLICATION ............................................................................................31 C.1. Spent Fuel Reprocessing ............................................................................................31 C.2. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials ..................................................................31 C.3. Defense Activities .......................................................................................................31 C.4. Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management Facilities .........................................32 i U.S. Sixth National Report-Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management D. INVENTORIES AND LISTS ...........................................................................................33 D.1. Spent Fuel Management .............................................................................................33 D.1.1. Spent Fuel Storage ...............................................................................................33 D.1.2. Spent Fuel Disposal ..............................................................................................34 D.2. Radioactive Waste Management ................................................................................36 D.2.1. Radioactive Waste Storage and Treatment ...........................................................36 D.2.2. Radioactive Waste Disposal .................................................................................38 D.3. Nuclear Facility Decommissioning ..............................................................................43 D.3.1. Department of Energy Sites with Decommissioning/Remediation Projects ...........44 D.3.2. Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program .................................................44 D.3.3. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Facility Decommissioning ..................................45 D.3.4. Environmental Protection Agency Site Remediation .............................................46 E. LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY SYSTEMS .................................................................47 E.1. Legislative System ......................................................................................................47 E.2. Regulatory System ......................................................................................................47 E.2.1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ...........................................................................50 E.2.2. Environmental Protection Agency .........................................................................55 E.2.3.