Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement
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. ———————.—-———. ---- .— DOE/EIS-0240 I United States Department of Energy I . For Further Information Contact: U.S. Department of Energy Otice of Fissile Materials Disposition, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20585 I 1 I I ---- . I I I I This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; telephone (423) 576-8401 for prices. Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. Copies of this document are available (while supplies last) upon written request to: Office of Fissile Materials Disposition, MD-4 Forrestal Building United States Department of Energy I 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20585 , Printed with soy ink on recycled paper. @ —_. — COVERS~ET Lead Federd Agency: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperating Federd Agency: U.S. Environmental Prot=tion Agency ~E: Disposition of Surplw Highly Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE~IS-0240) CONTACTS: For futier information on this For further information on the U.S. Department environmental impact statement @IS), of Energy/National Environmental Policy Act cm (202) 586-4513 or fax (202) 586-4078 (NEPA) process, cti (800) 472-2756 or contach or conticc Mr. J. David Nulton Ms. Carol Bergstrom Director Director Office of NEPA Compliance and Outreach Office of NEPA Poficy and Assistance (EH-42) Office of Fissile Materirds Disposition Office of Environment, Safety and Health U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave., SW 1000 hdependence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20585 Washington, D.C. 20585 (202) 586-4513 (202) 586-4600 ABSTRACT: This document assesses the environrnenti impacts that may result from alternatives for the disposition of U.S.-origin weapons-usable higMy enriched uranium (HE~ that has been or may be declared surplus to nationrd defense or defense-related program needs. h addition to the No Action Mtemative, it assesses four alternatives that would etiminate the weapons-usability of HEU by blending it with depleted uranium, natural uranium, or low-enriched uranium (LEU) to create LEU, either as commercial reactor fuel feedstock or as low-level radioactive waste. The potential blending sites are DOE’s Y–12 Plant at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tenness=; DOES Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carofinw the Babcock & Wilcox Naval Nuclear Fuel Division Facihty in Lynchburg, Virginia; and the Nuclear Fuel Services Fuel Fabrication Plant in Erwin, Tennessee. Evaluations of impacts at the potential blending sites on site infrastructure, water resources, air qutity and noise, socioeconomic resources, waste management, public and occupational health, and environmental justice are included in the assessment. The intersite transportation of nuclear and h=ardous materials is dso assessed. The Preferred Alternative is blending down as much of the surplus HEU to LEU as possible w~e gradurdly selling the commercially usable LEU for use as reactor fuel. DOE plans to continue this over an approximate 15- to 20-year period, with continued storage of the HEU until blend down is completed. The Department of Energy issued a HEU Draft EIS on October 27, 1996, and held a formal public comment period on the HEU Draft EIS through January 12, 1996. In preparing the HEU Final EIS, DOE considered comments received via mail, fax, el=tionic btietin board (Internet), and transcribed from messages recorded by telephone. In addition, comments and concerns were recorded by notetakers during interactive pubfic hearings held in fioxv~e, Tennessee, on November 14, 1995, and Augusta, Georgia, on November 16, 1995. These comments were also considered during preparation of the HEU Final EIS. Comments received and bows responses to those comments are found in Volume ~ of the EIS. Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume II Comment Analysis and Response Document UnitedStatesDepartmentofEnerg OfficeofFissNeMaterialsDisposition June1996 Table of Contents TNLE OF CONTENTS C~PTER 1: ISS~ B~S ......................................................................................................... 1–1 1.1 ktroduction ........................................................................................................................ 1–1 1.2 Organi=tion ........................................................................................................................ 1–1 CWPTER 2: CWGW ~ E-O-NTAL MACT STATE~NT AS A ~~T OF P~LIC COWNTS ................................................. 2–1 CWPTER 3: CO-NT DOCWNTS AND RESPONSES ....................................... 3-1 LIST OF TmLES Table 1.1–1 Document and Comment Submission Overview ................................................................. 1–1 Table 1.2-1 Issue Bins ............................................................................................................................. 1–2 Table 1.2-2 hdex of Attendance at Wbhc Meetings .............................................................................. 1–3 Table 1.2–3 Index of Commentors .......................................................................................................... 1-7 Table 1.24 hdex of Issue Bins ............................................................................................................. 1–12 i ——. List ofAcronyms ad Abbreviations LIST OFACROmS - ABBWWTIONS B&W Babcock &Wilcox DOE Department of Energy EA environment assessment EIS environment impact statement EPA Environment Protection Agency FEMA Fded Emergency Management Agency FR Federal Register mu highly enriched uranium ~U EIS Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Environmental Impact Statement NA kternationd Atomic Energy Agency ~L Idaho Nationrd Engineering Laborato~ LEU low-enriched uranium LLW low-level waste MAccs MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 NFs Nuclear Fuel Services NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NRc Nuclear Regulatory Commission NTs Nevada Test Site ORR Oak Ridge Reservation PEIS programmatic environment impact statement P.L. Public law Pu plutonium ROD Record of Decision SRS Savannah River Site USEC United States Enrichment Corporation C~MICALS m UNITSOF~ASW kg kilogram km kilometer lb pound m meter mi mile t metric ton U30g triuranic octaoxide uF~ uranium hexafluoride uranyl nitrate hexahydrate ... 111 Issue Bins Chapter 1 Issue Bins 1.1 ~TRODUCTION Table 1.1-1. Document and Comment Submission Overview In October 1995, the Department of Energy (DOE) published the Disposition of Surplus Highly Method of Documents Comments Submission Received Enriched Uranium Draft Environmental Impact Statement (HEU EIS). This HEU EIS analyzed the hbtic Meetings environmental impacts of alternatives for the dis- Knoxville,TN 101 131 position of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium Toti attendance–101 (HEW that has been or maybe declared surplus to Augus@ GA 33 89 Totrd attendance-33 national defense or national defense-related program needs by the President. The 78-day public Hand-in at public 3 4 meeting comment period for the HEU Draft EIS began on October 27, 1995, and ended on January 12,1996. Other However, comments were accepted as late as Mail-in 69 169 January 30, 1996. F= 30 123 Telephone 76 160 During the comment period, public meetings were Electronic Bulletin 8 12 held in Knoxville, TN, on November 14,1995, and Board Augusta, GA, on November 16, 1995. Two Tohl 320 688 meetings were held at each location, one in the Note Commentsfrompubticmeetingsarerecordedwhereas afternoon and one in the evening. In addition, the commentsfromothersubmissionsareidentified. public was encouraged to provide comments via ● mail, fax, electronic bulletin board (Internet), and Chapter 1 describes the comment telephone (toll-free 800-number). anrdysis and response process and lists the issue bins. Attendance at each meeting, together with the number of comments recorded and comments ● Chapter 2 presents the changes made in received by other means during the comment the HEU Draft EIS as a result of the period, is presented in Table 1.1–1. Attendance public comments received. numbers are based on the number of participants who completed and returned registration forms but ● Chapter 3 contains documents received may not include dl of those participants present at during the public comment period the meetings. Comments that were received over showing the comments identified, the telephone were transcribed. Comments comments recorded at the public submitted via electronic bulletin board were down- meetings, and responsesto d comments. loaded. All comments received by mail, fax, elec- tronic bulletin board, and telephone were stamped Tables are provided at the end of this chapter to with the date the comment document was received. assist commentors and other readers in locating A total of 72 organizations and 125 individuals comments regarding the HEU Draft EIS. Once submitted comment documents for consideration. comments were identified, they were categorized by issue (for example, emergency response or envi- 1.2 ORGANIZATION ronmental compliance) and assigned to an issue bin. (An issue bin is the term used for a general The Comment Analysis and Response Document topic under which to identify comments for proper has been organized into the following sections: