Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium, Final Environmental
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';Pýse-Mabi C - - 9 ee. United States Department of Energy 'NN N> N ' ". <"~-N .4-"'C ?"> <- >., t .,j N X' 0;Ne ' N 7 c"<>< AV> \2->AM- <N- K N .- AN' .... __ -.: H- -. :>.ts=Ql4'. 'aB! . <> ~'.', Xý. N ' _ . ,t ¾ 4..,_ N., NStatez -(eh> -0 2 (2 .. ' N.. , % % -' .. ,, . - N. \ -A '. ; " -' • .* .% -'-N N.S Ai ~ K' N f7 N X For Further Information Contact: U.S. Department of Energy , Office of Fissile Materials Disposition, 1000 independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C. 20585 I This report has been reproduced directly from the bes-t 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 1000 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20585 @ Printed with soy ink on recycled paper. COVER SHEET Lead Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperating Federal Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency TITLE: Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0240) CONTACTS: For further information on the U.S. Department For further information on this Policy Act (EIS), of Energy/National Environmental environmental impact statement call (800) 472-2756 fax (202) 586-4078 (NEPA) process, call (202) 586-4513 or or contact: or contact: Ms. Carol Borgstrom Mr. J. David Nulton Director Director Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42) Office of NEPA Compliance and Outreach Safety and Health Disposition Office of Environment, Office of Fissile Materials U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Independence Ave., SW Ave., SW 1000 1000 Independence Washington, D.C. 20585 Washington, D.C. 20585 (202) 586-4600 (202) 586-4513 ABSTRACT: assesses the environmental impacts that may result from alternatives for the disposition of This document to U.S.-origin weapons-usable highly enriched uranium (HEU) that has been or may be declared surplus national defense or defense-related program needs. In addition to the No Action Alternative, it assesses four alternatives that would eliminate the weapons-usability of HEU by blending it with depleted uranium, or low-enriched uranium (LEU) to create LEU, either as commercial reactor uranium, natural the feedstock or as low-level radioactive waste. The potential blending sites are DOE's Y-12 Plant at fuel Carolina; Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; DOE's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South the Babcock & Wilcox Naval Nuclear Fuel Division Facility in Lynchburg, Virginia; and the Nuclear Fuel Services Fuel Fabrication Plant in Erwin, Tennessee. Evaluations of impacts at the potential sites on site infrastructure, water resources, air quality and noise, socioeconomic resources, blending the waste management, public and occupational health, and environmental justice are included in assessment. The intersite transportation of nuclear and hazardous materials is also assessed. The Alternative is blending down as much of the surplus HEU to LEU as possible while gradually Preferred over an selling the commercially usable LEU for use as reactor fuel. DOE plans to continue this approximate 15- to 20-year period, with continued storage of the HEU until blend down is completed. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: 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, electronic bulletin board (Internet), and transcribed from messages recorded by telephone. In addition, comments and concerns were recorded by notetakers during interactive public hearings held in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 14, 1995, and Augusta, on November 16, 1995. These comments were also considered during preparation of the HEU Georgia, the Final EIS. Comments received and DOE's responses to those comments are found in Volume II of EIS. DOFEIS-0240 Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume II Comment Analysis and Response Document United States Department of Energy Office of Fissile Materials Disposition June 1996 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS 1-1 C H A PT E R 1: ISSU E BIN S ......................................................................................................... 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Organization ........................................................................................................................ 1-1 CHAPTER 2: CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AS A RESULT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS ................................................. 2-1 3-1 CHAPTER 3: COMMENT DOCUMENTS AND RESPONSES ....................................... LIST OF TABLES 1-1 Table 1.1-1 Document and Comment Submission Overview ................................................................. 1-2 Table 1.2-1 Issue Bins ............................................................................................................................. 1-3 Table 1.2-2 Index of Attendance at Public M eetings .............................................................................. 1-7 1.2-3 Index of Commentors .......................................................................................................... Table 1-12 Table 1.2-4 Index of Issue Bins ............................................................................................................. i Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium FinalEIS ii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS B&W Babcock & Wilcox DOE Department of Energy EA environmental assessment EIS environmental impact statement EPA Environmental Protection Agency FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency FR FederalRegister HEU highly enriched uranium HEU EIS Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Environmental Impact Statement IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency INEL Idaho National Engineering Laboratory 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 environmental impact statement P.L. Public law Pu plutonium ROD Record of Decision SRS Savannah River Site USEC United States Enrichment Corporation CHEMICALS AND UNITS OF MEASURE kg kilogram km kilometer lb pound m meter mi mile t metric ton U30 8 triuranic octaoxide UT 6 uranium hexafluoride UNH uranyl nitrate hexahydrate iii Dispositionof Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Final EIS iv Issue Bins Chapter 1 Issue Bins INTRODUCTION Table 1.1-1. Document and Comment 1.1 Submission Overview In October 1995, the Department of Energy (DOE) Method of Documents Comments published the Disposition of Surplus Highly Submission Received Enriched Uranium Draft Environmental Impact Public Meetings Statement (HEU EIS). This HEU EIS analyzed the Knoxville, TN 101 131 environmental impacts of alternatives for the dis Total attendance-101 position of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium Augusta, GA 33 89 (HEU) that has been or may be declared surplus to Total attendance-33 national defense or national defense-related Hand-in at public 3 4 program needs by the President. The 78-day public meeting comment period for the HEU Draft EIS began on Other October 27, 1995, and ended on January 12, 1996. Mail-in 69 169 as late as However, comments were accepted Fax 30 123 January 30, 1996. Telephone 76 160 Bulletin 8 12 were Electronic During the comment period, public meetings Board held in Knoxville, TN, on November 14, 1995, and Total 320 688 Augusta, GA, on November 16, 1995. Two Note: Comments from public meetings are recorded whereas meetings were held at each location, one in the comments from other submissions are identified. afternoon and one in the evening. In addition, the public was encouraged to provide comments via "• Chapter 1 describes the comment mail, fax, electronic bulletin board (Internet), and analysis and response process and lists telephone (toll-free 800-number). the issue bins. Attendance at each meeting, together with the "• Chapter 2 presents the changes made in number of comments recorded and comments the HEU Draft EIS as a result of the received by other means during the comment public comments received. period, is presented in Table 1.1-1. Attendance of participants numbers are based on the number " Chapter 3 contains documents received registration forms but who completed and returned during the public comment period participants present at may not include all of those showing the comments identified, were received over the meetings. Comments that comments recorded at the public Comments the telephone were transcribed. meetings, and responses to all comments. submitted via electronic bulletin board were down loaded. All comments received by mail, fax, elec Tables are provided at the end of this chapter to tronic bulletin board, and telephone were stamped assist commentors and other readers in locating with the date