Notice2021-24213
Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Test Bed Initiative Demonstration
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Published
November 5, 2021
Issuing agencies
Energy Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Test Bed Initiative Demonstration, U.S. Department of Energy (Draft WIR Evaluation). The Draft WIR Evaluation concerns DOE's proposed Test Bed Initiative (TBI) Demonstration. Under the proposed TBI Demonstration, approximately 2,000 gallons of waste from tank SY-101 at the Hanford Site in Washington will be pretreated to remove most key radionuclides, then solidified (grouted) offsite and subsequently disposed of at a licensed and permitted disposal facility outside of the State of Washington. The Draft WIR Evaluation demonstrates that the pretreated and solidified waste will be incidental to reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, will not be high-level radioactive waste (HLW), and may be managed as low-level radioactive waste (LLW). DOE prepared the Draft WIR Evaluation pursuant to DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, and DOE Manual 435.1-1, chg 3, Radioactive Waste Management Manual. DOE is consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concerning the Draft WIR Evaluation. DOE is also making the Draft WIR Evaluation available for comments from States, Tribal Nations, stakeholders and the public. After consultation with NRC, carefully considering comments received, and performing any necessary revisions of analyses and technical documents, DOE plans to prepare a final WIR Evaluation. Based on the final WIR Evaluation, DOE may determine, in a future WIR Determination, whether the pretreated and solidified waste is incidental to reprocessing, is non-HLW, and may be managed as LLW.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 212 (Friday, November 5, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 212 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61200-61201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24213]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing
Evaluation for the Test Bed Initiative Demonstration
AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Test
Bed Initiative Demonstration, U.S. Department of Energy (Draft WIR
Evaluation). The Draft WIR Evaluation concerns DOE's proposed Test Bed
Initiative (TBI) Demonstration. Under the proposed TBI Demonstration,
approximately 2,000 gallons of waste from tank SY-101 at the Hanford
Site in Washington will be pretreated to remove most key radionuclides,
then solidified (grouted) offsite and subsequently disposed of at a
licensed and permitted disposal facility outside of the State of
Washington. The Draft WIR Evaluation demonstrates that the pretreated
and solidified waste will be incidental to reprocessing of spent
nuclear fuel, will not be high-level radioactive waste (HLW), and may
be managed as low-level radioactive waste (LLW). DOE prepared the Draft
WIR Evaluation pursuant to DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste
Management, and DOE Manual 435.1-1, chg 3, Radioactive Waste Management
Manual. DOE is consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
concerning the Draft WIR Evaluation. DOE is also making the Draft WIR
Evaluation available for comments from States, Tribal Nations,
stakeholders and the public. After consultation with NRC, carefully
considering comments received, and performing any necessary revisions
of analyses and technical documents, DOE plans to prepare a final WIR
Evaluation. Based on the final WIR Evaluation, DOE may determine, in a
future WIR Determination, whether the pretreated and solidified waste
is incidental to reprocessing, is non-HLW, and may be managed as LLW.
DATES: DOE invites comments on the Draft WIR Evaluation during a 90-day
comment period beginning November 5, 2021 and ending on February 2,
2022. DOE will consider all comments received by February 2, 2022. A
public meeting on the Draft WIR Evaluation will be held on November 18,
2021. Before the meeting, DOE will issue stakeholder and media
notifications and publish an additional notice in the local newspaper
providing the date, time, and information concerning the public
meeting.
ADDRESSES: Information on the public meeting date will be available
before the meeting at the website listed in <a href="https://www.hanford.gov/pageAction.cfm/calendar">https://www.hanford.gov/pageAction.cfm/calendar</a>. The Draft WIR Evaluation is available on the
internet at <a href="https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/ReprocessingEvaluationforBedInitiative">https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/ReprocessingEvaluationforBedInitiative</a>. Written comments should be
submitted to: Ms. Jennifer Colborn, U.S. Department of Energy, Office
of River Protection, 2440 Stevens Drive, Richland, WA 99354.
Alternatively, comments may also be filed electronically by email to:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a0e18130d13081a2836743d352c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6a3e28233d23382a1806440d051c">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this
Draft WIR Evaluation, please contact Mr. Richard Valle by mail at U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of River Protection, 2440 Stevens Drive,
Richland, WA 99354, by phone at (509) 376-7256, or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d7a5beb4bfb6a5b388bd88a1b6bbbbb297b8a5a7f9b3b8b2f9b0b8a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bfcdd6dcd7decddbe0d5e0c9ded3d3daffd0cdcf91dbd0da91d8d0c9">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE currently stores radioactive waste in
underground tanks at the Hanford Site in the State of Washington. The
waste is managed as HLW generated, in part, by the prior reprocessing
of spent nuclear fuel for defense-related activities during the
Manhattan Project and Cold War eras. Hanford's current mission focuses
on the cleanup and remediation of those wastes and ultimate closure of
the site. As part of that mission, DOE is retrieving waste from the
Hanford tanks, separating the low-activity waste (LAW) from other waste
in the Hanford tanks and vitrifying (immobilizing in a glass matrix)
some of the LAW. DOE has not selected a supplemental treatment method
for the remaining LAW in the
[[Page 61201]]
Hanford tanks.\1\ The proposed TBI Demonstration would demonstrate a
potential supplemental LAW treatment approach.\2\
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\1\ See Record of Decision for the Final Tank Closure and Waste
Management Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site,
Richland, Washington. 78 FR 75913 (Dec. 13, 2013).
\2\ Implementation of the proposed TBI Demonstration is
contingent upon completion of analysis and documentation required
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq. (NEPA). DOE prepared a Draft
Environmental Assessment for the proposed TBI Demonstration, Draft
Environmental Assessment of the Test Bed Initiative Demonstration
(DOE/EA-2086) and provided it to the host and affected States and
Indian Tribes, for a 14-day comment period, on August 17, 2021.
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This Draft WIR Evaluation concerns approximately 2,000 gallons of
waste from Hanford tank SY-101, which, under the proposed TBI
Demonstration, will be pretreated at the Hanford Site to remove most
key radionuclides, then solidified (grouted) offsite and disposed of at
a licensed and permitted facility outside the State of Washington. This
Draft WIR Evaluation evaluates whether the pretreated and solidified
waste will be incidental to reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, will
not be HLW, and may be managed as LLW under the criteria in Section
II.B.(2)(a) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual 435.1-1,
Radioactive Waste Management Manual. This Draft WIR Evaluation
demonstrates that the criteria in DOE Manual 435.1-1 will be satisfied.
For the proposed TBI Demonstration, about 2,000 gallons of Tank SY-
101 supernate (the uppermost liquid layer of the tank waste that
contains low levels of insoluble, long-lived radionuclides) will be
pretreated using: In-tank settling, followed by decanting, filtering,
and processing through ion exchange media. The decanting (pumping
without disturbing the underlying saltcake layer), filtering and ion
exchange pretreatment will take place within an In Tank Pretreatment
System, installed in Tank SY-101. The pretreated liquid will be
transferred into totes (Type A shipping packages). Trucks will
transport the shipping packages to a commercial treatment facility,
either Perma-Fix Northwest in Richland, Washington, EnergySolutions,
near Clive, Utah, Perma-Fix Diversified Scientific Services Inc., in
Kingston, Tennessee, or Waste Control Specialists LLC, near Andrews,
Texas. At the offsite treatment facility, the waste will be solidified
in a grout matrix. DOE plans to dispose of the treated and solidified
waste as mixed LLW at either the EnergySolutions disposal facility near
Clive, Utah or the Waste Control Specialists Federal Waste Facility
(WCS FWF), near Andrews, Texas. At this time, DOE has not selected the
location of either the solidification facility or the disposal
facility.
Section II.B.(2)(a) of DOE Manual 435.1-1 sets forth criteria for
determining, based on an evaluation, whether waste is incidental to
reprocessing, is not HLW, and may be managed as LLW. Those criteria, in
relevant part, are that the wastes: ``(1) have been processed, or will
be processed, to remove key radionuclides to the maximum extent that is
technically and economically practical; (2) will be managed to meet
safety requirements comparable to the performance objectives, set out
in 10 CFR part 61, subpart C, Performance Objectives; and (3) are to be
managed, pursuant to DOE's authority under the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, in accordance with the provisions in Chapter IV [of
Manual 435.1-1], provided the waste will be incorporated into a solid
physical form at a concentration that does not exceed the applicable
concentration limits for Class C LLW, as set out in 10 CFR 61.55, Waste
Classification.''
This Draft WIR Evaluation demonstrates that the criteria in Section
II.B.(2)(a) of DOE Manual 435.1-1 will be met. As to the first
criterion, key radionuclides will be removed to the maximum extent
technically and economically practical. Pretreatment will remove
approximately 98.8% of the key radionuclides (including cesium-137 and
its daughter, barium-137m) from the approximately 2,000 gallons of tank
SY-101 supernate. About 1.8 curies will remain in the pretreated waste.
Regarding the second criterion, the solidified waste will meet the
waste acceptance criteria for the EnergySolutions disposal facility or
the WCS FWF, as applicable, which will ensure that the performance
objectives, including doses, will be met for LLW disposal as set forth
in the Utah Administrative Code and the Texas Administrative Code,
respectively, which are comparable to the NRC performance objectives at
10 CFR part 61, subpart C. With respect to the third criterion, the
pretreated and grouted waste will be in a solid physical form, will be
well below the concentration limits for Class C LLW, and is expected to
meet concentration limits for Class A LLW.
DOE is consulting with the NRC concerning this Draft WIR
Evaluation. DOE is also making this Draft WIR Evaluation available for
comments by States, Tribal Nations, stakeholders and the public.
After consultation with the NRC, carefully considering comments
received from States, Tribal Nations, stakeholders and the public, and
performing any necessary revisions of analyses and technical documents,
DOE plans to prepare a final WIR Evaluation. Based on the final WIR
Evaluation, DOE may determine (in a future WIR Determination) whether
the waste is incidental to reprocessing, is not HLW, and may be managed
as LLW. If DOE issues a Final WIR Evaluation and WIR Determination in
the future, then the pretreated LAW discharged from the tank--from
which key radionuclides will have been removed to the maximum extent
technically and economically practical--will be managed as LLW, subject
to the analysis and commitments in the Final WIR Evaluation and WIR
Determination.\3\
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\3\ It follows that such LLW will be appropriately stored,
transported, solidified, and disposed of as LLW.
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Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 29,
2021, by Mark A. Gilbertson, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, pursuant to delegated
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original
signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2021-24213 Filed 11-4-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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