Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 issued the following announcement on July 18.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft regulatory basis
for potential new regulations governing the near-surface disposal of certain low-level radioactive
waste.
The NRC classifies low-level radioactive waste based on its potential hazards and has
specified disposal and waste requirements for three classes of waste with progressively higher
concentrations of radioactive material. Class A is the least hazardous and Class C the most
hazardous. However, a fourth type of low-level radioactive waste, called “greater-than-Class-C,”
contains radionuclides exceeding the concentration limits for Class C. GTCC waste is typically
activated metals from power reactors, sealed sources, and waste material from medical isotopes, but
it may also contain special nuclear material such as enriched uranium or plutonium.
Currently, there are no facilities licensed to dispose of GTCC waste, so it is being stored at
nuclear power plants or at interim storage sites. The draft regulatory basis evaluates whether certain
GTCC waste could be safely disposed in a near-surface disposal facility. It also evaluates whether
regulatory changes would need to be considered to permit such action, and whether the NRC or
certain states should regulate such disposal.
The draft regulatory basis is being made publicly available through the NRC’s ADAMS
online database under accession number ML19059A403. A notice will be published shortly in the
Federal Register, which will initiate a 60-day public comment period. Comments may be submitted
via the federal government’s rulemaking website, www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC2017-0081.
The NRC will hold a public meeting Aug. 27 in Austin, Texas, to present the draft
regulatory basis and receive public comments. Details on that meeting will be published at a later
date.
Original source can be found here.
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