Year
1996
Abstract
DOE’s Office of Fissile Materials Disposition is charged with evaluating alternatives for the long-term storage and disposition of surplus weapons-usable fissile materials within the DOE. As part of its analysis, DOE is developing regulatory plans that assess the technical viability and potential impediments, and estimate the schedule and cost, associated with licensing the facilities for each alternative. For planning purposes, DOE is assuming that all new . facilities requir4d for implementation of any of the alternatives would be licensed by the NRC, and hence, DOE requested NRC staff and management assistance in the development of the regulatory plans. NRC assistance has consisted primarily of NRC participation in public meetings with DOE. The purpose of the meetings was to provide feedback on the potential regulations that would apply to the facilities needed for each alternative, as well as licensing issues and schedules associated with each alternative. The meetings occurred between mid-September and mid-November 1995 on the following topics, and in the following order: borehole alternatives; storage alternatives; innnobilization alternatives; repository impacts; mixed oxide fuel issues; pit disassembly and materials conversion; and safeguards and security and transportation and packaging issues. DOE plans to use this feedback in the development of the regulatory plans.