FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 1996NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jayne Brady or Keith Holloway, 202/586-5806
Clinton Administration Reduces Trade in Bomb-Grade Nuclear Materials
Energy Secretary O'Leary Formalizes Decision to Support Nuclear Nonproliferation
The Clinton administration's efforts to stop the spread of bomb-grade nuclear materials were advanced today with the Department of Energy's (DOE) decision, in consultation with the Department of State, to accept and manage spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors. The policy formally issued as a Record of Decision will allow foreign research reactors from 41 countries to send DOE spent nuclear fuel containing uranium originally enriched in the United States. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) could be extracted from the spent nuclear fuel and used to produce nuclear weapons.
"The policy demonstrates the Clinton administration's leadership in reducing the global nuclear threat by removing nuclear bomb material from civilian commerce," said Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O'Leary.
O'Leary announced the department's preference for managing the spent fuel, in February of this year, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was distributed a few weeks later.
"This spent fuel acceptance policy is central to our goal of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons -- a major national security objective of this administration," said Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
Approximately 19 metric tons of the spent fuel will be sent to the Savannah River Site, South Carolina and one metric ton to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, over a 13 year acceptance period. Shipments through the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, near Charleston, South Carolina, the designated east coast port of entry, are expected to begin late this summer. Shipments being sent to Idaho, through the Concord Naval Weapons Station, near Concord, California (5 % of the total), are expected to begin mid-1997.
"Over the next few months we will work closely with state, tribal, and local officials and the research reactor operators to develop detailed transportation plans for safe shipment of the spent nuclear fuel," said O'Leary.
Implementation of the policy has several components.
- Developing detailed transportation plans with state and local emergency response authorities. Plans include notifications, emergency preparedness, training, identification of necessary equipment, mode, routes and security procedures.
- DOE has determined that safe transportation can be achieved either by truck or rail. However, the communities near the ports have indicated a preference for rail shipments. DOE will seek to use rail shipments and will make a final determination after further discussions with state, tribal and local officials.
- Accelerating the development of cost-effective treatment and packaging technologies at the Savannah River Site and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.
- DOE estimates $600 million will be invested in technology development and improvements for interim storage capacity at Savannah River in the first ten years. A total of $1 billion will be spent over the life of the program.
- Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's ongoing facility and technology development program includes packaging of spent fuel suitable for interim storage and repository disposal.
A summary is available through the Internet at http://www.em.doe.gov/, under the Spotlight page, and through DOE's Center for Environmental Management Information, 470 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW, Suite 7112, Washington, DC 20024 or by calling 1-800-7-EM-DATA (1-800-736-3282).
The Record of Decision will also be available at the above addresses. A fact sheet on the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Fuel is attached.
-DOE-
R-96-068
Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Fact Sheet
Status - The Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of State, has issued the Record of Decision for the Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel. The Record of Decision documents decisions made by the Department of Energy after evaluating potential impacts presented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was issued in February 1996.
Motivation for Action - To support the President's nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy calling for reduction and eventual elimination of the use of highly enriched uranium in civil commerce. Forty years ago, under President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program, the United States exported enriched uranium to foreign allies for use as nuclear fuel in foreign research reactors. Under this program, recipient countries agreed not to develop nuclear weapons, if the United States would assist them with peaceful application of nuclear energy.
Decision - The Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of State, has decided to implement the Preferred Alternative identified in the Final EIS, which is to accept and manage in the United States certain foreign research reactor spent fuel that contains uranium enriched in the United States. This amounts to about 20 metric tons, containing about 5 metric tons of highly enriched uranium. (By comparison, this amount is less than 1 percent of the 2,700 metric tons of spent fuel currently managed by the Department and an extremely small quantity compared to the 30,000 metric tons of commercial spent fuel managed in the United States.)
Environmental Impacts - The analyses in the Final Environmental Impact Statement demonstrate that the impact on the environment, workers, or the public due to implementation of any alternative would be extremely small and well within applicable regulatory limits.
Policy Duration - Foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel currently in storage or generated within a 10-year period (beginning on the date the Record of Decision is published in the Federal Register) would qualify for acceptance over a 13-year period (to allow for cooling time, logistics, and potential shipping delays).
The Savannah River Site - Manage aluminum-based spent fuel (about 19 metric tons) at the Savannah River Site where the bulk of the existing aluminum-based spent fuel is stored. A three-pronged approach will be pursued to prepare the spent fuel for disposal in a geologic repository:
- Accelerate development of new treatment and packaging technologies with a goal to demonstrate, if not implement, them by the year 2000.
- $20 million is budgeted for the Savannah River Site in 1997 to develop and demonstrate treatment and/or packaging technologies to prepare the spent fuel for final disposal offsite;
- Over the next ten years, about $230 million would be spent on construction and about $350 million would be spent on operating costs
- The Department intends to conduct an in-depth study of the issues associated with the decision to reprocess fuel, if a new technology is not ready for implementation by 2000. The State of South Carolina will be invited to participate in the study. A subsequent Record of Decision would be issued approximately mid-1999 (or sooner if possible) to announce the Department's future management plans for spent research reactor fuel based on the results of the Department's technology development program.
- Monitor spent fuel in wet storage and reprocess any that poses health and safety concerns. (Note: Any uranium extracted from the spent fuel would be in a low enriched form, due to criticality limitations in the F-Canyon. Trace quantities of plutonium in the fuel would be left in and disposed with the glassified radioactive wastes.)
The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory - About one ton of non-aluminum based (TRIGA) spent fuel will be transported to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for treatment and packaging, as necessary, followed by storage pending ultimate disposition. The shipments will be in accordance with the settlement agreement between DOE and the State of Idaho. According to this agreement, DOE could accept up to 61 TRIGA spent nuclear fuel shipments from foreign research reactors prior to the year 2000 for management at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Before DOE would accept any shipments, the Governor of Idaho would be notified and the Secretary of Energy would certify that the shipments are necessary and meet national security and nonproliferation requirements.
Ports of Entry/Number of Shipments - Military ports of Charleston Naval Weapons Station, South Carolina, and Concord Naval Weapons Station, California, were selected because of their proximity to the DOE management sites, the military ports' capability to safely handle hazardous cargo, and public comments calling for the use of military ports. The Charleston Naval Weapons Station will receive 150 to 300 shipments over a 13-year period, beginning late summer 1996. The Concord Naval Weapons Station will receive five shipments over a 13-year period, beginning in the summer of 1997.
The Department will work with reactor operators and shipping agents to reduce the number of shipments to the ports by placing as many casks as possible (up to a maximum of 8) on each ship. The casks will typically be removed from the port within 2 to 4 hours. Ground Transport - Spent fuel will be transported from ports to Department of Energy sites by truck or rail, in accordance with the specifications of a detailed Transportation Plan developed by State, Tribal, local, and Department officials. The Transportation Plan will address issues such as mode of transportation, routing, and emergency preparedness.
The Department will assist in the identification of any necessary equipment or training above that which is already required to be in place, and then provide that additional training and equipment. Public education and security needs associated with the shipments will also be addressed in the Transportation Plan preparation process, and the necessary assistance will be provided by the Department. Financing Arrangements - The United States proposes to bear full cost for transporting and managing the spent fuel from developing countries. A fee for the acceptance and management of spent fuel from developed countries will be announced shortly in the Federal Register.
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