[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 184 (Wednesday, September 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57404-57405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24043]
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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
Board Meeting
October 20-21, 2015--The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
will hold an international technical workshop on the potential deep
borehole disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203,
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, and in accordance with its
mandate to review the technical and scientific validity of U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) activities related to implementing the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), the U.S. Nuclear Waste
Technical Review Board will hold an international technical workshop on
Tuesday, October 20, and Wednesday, October 21, 2015, to evaluate
technical and scientific issues associated with the potential use of
deep boreholes to dispose of some radioactive wastes. The workshop is
open to the public and there is no charge for attendance.
In June 2015, the Board issued a report: Evaluation of Technical
Issues
[[Page 57405]]
Associated with the Development of a Separate Repository for U.S.
Department of Energy-Managed High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent
Nuclear Fuel. In its report, the Board reviewed two DOE reports, one of
which was released in October 2014 and the other in March 2015. The DOE
reports recommended implementing a strategy for disposal of some DOE-
managed high-level radioactive waste (HLW), and possibly some DOE-
managed spent nuclear fuel (SNF), in a separate geologic repository
rather than commingling the DOE wastes in a single repository with
commercial HLW and SNF. The October 2014 report also recommended that
DOE retain the flexibility to consider options for disposal of smaller
DOE-managed waste forms in deep boreholes rather than in a mined,
geologic repository. DOE identified cesium and strontium capsules as
candidates for disposal in deep boreholes.
The Board's October workshop will look at issues associated with
the design and implementation of a program for deep borehole disposal
of solid radioactive wastes. In particular, the objective of the
workshop will be to identify the technical and scientific issues
associated with DOE's research and development program to assess the
viability of the deep borehole disposal concept and, more broadly, to
identify issues associated with implementation of deep borehole
disposal.
The workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1250 22nd
Street NW., Washington, DC 20037; (Tel) 202-857-3388, (Fax) 202-293-
3173. A block of sleeping rooms has been reserved at the hotel for
meeting attendees. To make a reservation, attendees may call 1 800-445-
8667. The group code name for the workshop is ``NUC.'' Reservations
also may be made on the hotel Web site: http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/W/WASDNES-NUC-20151019/index.jhtml. Reservations must be made by Monday, September
28, 2015, to receive the group rate.
The first day of the workshop will begin at 8:00 a.m. and is
scheduled to wind up at about 5:30 p.m. The agenda on Tuesday will
begin with presentations by DOE managers and experts on DOE's plans for
studying deep borehole disposal, including a field test program being
planned by DOE to provide information on the geoscience of the deep
borehole disposal concept and the technical issues associated with its
implementation. Following the DOE presentations, panels of experts from
this and other countries will discuss issues such as:
Expected hydrogeological and geochemical conditions at the
proposed disposal depth and their associated characterization methods;
Waste forms to be disposed of, durability of waste-
disposal canister and overpack materials, and effectiveness of borehole
seals;
Challenges to deep drilling in crystalline rocks and to
operations related to emplacing the waste canisters in boreholes;
Regulatory framework for deep borehole disposal of solid
radioactive wastes;
Advantages and disadvantages of deep borehole disposal
compared with other disposal concepts.
There will be a lunchtime presentation on Tuesday titled
``International Perspective on Deep Borehole Disposal.'' Those who wish
to attend the lunchtime presentation should send an email no later than
October 15 to [email protected] with the words ``Working
Lunch RSVP'' in the subject line. Information on arrangements for the
lunch will be provided in response to the email.
The panel discussions will resume at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday and
continue throughout the day until the conclusion of the workshop at
approximately 5:00 p.m.
Opportunities for public comment will be provided on both days
before the lunch break and at the end of the day. It may be necessary
to set a time limit on individual remarks in order to maintain the
schedule, but written comments of any length may be submitted during
and after the workshop and will be entered into the record of the
meeting posted on the Board's Web site. The meeting will also be
webcast through a link that will be posted on the Board's Web site.
The workshop agenda will be available on the Board's Web site
(www.nwtrb.gov) approximately one week before the meeting. The
transcript of the workshop discussions, the presentation materials, and
any comments and other documents submitted for the record will be
available on the Board's Web site after November 20, 2015. The Webcast
recording also will be available on the Board's Web site for a period
of one year after the workshop.
The Board was established in the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy
Amendments Act as an independent federal agency in the Executive branch
to perform an ongoing objective evaluation of the technical and
scientific validity of activities undertaken by DOE related to
implementing the NWPA. Board members are experts in their fields and
are appointed by the President from a list of candidates submitted by
the National Academy of Sciences. The Board reports its findings,
conclusions, and recommendations to Congress and the Secretary of
Energy. Board reports, correspondence, congressional testimony, and
meeting transcripts and materials are posted on the Board's Web site.
For information on the workshop, contact Bret Leslie at
[email protected], Roberto Pabalan at [email protected], or Karyn
Severson at [email protected]. For information on meeting logistics,
contact Linda Coultry at [email protected]. They can be reached by
phone at 703-235-4473.
Dated: September 17, 2015.
Nigel Mote,
Executive Director, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 2015-24043 Filed 9-22-15; 8:45 am]
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