NTSF Updates

Zion Nuclear Power Plant

What to Do with Spent Nuclear Fuel? 

Anyone involved in the transportation of radioactive materials in the United States knows about the decades-long struggle to find a solution for managing the nation's spent nuclear fuel. With the permanent deep geological repository at Yucca Mountain being subjected to political and legal battles since its proposal in the late 1980s, other storage options are beginning to be explored in earnest. Private companies Holtec International and Waste Control Specialists have applied for licenses from the NRC to create interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, respectively. These private facilities are not immune to the troubles that have faced Yucca Mountain in the past. NGOs, cities, citizens, and governors all have their own reasons to oppose the licensing of these sites. 

While nuclear scientists have long preferred a permanent solution, they have recognized the need for interim storage sites so the decommissioning of nuclear power plants can be completed. The debate over what to do with the nation's spent nuclear fuel has gone on for so long that shutdown nuclear power plants like Zion in Illinois and San Onofre in California have nearly completed decontamination and decommissioning. Unfortunately, these sites cannot be returned to public use because the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982 placed responsibility for storing spent nuclear fuel on the generators and owners of the fuel until DOE removes it from the site. Therefore, once the cooling towers, reactors, and everything else is long gone, the only thing left at Zion, San Onofre, and future decommissioned sites will be concrete pads -- about half the size of a football field -- filled with storage casks containing spent nuclear fuel. 

Professor Jeff Terry, writing in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, proposes a new option for interim storage. He suggests that DOE take the spent fuel at Zion and temporarily store it at one of the two DOE facilities nearby, Argonne National Laboratory or the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Terry lays out at least five major benefits of his plan. This plan would avoid the pitfalls of interstate shipping, DOE can use the same casks on similar concrete pads, neither facility is expected to close anytime soon, both facilities have experience handling radioactive materials, and it would provide DOE with the opportunity to research and monitor the potential degradation of the concrete used for dry storage. The plan could be reproduced in California and around the country at one of the several DOE or even Department of Defense facilities within the states. Terry's plan could return these tracts of Lake Michigan and Pacific Ocean shoreline back to the public and ensure the safe and secure interim storage of the nation's spent nuclear fuel. 

Since the challenges of finding permanent disposal options in countries with fully developed nuclear power programs, like the U.S., is well documented, the International Atomic Energy Agency has published a report entitled  Options for Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste for Countries Developing New Nuclear Power Programmes . This report hopes to "lay out strategic and technical options for spent fuel and radioactive waste management based on experience gathered to date in mature nuclear power programmes." Some of the identified success factors include long term political commitment to resolve the spent fuel and waste issue, agreement of the local community regarding hosting the repository in a step-wise licensing process, and transparency and engagement of public, domestic, and international scientific and technical communities .  Thanks to Steve Maheras for bringing this report to the committee's attention. 

On the more technical side of spent nuclear fuel storage, Deep Isolation, a private company in California, has successfully demonstrated that nuclear waste canisters can be placed and retrieved thousands of feet underground without resorting to a traditional mined repository. Using technology from the oil and gas industry, Deep Isolation placed their prototype canister 2000 feet below the ground using a vertical wireline cable and a horizontal underground "tractor." The canister held no waste but was weighted to simulate a filled canister. The tractor and cable were brought back to the surface and several hours passed. Deep Isolation then lowered the tractor back down the drillhole and successfully retrieved the canister. Stakeholders from several organizations, including representatives from DOE, were on hand to witness the demonstration. Deep Isolation's Chief Technology Officer said, "A drilled repository allows you to go deeper, while disturbing less rock. It is both safer and less expensive than a mined repository." 

However, the NRC is not authorized to grant permanent disposal licenses to private entities. Deep Isolation is hoping for an amendment to the NWPA that will allow DOE to apply for a license using the company's proprietary method. It is unclear at this time if DOE is interested in partnering with Deep Isolation and how long the subsequent NRC licensing process would take. If approved, Deep Isolation claims their method could drill and place spent fuel in a matter of months, rather than years. 

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretly Shipped Plutonium from South Carolina to Nevada

On Wednesday, January 30, DOE revealed that several months earlier it had shipped half a metric ton of plutonium from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to the Nevada National Security Site about 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas. According to department lawyers, the shipment was declassified because enough time had passed for national security purposes. 

Nevada elected officials including Gov. Steve Sisolak and Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto condemned the shipment, calling DOE's actions "deceitful," "reckless," and "unethical." DOE announced their plans to ship a full metric ton of plutonium to the Nevada site in August 2018 after a federal judge ordered the material to be removed from South Carolina by 2020. In response, Nevada filed for an injunction with U.S. District Judge Miranda Du in Reno in November, saying DOE had failed to properly study the site for potential dangers or provide enough time for Nevada to prepare in case of an accident during shipment. In January, Judge Du said she would not make a ruling until February but expressed her desire that DOE suspend shipments until she made a ruling.

DOE has argued that Nevada's lawsuit should be dismissed because the shipment occurred before the first injunction was filed and no future shipments are planned. Nevada's lawyers countered by saying the federal government's actions have created a "palpable suspicion" that further shipments are imminent and an injunction is needed more than ever. DOE's August plan arranged for the plutonium's temporary storage in Nevada and at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, TX, before being sent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico by 2027. 

Read more detailed reports by the Associated Press and Fox News. 

The NRC Upholds License for South Dakota Uranium Mine

Despite a ruling from the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the NRC has retained Powertech's license to mine for uranium in southwestern South Dakota. In July, the federal judge ruled the NRC had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting an adequate cultural resources survey of the area before granting the license. Despite this ruling, the court did not order the NRC to revoke Powertech's license for fears of potentially plummeting the stock price of Azarga Uranium Corp., Powertech's holding company. Instead, the court requested that the NRC reconsider the license. In January, the NRC decided to leave the license in place because Powertech cannot begin mining operations until it obtains additional permits from other local, state, and federal agencies. 

The challenge to the license is being led by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, whose majority of members live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near the proposed uranium mine. The Tribe is challenging the lack of a survey to find and locate historically and culturally significant sites that would be disturbed by mining. The uranium would be mined using an "in situ" method which dissolves the uranium using a water-based solution injected under ground before bringing it to the surface. The "in situ" method avoids open pits or tunnels but is still contentious because of the eventual re-injection of treated wastewater underground. Powertech is still waiting for 2017 draft permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to attain final status. 

Find further coverage of the permitting process from The Mitchell Daily Republic and more information about the proposed mine from Azarga Uranium's website. 

Planned Nuclear Plants Could Bring New Jobs on Both Sides of the Atlantic 

The American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio

DOE has announced its intention to invest $115 million at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, to reopen the American Centrifuge Plant and begin enriching uranium there. The plant had begun shutdown activities in 2016. If DOE finalizes these plans after a "consideration" period, the project will install 16 centrifuges and bring about 60 jobs to the rural Ohio site. If completed, the American Centrifuge Plant will join Urenco USA in Eunice, New Mexico, as the only domestic uranium enrichment sites. The World Nuclear Association says Urenco currently produces only one-third of the United States' uranium demands, requiring the rest to be imported. 

Across the pond, Horizon Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi, is in talks with the British government to create a nuclear power plant called Wylfa Newydd in northern Wales. The proposed plant would be located on Anglesey Island, home of the old Wylfa nuclear power plant that closed in 2015 after nearly 50 years of operation. The much larger Wylfa Newydd plant could create around 850 permanent jobs and provide electricity to 5.5 million homes. The British government is keen to finalize with Horizon how the roughly $18.95 billion project will be paid for in part because of the U.K.'s legal commitment to cutting carbon emissions. With wind and solar energy not yet able to match the reliability of nuclear energy, the U.K. is building a plant at Hinkley Point in southwest England and has plans for four other plants in addition to Wylfa Newydd. 

Coverage of the American Centrifuge Plant can be found on the Cincinnati Enquirer and coverage of the Wylfa Newydd Plant can be found on The New York Times.