The purpose of this report, and the information contained in the associated computerized data bases, is to establish the DOE/OCRWM reference characteristics of the radioactive waste materials that may be accepted by DOE for emplacement in the mined geologic disposal system as developed under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. This report provides relevant technical data for use by DOE and its supporting contractors and is not intended to be a policy document.

In response to the remand of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Minnesota v. NRC, 602 F.2d 412 (1979)), and as a continuation of previous proceedings conducted in this area by NRC (44 Fed. Reg. 61,372), the Commission initiated a generic rulemaking proceeding on October 25, 1979.

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for all spent fuels and high-level wastes (HLW) that will eventually be disposed of in a geologic repository. The purpose of this document, and the information contained in the associated computerized data bases and supporting technical reports, is to provide the technical characteristics of the radioactive waste materials that will (or may) be accepted by DOE for interim storage in an MRS or emplacement in a repository as developed under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendment of 1987.

The main question before the Transportation and Storage Subcommittee was whether the United States
should change its approach to storing and transporting spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level
radioactive waste (HLW) while one or more permanent disposal facilities are established.
To answer this question and to develop specific recommendations and options for consideration by the
full Commission, the Subcommittee held multiple meetings and deliberative sessions, visited several

This report presents the results of computer code benchmark simulations against spent fuel radiochemical assay
measurements from the Kansai Electric Ltd. Takahama-3 reactor published by the Japan Atomic Energy
Research Institute. Takahama-3 is a pressurized-water reactor that operates with a 17 × 17 fuel-assembly design.
Spent fuel samples were obtained from assemblies operated for 2 and 3 cycles and achieved a maximum burnup
of 47 GWd/MTU. Radiochemical analyses were performed on two rods having an initial enrichment of

Japan’s spent fuel management and fuel cycle programs are now at a critical stage. Its first commercial-scale reprocessing plant, at Rokkasho Village, will soon start full-scale operation.

Spent Fuel Project Office Interim Staff Guidance - 8

This evaluation investigates the potential benefits of separating the transuranic elements from spent reactor fuel before it is disposed of in geologic repositories. It addresses the question: Would the benefits to radioactive waste disposal justify both processing the spent fuel and deploying liquid metal reactors (LMRs) to transmute the separated transuranics?

http://www.epri.com/abstracts/Pages/ProductAbstract.aspx?ProductId=NP-7…

Since a 1985 decision by President Reagan that a separate permanent repository for disposal of
defense high level waste was not required1, DOE has planned for disposal of all high-level waste
and spent fuel from national defense activities and DOE’s own research activities in a repository
for commercial waste developed under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). The Commission
has heard recommendations from some commenters2 that this decision be revisited, or even

Spent Fuel Project Office, Interim Staff Guidance - 8, Revision 1

The report describes the final results of the Phase IIIB Benchmark conducted by the
Expert Group on Burnup Credit Criticality Safety under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy
Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Benchmark was intended to compare the predictability of current computer code and
data library combinations for the atomic number densities of an irradiated BWR fuel
assembly model. The fuel assembly was irradiated under specific power of 25.6 MW/tHM

Following the proposals for nuclear fuel assurance of International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El Baradei, former Russian President Vladimir V.
Putin, and U.S. President George W. Bush, joint committees of the Russian Academy of
Sciences (RAS) and the U.S. National Academies (NAS) were formed to address these and other
fuel assurance concepts and their links to nonproliferation goals. The joint committees also
addressed many technology issues relating to the fuel assurance concepts. This report provides

This report provides details of dry storage cask systems and contents in U.S. for commercial light water
reactor fuel. Section 2 contains details on the canisters used to store approximately 86% of assemblies in
dry storage in the U.S. Transport cask details for bare fuels, dual purpose casks and canister transport
casks are included in Section 3. Section 4 details the inventory of those shutdown sites without any
operating reactors. Information includes the cask type deployed, transport license and status as well as

Since the mid-1980s, a significant number of studies have been directed at understanding the phenomena and
parameters important to implementation of burnup credit in out-of-reactor applications involving pressurizedwater-
reactor (PWR) spent fuel. The efforts directed at burnup credit involving boiling-water-reactor (BWR)
spent fuel have been more limited. This paper reviews the knowledge and experience gained from work
performed in the United States and other countries in the study of burnup credit. Relevant physics and analysis

This report has been prepared to review relevant background information and provide technical discussion that will help initiate a PIRT (Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables) process for use of burnup credit in light-water reactor (LWR) spent fuel storage and transport cask applications. The PIRT process will be used by the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research to help prioritize and guide a coordinated program of research and as a means to obtain input/feedback from industry and other interested parties.

In January 1999, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management (OCRWM) submitted the Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology
Topical Report, Revision 0 (TR) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for
review and approval. The TR presents an overall approach for consideration of postclosure
disposal criticality of commercial and defense high-level waste to be placed at
the proposed Yucca Mountain site. During the course of the review and interactions

The fundamental objective of this topical report is to present the planned risk-informed disposal criticality analysis methodology to the NRC to seek acceptance that the principles of the methodology and the planned approach to validating the methodology are sound. The design parameters and environmental assumptions within which the waste forms will reside are currently not fully established and will vary with the detailed waste package design, engineered barrier design, repository design, and repository layout.

101. These Regulations establish standards of safety which provide an
acceptable level of control of the radiation, criticality and thermal hazards to
persons, property and the environment that are associated with the transport of
radioactive material. These Regulations utilize the principles set forth in both
the “Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources”, Safety Series
No. 120 [1] and the “International Basic Safety Standards for Protection
against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources”, Safety

This standard provides criteria for accounting for reactivity effects of fuel irradiation and radioactive decay in criticality safety control of storage, transportation, and disposal of commercial LWR UO2 fuel assemblies.

This standard assumes the fuel and any fixed burnable absorbers are contained in an intact assembly. Additional considerations could be necessary for fuel assemblies that have been disassembled, consolidated, damaged, or reconfigured in any manner.

The Interim Staff Guidance on burnup credit (ISG-8) for spent fuel in storage and transportation casks, issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Spent Fuel Project Office, recommends a burnup measurement for each assembly to confirm the reactor record and compliance with the assembly burnup value used for loading acceptance. This recommendation is intended to prevent unauthorized loading (misloading) of assemblies due to inaccuracies in reactor burnup records and/or improper assembly identification, thereby ensuring that the appropriate subcritical margin is maintained.