To establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a consensual process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes.

This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development (WPD) department to provide a probabilistic evaluation of the potential for criticality of fissile material which has been transported from a geologic repository containing breached waste packages of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF). This analysis is part of a continuing investigation of the probability of criticality resulting from the emplacement of spent nuclear fuel in a geologic repository.

This guidance manual provides the NRC staff methodology for calculating parameters for limiting conditions of operation required in the radiological effluent Technical Specifications for light-water-cooled nuclear power plants. it provides guidance in using the model specifications reported in NUREG-0472 (Revision 1)*, and NUREG-0473 (Revision 1)*, applicable to operating PWR and BWR licensees, and users of the Standard Technical Specifications packages available for various vendor designs.

The purpose of this document is to provide the requirements rationale for the current version of the Preliminary Transportation, Aging and Disposal Canister System Performance Specification; WMO-TADCS-000001.

The Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 discussion draft is intended to implement the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future to establish a nuclear waste administration and create a consent-based process for siting nuclear waste facilities. The bill enables the federal government to fulfill its commitment to managing nuclear waste, ending the costly liability the government bears for its failure to dispose of commercial spent fuel.

The purpose of this report is to document and validate the external accumulation model that predicts accumulation of fissile materials in the invert, fractures and lithophysae in the rock beneath a degrading waste package containing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. (Lithophysae are hollow, bubblelike structures in the rock composed of concentric shells of finely crystalline alkali feldspar, quartz, and other materials (Bates and Jackson 1984 [DIRS 128109], p.

In General: The Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 includes most of the language of S.3469, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2012. The most significant change in the 2013 bill is the provision linking construction and siting of a consolidated storage facility to progress on a repository. The 2012 Act prohibited storage of any spent nuclear fuel beyond 10,000 metric tons until the Administration concluded a repository consent agreement.

In this study, the long-term geochemical behavior of waste package (WP), containing Pu-ceramic, was modeled. The ceramic under consideration contains Ti, U, Pu, Gd and Hf in a pyrochlore structure; the Gd and Hf stabilize the mineral structure, but are also intended to provide criticality control. The specific study objectives were to determine:
1) the extent to which criticality control material, suggested for this WP design, will remain in the WP after corrosion/dissolution of the initial package configuration (such that it can be effective in preventing criticality), and

The Disposal Criticality Analysis Methodology Topical Report (Reference 1) states that the accuracy of the criticality analysis methodology (MCNP Monte Carlo code and cross-section data) designated to assess the potential for criticality of various configurations in the Yucca Mountain proposed repository is established by evaluating appropriately selected benchmark critical experiments.

This study is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MODS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) to provide input to a separate evaluation on the probablility of criticality in the far- field environment. These calculations are performed in sufficient detail to provide conservatively bounding configurations to support separate probabilistic analyses.

On April 25, 2013, Senators Wyden, Alexander, Feinstein, and Murkowski released a draft bill to create a sustainable, participatory process for managing nuclear waste. The senators requested comments and suggestions on the draft bill, as well as on the alternative language for siting an interim storage facility proposed by Senators Alexander and Feinstein. In addition, the senators posed eight questions on which they sought comments.

This report presents the analyses and results for the potential occurrence of external criticality events which could result from plutonium waste forms emplaced in a geologic repository similar to the one being developed at Yucca Mountain. The analyses evaluate both the MOX spent fuel and the immobilized plutonium waste forms in a repository if the waste package has degraded and if the fissile material has migrated to the invert and out into the far-field.