The Interim Staff Guidance on burnup credit for pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF), issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (U.S. NRC) Spent Fuel Project Office, recommends the use of analyses that provide an "adequate representation of the physics" and notes particular concern with the "need to consider the more reactive actinide compositions of fuels burned with fixed absorbers or with control rods fully or partly inserted." In the absence of readily available information on the extent of control rod (CR) usage in U.S.

NRC initiated a research activity with the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA®) to develop a conceptual test plan for measuring the quantity of residual water remaining in a canister following vacuum drying to the criterion referenced in NUREG–1536. While residual water may be considered as unbound or bound (i.e., physi- or chemisorbed), the focus of this test plan is only the unbound water. This activity consists of the preparation of two technical letter reports. The first is the present report, which describes current industry drying practices and capabilities.

The success of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program of the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) is critical to U.S. ability to manage and dispose of
nuclear waste safely--and to the reestablishment of confidence in the nuclear energy
option in the United States. The program must conform with all applicable standards
and, in fact, set the example for a national policy on the safe disposal of radioactive
waste.
The Secretary of Energy has recently completed an extensive review of the

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is evaluating the safety and security of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored in dry casks for extended time periods before transportation to a location where the SNF is further processed or permanently disposed.

By the end of this century, the United States plans to begin operating the first geologic repository for the permanent disposal of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive Waste. Public Law 97-425, the Nuclear waste Policy Act of 1982 (the Act), specifies the process for selecting a repository site, and constructing, operating, closing, and decommissioning the repository.

Goal: Secure the Benefits, Limit the Risk
The extent to which nuclear power will be a broadly accepted option for meeting future global energy needs depends upon cost, safety, waste management and the ability to limit the associated proliferation risks. While all four considerations are important, this report exclusively examines proliferation risks.

The paper discusses issues and options for improving the budgeting and financial management
of the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF). The issues and options would facilitate implementation of
any changes in program scope and content, or any changes in organization and management
structure. .
The three issues for possible administrative action include:
1. Instituting financial management enhancements to foster multi-year budgeting and
appropriations; combined accrual and cash budgeting; and separate capital budgeting;

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the neutronic similarities that may exist between a
generic cask containing typical spent nuclear fuel assemblies and commercial reactor critical (CRC) state-
points. Forty CRC state-points from five pressurized-water reactors were selected for the study and the
type of CRC state-points that may be applicable for validation of burnup credit criticality safety
calculations for spent fuel transport/storage/disposal systems are identified. The study employed cross-

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.

Because there is currently no designated disposal site for used nuclear fuel in the United States, the nation faces the prospect of extended long‐term storage (i.e., >60 years) and deferred transportation of used fuel at operating and decommissioned nuclear power plant sites. Under U.S. federal regulations contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 72.42, the initial license term for an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) must not exceed 40 years from the date of issuance. Licenses may be renewed by the U.S.