DOE Releases Draft Enviro Assessment on Material Shipment from Germany
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday released a draft environmental assessment on the potential impact of accepting, processing, and disposing of irradiated graphite pebble fuel elements from Germany containing thorium and U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) at the Savannah River Site. The DOE will accept public comment on the draft assessment for 45 days after it is published in the Federal Register next week, and will hold a public meeting on Feb. 4 in North Augusta, S.C., to accept comments. The effort would support the U.S. government’s global HEU minimization policy objective, the DOE said, adding that the German government would pay the costs of the project. DOE cautioned that completing the draft document does not mean the department had decided to accept the material. The draft is available for review at http://energy.gov/nepa/office-nepa-policy-and-compliance.