The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reopened the comment period for a draft final guidance for agency staff reviews of requests for alternative disposal of very low-level radioactive waste.
The comment period, which initially closed on Dec. 18, will now stretch to Jan. 17, according to a Dec. 21 notice in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov, Docket ID NRC-2017-0198; or by mail to May Ma, NRC Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN-2-A13, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.
Very low-level waste is an informal term for material with naturally occurring radionuclides or some other form of “residual radioactivity,” according to the NRC. This waste form is not required to be sent to the four licensed U.S. disposal sites for low-level radioactive waste, but with NRC approval can be disposed of at locations such as hazardous or municipal solid waste landfills or a licensee’s property. The NRC also cites the potential for recycling and reuse of material.
The draft document is intended to provide guidance to NRC staff on documenting, evaluating, and determining whether to approve requests for alternative disposal of very-low-level waste. It is an updated version of an interim guidance from 2009, covering operational matters including the technical review of the application, coordination with state agencies and disposal sites, and carrying out communications plans.
