DOE-State Working Group Again Met This Week to Discuss Issues
Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
5/9/2014
While a Department of Energy and Nevada working group met again this week to discuss controversial proposed shipments of uranium-233, there is still no timeline for disposal of the material at the Nevada National Security Site, a DOE official said this week. “My understanding is that it was a productive meeting and they are still working toward addressing all of those issues. I can’t give you a timeline at this point,” DOE Oak Ridge cleanup manager Mark Whitney said this week at a House Cleanup Caucus briefing. Last month, DOE cleanup chief Dave Huizenga said that he hoped a resolution could be reached in order to start shipping later this year.
DOE had first planned to ship to Nevada last year the 403 canisters of Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project (CEUSP) material in DOE’s inventory of uranium-233 being stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Building 3019. However, the move was met with opposition by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), leading to the formation of a working group on the issue last fall. DOE initially hoped that the talks would result in a resolution by January, when maintenance and recertification was due on the canisters already packed for shipment. However, the date came and went and DOE unpacked the canisters, taking the time pressure off the talks.
Security and storage costs for the material adds up to about $2.6 million per month. “It is the only remaining category one nuclear security facility at the lab. It is the only category one that the Office of Science has across campus. That carries significant resource requirements, the necessary security. We want to dispose of that material,” Whitney said this week. About half of the more than 1,000 canisters are slated for direct disposition, including 126 that already have been transferred to an NNSA program and nine that were transferred to ORNL’s Office of Science for reuse. “Then we have 500 canisters, it will require processing. When we finish the direct disposition campaign we will need to dissolve, downblend that material, resolidify and then it will be suitable for disposition as low level waste as well,” Whitney said.
DOE Misses Due Date for U-233 Report to Congress
Meanwhile, DOE still hasn’t sent to Congress a report on its uranium-233 disposition plans that had been due within 90 days of the early January passage of Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus spending bill. Lawmakers requested a lifecycle cost estimate of the program supporting removal of all uranium-233 by 2019 and an analysis of the cost and schedule implications if the material is not disposed of at NNSS. When asked this week if DOE was considering options for the CEUSP material other than disposal at NNSA, Whitney said no.
When asked for comment on this week’s working group meeting, a DOE spokesperson said: “The Department’s discussions with the State of Nevada and local officials regarding the shipments of the Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Program materials from the Oak Ridge site are ongoing. The Working Group had its quarterly meeting in Washington D.C. on May 7th. Together we continue to make progress as we thoroughly address issues and concerns related to the shipments.” Nevada officials involved with the discussions could not immediately be reached for comment on the working group meeting, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spokeswoman JoAnn Kittrell said.
