NRC accepting public comments on changes to radioactive waste disposal regulations

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comments on proposed amendments to its regulations concerning the disposal of low-level radioactive waste that would require licensees to update their technical analysis and conduct new analysis to demonstrate their facilities’ ability to dispose of long-lived, low-level waste.

The proposal would require licensees to update site-specific technical analysis, including a performance assessment covering
10,000 years; to conduct a site-specific technical analysis for the protection of inadvertent intruders over 10,000 years; to conduct a new performance analysis beyond 10,000 years for certain long-lived, low-level wastes if the site were to dispose of them; and to revise the application for closure, including updates to the technical analysis.

The amendments would ensure safe disposal of certain low-level wastes that were not considered when the regulations were initially drafted in the 1980s. The amendments included in the proposed rule were published Thursday in the Federal Register.

Comments will be accepted until July 24 and may be submitted at www.regulations.gov using Docket ID NRC-2011-0012. Comments may also be faxed to 301-415-1101; emailed to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov; or mailed to Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.