ECA Update: DOE Submits Report to Congress on Nuclear Waste; DNFSB Assessment finds Hanford Plant at Risk; & more

Published: Tue, 11/21/17

ECA UPDATE
Nov 21, 2017
FEATURED
NUCLEAR WASTE
DOE Issues Congressional Report on Greater-Than-Class C Waste
ECA Staff | November 21, 2017

The Department of Energy (DOE) has published and submitted to Congress a report: Alternatives for the Disposal of Greater- Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste and Greater-Than-Class C-Like Waste.

This report was issued pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which requires that, prior to making a final decision on the disposal alternative or alternatives to be implemented regarding greater-than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste (LLRW), the Secretary of Energy shall submit a Report to Congress that describes the alternatives under consideration and await action by Congress. 

The Congressional report follows a Final Environmental Impact Statement that DOE issued in February 2016 on the Disposal of GTCC LLRW and GTCC-Like Waste, which evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed development, operation, and long-term management of a disposal facility or facilities for the GTCC LLRW and GTCC-like waste in DOE’s inventory.

 
NUCLEAR SAFETY
Nuclear safety board warns of trouble ahead at Hanford, but could lose role under Trump
Seattle Times | ​​​​​​​November 17, 2017

An unfinished $16.8 billion complex to treat chemical and radioactive waste at the Hanford site in Central Washington continues to suffer design problems that risk explosions and radioactive releases from unintended nuclear reactions, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report.

The board’s findings are at odds with a much more optimistic assessment offered by the U.S. Energy Department of the efforts to treat the toxic leftovers of decades of atomic weapons production. In a written statement last February, the Energy Department declared that major issues previously identified by the safety board had been “resolved,” and found that design work could resume on what the department calls a critical pretreatment plant needed to process highly radioactive waste. 

IN OTHER NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
​​​​​​​Jan 16-17  ECA Peer Exchange: Defense Nuclear Waste Disposition; Las Vegas, NV (invitation only)

Feb 20-22  2018 Nuclear Deterrence Summit; Arlington, VA