Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative Strategies for the Long-Term Management and Use of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative

Strategies for the Long-Term Management and Use of Depleted Uranium

Hexafluoride

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of

the draft ``Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative

Strategies for the Long-Term Management and Use of Depleted Uranium

Hexafluoride'' for public review and comment. This draft programmatic

environmental impact statement (PEIS), prepared pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), assesses the potential

environmental impacts of alternative strategies for long-term storage,

use, and disposal of DOE's 560,000 metric tons of depleted uranium

hexafluoride (UF6) currently stored in steel cylinders at

sites in Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Alternative management strategies evaluated in the draft PEIS include a

no action alternative. DOE's preferred alternative for the long-term

management of depleted UF6 is to use its entire inventory as

either uranium oxide, uranium metal, or a combination of both. DOE

invites the general public, other government agencies, and all other

interested parties to comment on this draft PEIS. The information

obtained during the comment period will assist DOE in preparing the

final PEIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments should be transmitted or

postmarked by April 23, 1998. Comments submitted after that date will

be considered to the extent practicable.

DOE will hold public hearings near Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth,

Ohio; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C., to discuss issues and

to receive oral and written comments on the draft PEIS. The dates,

times, and locations for these public hearings are listed below and

will be announced in local media prior to the hearing dates.

February 19, 1998

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Executive Inn and Conference Center, One

Executive Boulevard, Paducah, Kentucky 42001

February 24, 1998

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Ramada Inn and Suites, 420 South Illinois

Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831

February 26, 1998

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Vern Riffe Pike County Vocational School, 23365

State Route 124, Piketon, Ohio 45661

March 10, 1998

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building,

Room 1E-245, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for copies of this draft PEIS can be

submitted by calling the toll-free number 1-800-517-3191, by faxing

them to 301-428-0145, or by mailing them to: Charles E. Bradley, Jr.,

Program Manager, Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program,

Office of Facilities (NE-40), Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and

Technology, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road,

Germantown, MD 20874-1290.

Comments and requests for copies of this draft PEIS may also be

submitted electronically via the Depleted UF6 World Wide Web

site at http://www.ead.anl.gov/uranium.html or via electronic mail at

[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE

NEPA process, please contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA

Policy and Assistance, Office of Environment, Safety and Health, U.S.

Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20585-0119, 202-586-4600 or 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On January 25, 1996, DOE issued a Notice of Intent (61 FR 2239) to

prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement on alternative

strategies for the long-term management and use of depleted

UF6. The unique properties and value of depleted

UF6, such as its high purity and density, as well as the

large volume (about 560,000 metric tons) in storage, make it

appropriate to evaluate, analyze, and decide the long-term management

of this material separately from other DOE materials in storage or

awaiting disposition.

The purpose of the PEIS is to assess and consider the potential

environmental impacts of a range of reasonable alternative strategies

for the long-term management of depleted UF6 currently

stored at DOE sites near Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Oak

Ridge, Tennessee. A management strategy is a series of activities

needed to achieve the safe long-term storage, use, or disposal of the

depleted UF6 inventory. The PEIS addresses the potential

environmental impacts of the activities that make up each strategy.

Following the issuance of the final PEIS and a Record of Decision, DOE

will prepare additional project-specific NEPA documents as appropriate.

During February 1996, public scoping meetings were held in Paducah,

Kentucky; Piketon, Ohio; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The draft PEIS

incorporates the public comments received during scoping.

Copies of this PEIS and related documents prepared by DOE are

available at the following locations:

Kentucky

U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Information Center, 175

Freedom Boulevard, Kevil, Kentucky 42053, 502-462-2550

Ohio

U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Information Center, 105 West

Emmitt Avenue, Suite 3, Waverly, Ohio 45690, 614-947-5093

Tennessee

U.S. Department of Energy, Information Resource Center, 105 Broadway,

Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, 423-241-4582

Tennessee

U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations Office, Public Reading

Room, American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 South Tulane Avenue,

Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, 423-241-4780

Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Reading Room, Room

1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-0117,

202-586-3142.

Alternatives Considered

The draft PEIS evaluates alternative management strategies for the

depleted UF6 inventory, including a no action alternative.

These alternative management strategies are described briefly below:

No Action Alternative:

--Continued storage as depleted UF6 at the existing sites

Long-Term Storage Alternatives:

1--Storage at a consolidated site as depleted UF6

2--Storage at a consolidated site after conversion to uranium oxide

Use Alternatives:

1--Use as radiation shielding after conversion to uranium metal

2--Use as radiation shielding after conversion to uranium oxide

Disposal Alternative:

--Disposal after conversion to uranium oxide

Preferred Alternative:

--Use the entire inventory as either uranium oxide, uranium metal, or a

combination of both

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Preferred Alternative

DOE has identified a preferred alternative in the draft PEIS. This

preferred alternative does not represent a decision by DOE. The Record

of Decision, when issued after completion of the final PEIS, will

present DOE's decision for the long-term management of depleted

UF6.

DOE's preferred alternative for the long-term management of

depleted UF6 is to use its entire inventory of material.

Some (potentially all) of the depleted UF6 would be used as

an oxide, some (potentially all) of it would be used as metal, and some

of it might be used in other DOE programs pursuant to other NEPA

reviews and decisions. This alternative would include continued storage

and safe, effective management of the cylinders prior to conversion,

conversion of the depleted UF6 into depleted uranium oxide

and/or depleted uranium metal, and fabrication of depleted uranium

products for uses by government and/or industry. The fluorine in the

UF6 would also be used. Potential uses for the depleted

uranium include radiation shielding in both the oxide and metal forms

and as metal in specialty markets, including industrial counterweights.

Current possibilities for use of fluorine include use in the nuclear

fuel cycle. The schedule and rate of conversion of the depleted

UF6 inventory into the oxide and/or metal forms would be

determined by market demand for the conversion products.

Subsequent Document Preparation

DOE intends to prepare a response to comments received during the

review of the draft PEIS and to complete the final PEIS in 1998. The

availability of the final PEIS will be announced in the Federal

Register. Additional NEPA analyses, as appropriate, will be prepared

once a long-term depleted UF6 management strategy has been

selected and announced in a Record of Decision.

Issued in Washington, D.C., February 6, 1998.

Terry R. Lash,

Director, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology.

[FR Doc. 98-3845 Filed 2-13-98; 8:45 am]

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